Title: the-demon-awakens

Q: monk
A: Again the young monk could only shrug helplessly, wanting to know but afraid to know.

Q: stone
A: Its gray rock walls seemed to grow right from the solid stone, an extension of the earth's power.

Q: goblin
A: The wicked goblins certainly, so full of anger and greed, so delighting in murder and war.

Q: elf
A: Juraviel didn't have to look Tuntun's way to know her pose, for the obstinate elf struck it often.

Q: giant
A: Pony shrugged, not willing to discount the possibility of giants, not after viewing a dead goblin.

Q: side
A: Immediately a pair of mugs came up into the air from the side of the room.

Q: against
A: Pony squeezed in tight between two buildings and put her head against a wall.

Q: sword
A: Even as the goblin began to turn, Elbryan's sword came down hard on its head.

Q: such
A: It didn't seem such a momentous thing, just a gradual stirring in a deep cave in a far, empty mountain.

Q: reply
A: The look the stocky man gave him in reply did little to allay the monk's mounting suspicions.

Q: centaur
A: Elbryan turned a wry gaze on the centaur.

Q: realize
A: The object on the fourth shoulder pole, each man realized, would be enough to get the lesson across.

Q: master
A: Without a word, the tall master stalked from the room.

Q: ground
A: Elbryan prodded the ground with the tip of his sword.

Q: perhaps
A: It wouldn't matter, she quickly reminded herself, and perhaps this way, defenseless, the end would come more quickly.

Q: indeed
A: Faith heeded no proof - indeed the very value of faith was loyalty to beliefs without proof!

Q: creature
A: For the demonic creature in the cave, such questions hardly mattered.

Q: dactyl
A: By sheer will and brute strength, the dactyl flexed its wings.

Q: human
A: Its head, too, was somewhat human, except more angular, with a narrow jaw and pointed chin.

Q: fight
A: To where his parents were fighting, to where Pony had run.

Q: fear
A: That notion brought fear and Elbryan tried to pull away - and did break the hold long enough to catch his breath.

Q: nod
A: Elbryan shrugged and nodded down the road to the north, then led the girl off at a swift pace.

Q: low
A: A line of drool hung low from the dactyl's mouth as it considered its former and future allies, its army of woe.

Q: magic
A: Of course he knew of the Ring Stones, the heavenly gifts to St.-Mere-Abelle, the source of all the magic in the world.

Q: voice
A: Pony recognized the frustration in his voice, though he did well to hide it.

Q: wide
A: The snicker was soon gone, but the smile remained, all the wider for the sight.

Q: suddenly
A: Elbryan felt suddenly closer to the girl, as if they two had shared something very special and very private.

Q: smile
A: Elbryan moved up to the comer of the next house, smiling for his cleverness, and peered around.

Q: consider
A: A line of drool hung low from the dactyl's mouth as it considered its former and future allies, its army of woe.

Q: shoulder
A: The object on the fourth shoulder pole, each man realized, would be enough to get the lesson across.

Q: hit
A: Realizing she hadn't been hit by anything, she put her feet back under her and ran on.

Q: along
A: From up here: St.-Mere-Abelle appeared as a thick and stretched snake, winding its way along the top of the sea cliff.

Q: step
A: Jilseponie moved first, a single, tiny step, her arm reaching out helplessly.

Q: deep
A: It didn't seem such a momentous thing, just a gradual stirring in a deep cave in a far, empty mountain.

Q: bear
A: As if in a grotesque mockery of that hope, a goblin marched around that corner, bearing down on the girl.

Q: powrie
A: It was a powrie mannikin, Avelyn realized.

Q: powries
A: It wasn't lost on Juraviel, though, for the elf had battled the fierce, evil powries many times over the centuries.

Q: alone
A: Elbryan felt totally alone, yet one with the universe, a small part of majesty, a small but endless flicker in eternity.

Q: cry
A: Pony let out a cry, hurled one of her stones at the creature, and ran off.

Q: bow
A: The weight of his first kill descended upon him, bowing his shoulders, nearly driving him to his knees.

Q: dead
A: Finally he stopped, realizing it was dead, that it could no longer hurt him.

Q: sight
A: In the hollow of the twin pines, he had lost sight of his enemy - the first, and often fatal, mistake.

Q: hardly
A: For the demonic creature in the cave, such questions hardly mattered.

Q: edge
A: Silently mouthing that litany, Elbryan inched his face toward the edge of the pine.

Q: force
A: Now she remembered her training, forced herself to think clearly and concisely.

Q: remark
A: Elbryan's surprise at her qualification of the remark reflected clearly on his face.

Q: arrow
A: Scores and scores of small arrows, filling the air all about him!

Q: forest
A: Not so far down, they moved beneath the misty canopy, and the forested valley came clear to Elbryan.

Q: surprise
A: Elbryan's surprise at her qualification of the remark reflected clearly on his face.

Q: monster
A: Elbryan tried to stab the monster again, but the giant squeezed even tighter, and all the young man could do was groan.

Q: weapon
A: Every part of the demon was a weapon, devastating and deadly.

Q: nearly
A: The weight of his first kill descended upon him, bowing his shoulders, nearly driving him to his knees.

Q: spirit
A: The demon spirit fell deep within itself, summoned its powers, both physical and magical.

Q: rush
A: Jojonah launched into a rushed explanation, more the regurgitation of a prepared speech than anything spontaneous.

Q: sense
A: Shocked back to his senses, Avelyn turned his attention to the high roof directly below him.

Q: spot
A: There were the bodies; she saw Olwan, crumpled and broken in the same spot where she had seen him fall.

Q: power
A: The demon spirit fell deep within itself, summoned its powers, both physical and magical.

Q: roll
A: The day was late, and gray clouds were rolling in to hide the afternoon sun.

Q: breath
A: Elbryan held his breath, thinking that Pony's mother, often stern, would scold the girl severely.

Q: thick
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: shake
A: Pony sighed, too, and shook her head as if to show her ultimate frustration with adults.

Q: least
A: It appeared to him as if the mist were somehow blocking, or at least escaping, the winds, but how could that be?

Q: ahead
A: The girl was not looking ahead, though, but at the ridge to the south behind them.

Q: straight
A: Elbryan cocked his head and ran a hand through his thick layers of straight, light brown hair.

Q: strength
A: By sheer will and brute strength, the dactyl flexed its wings.

Q: enemy
A: Its thoughts turned from its enemies to those it would summon as minions.

Q: companion
A: It had tried to flee with its companions but fell short of the brush for lack of breath and died soon after.

Q: attack
A: At this point, Tallareyish was playing white, pressing the attack, but Elbryan meant to reverse that.

Q: folk
A: The village was not even walled, as earlier settlements near the Wilderlands had been, and the folk were not well armed.

Q: dwarf
A: Powries were skinny dwarfs, barely four feet in height.

Q: clear
A: Again it was the smell of his burning village that cleared his head.

Q: image
A: Elbryan liked the image; every day that passed, he found that he enjoyed looking at Pony more and more.

Q: finally
A: Stronger than its little body would indicate, the goblin finally pushed her aside and turned its spear.

Q: battle
A: Elbryan savored every word, envisioning the battle clearly.

Q: heart
A: The reward for such a life, for such a good heart, was a better existence in a better place.

Q: lift
A: Carved into the roof were four arms, two sets, hands lifted high, palms open and holding stones.

Q: mind
A: And the name, all the names, were gone from her mind - that was the worst thing' of all!

Q: bit
A: Avelyn retracted his hand a few inches, wondering if he was being a bit foolish here.

Q: drop
A: The goblin staggered weirdly, dropped its weapon, and fell to its knees.

Q: valley
A: And of the other patrol, who had battled in the wide pine valley among the caribou moss?

Q: grab
A: Adjonas grabbed Quintall by the shoulder.

Q: huge
A: Avelyn had never seen a place so huge, could not comprehend the effort that had been expended to put this hall together.

Q: wonder
A: Pony couldn't sustain her smile as she watched him go, wondering if she had pushed him a little too hard.

Q: whisper
A: All the world seemed still, not a bird calling, not a whisper of wind.

Q: heavy
A: In her hand she clutched her heavy wooden spoon.

Q: beyond
A: On the ridge and in the vale beyond, the primary enemy became boredom.

Q: push
A: Pony couldn't sustain her smile as she watched him go, wondering if she had pushed him a little too hard.

Q: doubt
A: Tuntun was wrong, Juraviel knew without any doubt at all; this one had character.

Q: tear
A: The black-winged demon looked down at a darker red tear marring its otherwise smooth hide.

Q: dozen
A: But the giant had seen the move dozens of times in its battles with little folk.

Q: trail
A: More arrows whistled past, each trailing a strand, each tightening the web about Elbryan, holding him from his meal.

Q: surely
A: Avelyn calmed quickly; surely they did recognize the jewel, and apparently, it did not bother them.

Q: staff
A: Elbryan clutched his staff and set his heels.

Q: beside
A: And when he slipped back beside the tenth and last basket, he saw steam still rising from his tea.

Q: pain
A: It wasn't difficult to imagine the power of the creature's bite or the pain of getting free from those nasty teeth.

Q: scream
A: Everything was confusion, screams and cries of pain.

Q: strike
A: Juraviel didn't have to look Tuntun's way to know her pose, for the obstinate elf struck it often.

Q: scramble
A: Desperately, the young man scrambled to the side, trying to ready a defense.

Q: wind
A: From up here: St.-Mere-Abelle appeared as a thick and stretched snake, winding its way along the top of the sea cliff.

Q: almost
A: The startled, almost feral, reaction of the hunters froze Elbryan in his tracks and sent Pony ducking for cover.

Q: simply
A: Either Avelyn had a direct line to God or the young man simply had no idea of what it was to be human.

Q: slip
A: All advantage was lost as the young man stumbled, the loose earth slipping out from under his foot.

Q: expression
A: When Juraviel turned back this time, his expression was more stern.

Q: hop
A: Pony grinned warmly, hoping he was right.

Q: pause
A: The master paused and lamented his own weakness.

Q: glance
A: With great effort, Elbryan tore his gaze from the dreadful spectacle below and glanced all around.

Q: ship
A: Father Abbot Markwart had pointedly mentioned that there were no ships in; Avelyn knew where he was supposed to go.

Q: wound
A: Dinoniel was gone, a distant memory, but the demon spirit had returned and the physical wounds had healed.

Q: spin
A: The door to the common house opened with a crash, and both Pony and Elbryan immediately spun away from each other.

Q: recognize
A: Avelyn, who had often spent hours at a time gazing at the wondrous night sky, recognized some of the points.

Q: easily
A: Seven goblins came into sight, trotting easily down the slope.

Q: branch
A: It moved nimbly from branch to branch, crossing over to nearby trees with barely a whisper.

Q: movement
A: Juraviel shrugged, a flitting little movement of his slender shoulders.

Q: charge
A: The fomorian charged ahead with a tremendous, hideous howl, its cudgel going high.

Q: blade
A: Elbryan was already into his responding turn but not far enough; and the elf's blades poked him hard in the kidneys.

Q: blood
A: Elbryan pulled back his trembling hand, staring wide-eyed at the bright blood that now covered it.

Q: cover
A: Then he wanted to turn back, to run into the hollow and cover his face.

Q: brush
A: It had tried to flee with its companions but fell short of the brush for lack of breath and died soon after.

Q: forward
A: Finally, the stinging ended, and the fomorian tried to move forward, back toward its prey.

Q: finger
A: To his rubbing fingers, the hematite felt truly liquid then, and inviting.

Q: powerful
A: The powrie struggled desperately, but the powerful man locked his legs tight and fought to keep his balance.

Q: lip
A: And she was coming closer, Elbryan realized, her head slowly drifting toward his, her lips, so soft, in line with his!

Q: sky
A: Avelyn, who had often spent hours at a time gazing at the wondrous night sky, recognized some of the points.

Q: somehow
A: Jayson only hoped that he could somehow get her home, into her own bed, before she died.

Q: physical
A: The demon spirit fell deep within itself, summoned its powers, both physical and magical.

Q: hide
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: knee
A: Elbryan fell to his knees, reaching for the wound, gingerly touching the spear and wondering if he should pull it free.

Q: rest
A: Its chin came to rest on its chest, and it held the kneeling pose, quite dead.

Q: slowly
A: And she was coming closer, Elbryan realized, her head slowly drifting toward his, her lips, so soft, in line with his!

Q: shift
A: The kiss shifted, from curiosity to urgency, then back to gentleness.

Q: truly
A: To his rubbing fingers, the hematite felt truly liquid then, and inviting.

Q: hematite
A: To his rubbing fingers, the hematite felt truly liquid then, and inviting.

Q: blow
A: Tuntun was tiring, too, Elbryan knew, and if he could land but one solid blow, the fight might be at its end.

Q: memory
A: Dinoniel was gone, a distant memory, but the demon spirit had returned and the physical wounds had healed.

Q: shadow
A: Elbryan went left, shadowing a group of three.

Q: yer
A: Too many of yer folk would've forced the girl by their side, to protect her.

Q: likely
A: If Quintall tried to sneak in and push that crank, it would likely cost them both their meal.

Q: perfectly
A: Elbryan and Jilseponie stood perfectly still, stricken.

Q: slope
A: Over and over they rolled, tumbling down the slope, punching and thrashing.

Q: guard
A: It pleased her greatly to help out Elbryan, to guard his emotions.

Q: magical
A: Whenever he was allowed to handle a magical stone, Master Siherton was at his side, a potent and lethal gem in hand.

Q: leap
A: When the giant was within one huge stride, Elbryan leaped out, trying to confuse it with sheer savagery.

Q: tip
A: Elbryan prodded the ground with the tip of his sword.

Q: immediately
A: The door to the common house opened with a crash, and both Pony and Elbryan immediately spun away from each other.

Q: truth
A: Siherton knew the truth of Jojonah's words, and seemed now caught within that truth, helpless in the face of reality.

Q: chest
A: Its chin came to rest on its chest, and it held the kneeling pose, quite dead.

Q: army
A: Dinoniel and much of his army had been consumed and destroyed, but the dactyl...

Q: gaze
A: Elbryan turned to follow her gaze, and he, too, could not suppress a grin.

Q: simple
A: There were times, such as this, when he hated simple elven logic.

Q: direction
A: All they could see in any direction was the flat bluish-gray line of the horizon.

Q: quietly
A: Two men walked quietly away from Brother Avelyn's closed door.

Q: path
A: Despite the addition of the pit, the path appeared almost exactly the same as it had on all of his previous returns.

Q: single
A: Jilseponie moved first, a single, tiny step, her arm reaching out helplessly.

Q: notice
A: Elbryan was glad that the distracted girl had not noticed his own shade of red.

Q: sudden
A: Elbryan resisted the sudden and inexplicable urge to run over and kiss Pony.

Q: captain
A: Every time he passed that cabin door, a small stateroom just behind the quarters of Captain Adjonas, he trembled.

Q: clearly
A: Elbryan and Jilseponie had seen it on a few occasions, but never so clearly as this, never so vibrant.

Q: burn
A: Again it was the smell of his burning village that cleared his head.

Q: cross
A: It moved nimbly from branch to branch, crossing over to nearby trees with barely a whisper.

Q: score
A: The patrols began that day, with a score and five youngsters walking the rim of the bowl-shaped vale that held Dundalis.

Q: corner
A: As if in a grotesque mockery of that hope, a goblin marched around that corner, bearing down on the girl.

Q: none
A: There were many powries on that deck, though none had, as yet, spotted her.

Q: dagger
A: Or he didn't even need the dagger but could stiffen his fingers that he might drive them right through any obstacle.

Q: duty
A: What of her duty to the couple who had taken her in and given her a home?

Q: angle
A: Pony knew that she could not move it again from this new angle, and so she didn't even try.

Q: spear
A: After a moment of shock, the goblins had thrown their spears, injuring one man.

Q: care
A: Tuntun held up a hand to her elvish companion, silently bidding Juraviel to let her take care of this situation.

Q: enter
A: Piety, dignity, poverty, that was the pledge offered upon entering the Order of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: kick
A: Pony spun and jumped on it, flailing wildly with both fists, kicking and kneeing viciously.

Q: measure
A: Laughter trailed him as he sped away, and Elbryan sensed that there was some measure of admiration in it.

Q: cave
A: It didn't seem such a momentous thing, just a gradual stirring in a deep cave in a far, empty mountain.

Q: approach
A: Five running strides brought him to the goblin, who didn't hear his approach until the last second.

Q: wood
A: That meant gathering wood and tending the fires, repairing the cabins-which always seemed to need repair!

Q: distance
A: With a grimace of determination, Elbryan halved the distance to his foe.

Q: field
A: Then the horse thundered away out of the field, out of sight.

Q: wing
A: Elbryan wondered, having no explanation of who or what those delicate winged creatures might be.

Q: kiss
A: That was it, the young man decided as the gentle kiss, their closed mouths barely touching, lingered on and on.

Q: admit
A: For a moment, I admit, I even held fast a fantasy that my memory of the destruction, of the carnage, was in error.

Q: tight
A: The noose was getting tighter, Pony knew.

Q: barely
A: It floated through-the chill air, barely perceptible.

Q: deck
A: Adjonas pushed him aside and walked in from the rail so that all on deck could see him.

Q: swing
A: Elbryan immediately swung about, realizing he was vulnerable.

Q: accept
A: So went the widely accepted argument that allowed for relaxing some aspects of the holy pledge.

Q: gray
A: The day was late, and gray clouds were rolling in to hide the afternoon sun.

Q: growl
A: With a growl, Avelyn pushed on, finally reaching the tiring Quintall.

Q: protest
A: Nonetheless, Jojonah began to protest again, but Markwart cut him short.

Q: howl
A: The fomorian charged ahead with a tremendous, hideous howl, its cudgel going high.

Q: fomorian
A: Finally, the stinging ended, and the fomorian tried to move forward, back toward its prey.

Q: shrug
A: Olwan snorted and shrugged his muscular shoulders.

Q: narrow
A: Its head, too, was somewhat human, except more angular, with a narrow jaw and pointed chin.

Q: glow
A: Father Abbot Markwart, his eyes glowing fiercely in the diamond light, waved a hand to silence the master.

Q: ridge
A: The girl was not looking ahead, though, but at the ridge to the south behind them.

Q: pace
A: Work in the village was at full pace, readying for winter.

Q: darkness
A: It had awakened, darkness rising, and already its influence was spreading throughout Corona.

Q: motion
A: Elbryan looked at Pony, who seemed to be growing quite bored by it all, and motioned to the door.

Q: forth
A: Jojonah nearly laughed aloud at the spectacle, and held forth the hematite.

Q: certainly
A: The wicked goblins certainly, so full of anger and greed, so delighting in murder and war.

Q: view
A: Pony shrugged, not willing to discount the possibility of giants, not after viewing a dead goblin.

Q: position
A: After only five weeks of a four-year training program, the first position of Preparer was nearly secured.

Q: less
A: Instinctively, the ranger's hand went to his waterskin, and he found it less than half full.

Q: energy
A: If Avelyn had concentrated so much of his energy into the ruby, then likely he had let the serpentine shield slip.

Q: muscle
A: The knuckles on both of Elbryan's hands were white by this point, and the muscles along his jaw strained taut.

Q: obviously
A: Indeed, the two seemed obviously mismatched.

Q: wave
A: Jojonah waved his hand and shook his head, uninterested.

Q: snap
A: And then, in the snap of fingers, in the space of a single kiss, it was all gone, all taken away.

Q: chance
A: Elbryan and his friends, some as young as six or seven, saw their chance unfolding.

Q: pine
A: Something else watched the young man from a perch in one of the thicker pines on the ridge.

Q: rock
A: Elbryan rocked back on his heels, fumbling with his thoughts.

Q: ring
A: Of course he knew of the Ring Stones, the heavenly gifts to St.-Mere-Abelle, the source of all the magic in the world.

Q: crew
A: If the man, like his crew, was so obviously nonreligious, then he should not possess such a gem, not for any reason.

Q: beast
A: Dinoniel himself had come into this cave after the beast, had skewered the dactyl...

Q: attention
A: Shocked back to his senses, Avelyn turned his attention to the high roof directly below him.

Q: abbey
A: If he couldn't survive in the courtyard of the abbey, after all, what chance did he have on the high and wild seas?

Q: shoot
A: Only a coward would shoot from the boughs.

Q: friar
A: The sheer power of the friar astounded Jill.

Q: tone
A: Still the tears came; every so often his even tone was broken by a sniffle or a sob.

Q: stumble
A: Pony ran off, stumbled and fell, then scrambled on all fours - anything to get away.

Q: merchant
A: Brother Justice played along, and, indeed, the merchant Dosey was not exaggerating.

Q: steal
A: Bluish-white light trailed the length of its path, stealing the green hue, and the zombie fell back and growled.

Q: choice
A: The young monk was a good choice, a God-given choice indeed, to go to Pimaninicuit.

Q: grove
A: Soon Elbryan was at the edge of the grove, standing before the candled field.

Q: gentle
A: Elbryan conceded the point, though he still thought Brody Gentle more bluster than truth.

Q: command
A: And he had control of the body; it moved to the commands of his spirit!

Q: touch
A: That was it, the young man decided as the gentle kiss, their closed mouths barely touching, lingered on and on.

Q: soft
A: Then they heard a distant piping, soft music, perfect melody.

Q: wild
A: Juraviel looked to the north, to the wild lands beyond his elven home and far beyond the settlements of any humans.

Q: soldier
A: The group of soldiers entered the tavern openly through the front door, doubling the number of patrons.

Q: figure
A: Quite a bit of juice might be ruined, but Juraviel figured the loss was worth it.

Q: bolt
A: A short distance away, Elbryan sat bolt upright, confused.

Q: target
A: The very next day, Elbryan hit the target two out of every three shots.

Q: solid
A: Its gray rock walls seemed to grow right from the solid stone, an extension of the earth's power.

Q: chapter
A: CHAPTER 13 Running Fast Down a Long, Long Road

Q: knowing
A: Avelyn swallowed his next retort, knowing that it would be a useless argument.

Q: throat
A: Elbryan fell back behind the twin pines, catching the shout in his throat, gasping for breath.

Q: rope
A: A final hack from Jill sent the rope flying free, half a dozen powries splashing down hard into the cold waters.

Q: gain
A: Elbryan still could not navigate this area, but he was gaining some understanding.

Q: demand
A: By right, Connor could have demanded her execution.

Q: notion
A: Elbryan realized the arrogance of that notion, an almost sinful pride,.

Q: launch
A: Furious, Elbryan finally launched himself sideways, putting some ground between him and his elusive opponent.

Q: death
A: The object of Thagraine's death, a huge purple amethyst, held Avelyn's attention.

Q: rise
A: It had awakened, darkness rising, and already its influence was spreading throughout Corona.

Q: insist
A: Was it, as Siherton insisted, the young man's apparent inhumanity?

Q: sweep
A: Avelyn then let go and dropped into a leg sweep that left Thagraine lying flat on the deck.

Q: mirror
A: There was something in the mirror, just beyond his vision!

Q: camp
A: When they arrived at Elbryan's camp, when the ranger and Pony settled beside a fire, Avelyn did as promised.

Q: respect
A: The elves watched every move, some with respect, some with a hugely superior attitude.

Q: prove
A: If they proved the better, he believed, then that was obviously God's will.

Q: snort
A: Olwan snorted and shrugged his muscular shoulders.

Q: stallion
A: Then the great stallion leaped away, thundering back into the shadows, into the brush.

Q: sheer
A: That excitement turned to sheer joy when they passed out of the town and began their ascent of the ridge.

Q: top
A: From up here: St.-Mere-Abelle appeared as a thick and stretched snake, winding its way along the top of the sea cliff.

Q: argue
A: Theologians of Corona argued over whether the demon dactyl was the source or the result of evil.

Q: destroy
A: Dinoniel and much of his army had been consumed and destroyed, but the dactyl...

Q: promise
A: For Avelyn, the night lessons were the promise of his greatest aspirations.

Q: gift
A: Of course he knew of the Ring Stones, the heavenly gifts to St.-Mere-Abelle, the source of all the magic in the world.

Q: glad
A: Elbryan was glad that the distracted girl had not noticed his own shade of red.

Q: block
A: It appeared to him as if the mist were somehow blocking, or at least escaping, the winds, but how could that be?

Q: stride
A: Five running strides brought him to the goblin, who didn't hear his approach until the last second.

Q: escape
A: But there was no escape, no way to get beyond Dundalis without being seen.

Q: desire
A: Elbryan felt no desire to tease when looking at Pony's lips now.

Q: faith
A: But the young man held faith and passed his hopes down the line.

Q: apparently
A: Avelyn calmed quickly; surely they did recognize the jewel, and apparently, it did not bother them.

Q: sigh
A: Elbryan sighed deeply and turned to Pony.

Q: slap
A: If he had slapped her, she would not have looked more wounded.

Q: softly
A: Candlelight spilled out onto the road, softly illuminating the girl.

Q: focus
A: What Avelyn focused on, therefore, was the destination, the isle itself.

Q: hole
A: Still she dug, widening the hole, trying desperately to squeeze under the slab.

Q: task
A: If that failed, the next task was to save as many individuals as possible.

Q: training
A: Now she remembered her training, forced herself to think clearly and concisely.

Q: circle
A: Holding hands, the elves formed a wide circle about him.

Q: base
A: Pony fell to her knees and began to scrape the ground at the base of Olwan's house.

Q: calm
A: Olwan started away, and McMichael calmed and moved to follow.

Q: tumble
A: Over and over they rolled, tumbling down the slope, punching and thrashing.

Q: thus
A: Inevitably, though, that led Elbryan to thoughts of mortality and thus to the recent fate of his family and friends.

Q: concern
A: Piled in the emotional jumble were Elbryan's mixed feelings concerning the elves.

Q: suspect
A: Olwan had used large slabs for the base, and, as Pony suspected, the house hadn't completely settled.

Q: firmly
A: Elbryan said firmly, and even as he spoke the words, he understood Bradwarden's cunning verbal maneuver.

Q: tale
A: Every villager was in the common house that night, though most had already heard the tale of the goblin fight by then.

Q: yell
A: She wanted to yell out for someone to help doomed Olwan, wanted to scream simply for the sake of screaming.

Q: matter
A: The dactyl could not take direct credit, but that mattered little.

Q: lock
A: Thus she kept her cabin door securely locked.

Q: stick
A: Elbryan stuck a blade of grass between his teeth and considered the viewpoint.

Q: tiny
A: The place was not bright, having only a handful of tiny windows set high up on the tall walls.

Q: desperately
A: Pony ran on desperately, blinded by tears.

Q: trap
A: These weren't particularly nasty traps, designed more to embarrass than to injure.

Q: catapult
A: Stay back from the catapults, I warn you.

Q: dawn
A: Juraviel found him at dawn, curled in a hollow at the base of a wide oak.

Q: source
A: Theologians of Corona argued over whether the demon dactyl was the source or the result of evil.

Q: danger
A: So Elbryan stood back from it all, figuring it to be one of those dangers for the villagers to work out on their own.

Q: couple
A: Elbryan tried to calculate the duration of his rest, knew it had been no more than a couple of hours.

Q: bright
A: The place was not bright, having only a handful of tiny windows set high up on the tall walls.

Q: inside
A: But there was indeed light inside that room, such a light as to make Avelyn think of a cloudless midsummer day.

Q: save
A: If that failed, the next task was to save as many individuals as possible.

Q: skin
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: roar
A: Quintall's roar, truly the roar of a tiger, sent the crew scrambling.

Q: weight
A: Shane McMichael did not argue the point, though the weight of it grew steadily on his shoulders.

Q: neck
A: The night was dark about him; his neck ached from holding the position for so long.

Q: manage
A: The powrie came across with a backhand slash, but Avelyn managed to duck beneath it.

Q: gather
A: What creatures could the dactyl gather this time to wage its war?

Q: diamond
A: Siherton held a small diamond, and from it came enough light for Avelyn to discern the man's features clearly.

Q: mad
A: Then the ranger went back to watching, thinking that the mad monk would soon tire.

Q: moving
A: And it was quite obvious that this' force was moving southward.

Q: punch
A: Over and over they rolled, tumbling down the slope, punching and thrashing.

Q: pole
A: The object on the fourth shoulder pole, each man realized, would be enough to get the lesson across.

Q: merely
A: Soon enough the young man had realized that it was for no particular act but merely because he was not elvish.

Q: control
A: For Avelyn to control the magic enough to get behind Jojonah's back and see the finger sequence was incredible.

Q: thrust
A: Then he sent it straight out a second time, cutting short the thrust as the elf predictably ducked.

Q: vale
A: The patrols began that day, with a score and five youngsters walking the rim of the bowl-shaped vale that held Dundalis.

Q: particularly
A: These weren't particularly nasty traps, designed more to embarrass than to injure.

Q: clutch
A: Avelyn felt something touch his hand - not his spiritual hand, but the physical one, the one clutching the stone.

Q: balance
A: Juraviel took full advantage, put Elbryan off balance and kept on twisting, angling the boy over the trough.

Q: grimly
A: Quintall nodded grimly and turned to his three brothers.

Q: evil
A: It told him these creatures were not of the evil goblin race; these were friends to be trusted.

Q: nearby
A: It moved nimbly from branch to branch, crossing over to nearby trees with barely a whisper.

Q: dive
A: Exhausted, the two men dove under for the last expanse, swimming so the craft would pass right over them.

Q: appear
A: From up here: St.-Mere-Abelle appeared as a thick and stretched snake, winding its way along the top of the sea cliff.

Q: cloud
A: The day was late, and gray clouds were rolling in to hide the afternoon sun.

Q: secret
A: This was her secret place, her place of contemplation.

Q: further
A: The monk, convinced that the animal could not cry out any further warnings, walked on toward the house.

Q: certain
A: The simple fact that they could not be absolutely certain offered Elbryan all the encouragement he needed.

Q: gently
A: It was warm; Elbryan felt that first, felt a soft, moist sensation gently touching all his skin.

Q: connect
A: Likely, the man was in no way connected to Avelyn, but still the fugitive monk remained concerned.

Q: wish
A: How Avelyn wished that Dansally were there!

Q: hill
A: It sat on the gentle slope of a wide hill, surrounded on all sides by a meadow of tall grass and wildflowers.

Q: remind
A: It wouldn't matter, she quickly reminded herself, and perhaps this way, defenseless, the end would come more quickly.

Q: familiar
A: Elbryan didn't answer, but that familiar sparkle fit up his eyes.

Q: aim
A: Elbryan looked at him curiously; of course he was aiming at the target!

Q: warn
A: Sometime later, as dusk descended, Pony's senses warned her that she was not alone.

Q: defeat
A: By mid-afternoon, Elbryan knew he was defeated, knew he could not hope to properly bury all the corpses.

Q: settle
A: Master Jojonah settled back on his heels but met the penetrating stare firmly.

Q: slam
A: The huge stone gates of St.-Mere-Abelle slammed shut with a resounding crash that jolted Annalisa Desbris violently.

Q: empty
A: Avelyn ran from the chapel, skittering down the empty halls, his footsteps echoing noisily.

Q: war
A: Powries were not often seen, except in times of war when they were dealt with all too often.

Q: jump
A: Then she turned and skipped off, and was startled a moment later when Elbryan jumped out in front of her.

Q: search
A: Still his eyes searched the corners of the shadowy room for his mother's spirit.

Q: sail
A: Resupplied, the Windrunner put out the next day, sails full of wind with a favorable tide, sailing fast to the south.

Q: hang
A: One had many daggers within easy grasp, hanging on a bandolier that crisscrossed his chest.

Q: sharp
A: Jill scraped her forearm on the sharp edge of the stone hearth.

Q: lay
A: The whole village had buzzed about the house because Olwan Wyndon was laying a stone foundation.

Q: inch
A: Silently mouthing that litany, Elbryan inched his face toward the edge of the pine.

Q: vision
A: Every dip and sudden rise blurred his vision, scrambled his thoughts.

Q: corridor
A: Avelyn stepped out of the room, into the stone corridor, and vomited all over the floor.

Q: grin
A: Pony grinned warmly, hoping he was right.

Q: sign
A: Thus, when the scouts of Elkenbrook reported goblin sign, the hardy folk were not too concerned.

Q: instead
A: Elbryan tugged more fiercely with his other hand instead, increasing the pace of the roll.

Q: roof
A: Shocked back to his senses, Avelyn turned his attention to the high roof directly below him.

Q: lightning
A: A sheet of conjured lightning silenced the screams forever.

Q: previous
A: Indeed he was tired from the previous day's labors, but so full of excitement that.

Q: crack
A: A thin crack ran down the center of the obsidian sarcophagus.

Q: assure
A: Elbryan's father had assured him that Wyndon boys were normally late in sprouting.

Q: aside
A: All jealousy aside, Elbryan found the taller Pony quite a pleasing sight.

Q: utter
A: Now, the young man did utter an unintended sound, a gasp of disbelief and delight.

Q: fool
A: Perhaps the monastery should reconsider its practice of selling stones to fools like Dosey.

Q: curiously
A: Pony blinked curiously, for Olwan's arm did not come down, seemed to be going up, up, up.

Q: blanket
A: Avelyn undressed and wrapped a blanket about himself, then sat alone with his thoughts in front of a blazing fire.

Q: elvish
A: No horrible memories could come to him while he was listening to that elvish song, no fears could gain hold.

Q: mere
A: Did such a thing as the Halo even exist, or was her memory a mere fantasy?

Q: flee
A: It had tried to flee with its companions but fell short of the brush for lack of breath and died soon after.

Q: warrior
A: Twin rows of massive columns, each carved into the likeness of a giant warrior, lined the room.

Q: stab
A: Elbryan tried to stab the monster again, but the giant squeezed even tighter, and all the young man could do was groan.

Q: instruct
A: The guard, as instructed, placed the body at the base of the low wall and stepped back.

Q: completely
A: Olwan had used large slabs for the base, and, as Pony suspected, the house hadn't completely settled.

Q: race
A: It told him these creatures were not of the evil goblin race; these were friends to be trusted.

Q: mark
A: Yet, we've not yet marked the end of our second month out of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: respond
A: Juraviel responded with a nod of his own, but his admiration was sincere.

Q: bar
A: Not in a lewd way, like the drunk in the bar, or even in a teasing way, like the handsome young man.

Q: tower
A: The three older men moved to the edge of the tower and talked among themselves.

Q: smoke
A: A slanting ray cut in through the smoke, a single shaft of light that beckoned the girl back to the land of the living.

Q: flow
A: Jojonah held the diamond close to Avelyn, and the young monk felt its warmth flowing into his aching, frozen form.

Q: apart
A: Elbryan pulled the bowstring back with all his strength; Hawkwing's three feathers were as wide apart as they could go.

Q: private
A: Connor left her at the door of the private quarters behind Fellowship Way.

Q: bend
A: The first of the giants came into sight, bending low, pulling hard, a heavy harness strapped across its torso.

Q: throne
A: Entel was the third largest city in Corona, behind Ursal, the throne seat, and Palmaris.

Q: desperate
A: Something daring, even desperate, like the shadow dive Tallareyish had used to defeat him.

Q: precious
A: The moment, this most precious moment in all of Elbryan's young life ...

Q: mount
A: The look the stocky man gave him in reply did little to allay the monk's mounting suspicions.

Q: twist
A: Brother Justice used a fantasy of twisting the fool's head off to force a smile.

Q: rage
A: Wisdom overruled his rage, though, and he stayed hidden and let them pass.

Q: leader
A: It shadowed Elbryan's every move, studying the young leader intently.

Q: running
A: It seemed to Avelyn as if he had fallen into the middle of a running rivalry between the two older men.

Q: alive
A: The air came alive with a strange humming sound.

Q: cause
A: Hopefully we will be able to keep our pace swift enough so that the powries' initial ram causes little damage.

Q: level
A: By the beginning of the third year, the level of jealousy among the four began to rise noticeably.

Q: storm
A: There she stayed for the, rest of the night, watching the stars return as the storm cloud raced away into the gulf.

Q: manner
A: Put in that manner, this was indeed a day of celebration.

Q: gasp
A: Now, the young man did utter an unintended sound, a gasp of disbelief and delight.

Q: flame
A: There came a bright flash and then the monk lay still, low flames licking his lifeless body.

Q: anger
A: The wicked goblins certainly, so full of anger and greed, so delighting in murder and war.

Q: slight
A: Gradually a smile found its way back onto her face, her dimples showing the slightest blush of red.

Q: candle
A: At night, they huddled together around oil lamps and candles, trying to ward off the chill.

Q: spike
A: Into the spike, the beast sent its vision, the telltale tracings of human-woven magic.

Q: beneath
A: Not so far down, they moved beneath the misty canopy, and the forested valley came clear to Elbryan.

Q: shape
A: Yet I refuse to dismiss or diminish my years with the Touel'alfar; those elven friends helped to shape the man Elbryan.

Q: track
A: The startled, almost feral, reaction of the hunters froze Elbryan in his tracks and sent Pony ducking for cover.

Q: speed
A: The ranger was amazed at the sheer speed of the thing.

Q: laughter
A: Father Abbot Markwart burst out into the most heartfelt laughter Avelyn had ever heard.

Q: calmly
A: The elf looked up at him calmly, smiling, perfectly relaxed.

Q: region
A: The one advantage on the ranger's side was his knowledge of the region surrounding Weedy Meadow.

Q: lava
A: Bestesbulzibar looked from Quintall to one of the lava rivers.

Q: northern
A: I had not even considered this until my northern trek led me back to these lands familiar.

Q: tug
A: But now something else tugged at him and put him on edge.

Q: effort
A: Avelyn had never seen a place so huge, could not comprehend the effort that had been expended to put this hall together.

Q: bury
A: Dundalis had been home to more than a hundred folk; how long would it take to bury them all?

Q: silently
A: Not until this day, he silently added, looking at the slain goblin.

Q: mutter
A: Thagraine was most ill at ease, pacing, stalking, and muttering to himself.

Q: gradually
A: Symphony snorted again and jostled about, but gradually came to accept the woman.

Q: regard
A: Instead of sizing up the diminutive creature as a potential enemy now, he regarded it in a different light.

Q: loose
A: All advantage was lost as the young man stumbled, the loose earth slipping out from under his foot.

Q: defense
A: There were no lines of defense anymore, no organized pockets of resistance.

Q: widen
A: Still she dug, widening the hole, trying desperately to squeeze under the slab.

Q: grasp
A: Something about the comparison, something she could not grasp, tugged hard at her, begging for release.

Q: drift
A: And she was coming closer, Elbryan realized, her head slowly drifting toward his, her lips, so soft, in line with his!

Q: slash
A: Elbryan wanted to jump out at them, to slash them all.

Q: villager
A: So Elbryan stood back from it all, figuring it to be one of those dangers for the villagers to work out on their own.

Q: chin
A: Elbryan put his chin in his paten, resting, thinking, and staring always at the faint image at the corner of the mirror.

Q: fit
A: Olwan Wyndon nodded, not wanting to get Brody into one of his legendary fits of outrage.

Q: disappear
A: Every time his concentration wavered even a bit, his arrow flew wide of the mark, disappearing into the forest scrub.

Q: dream
A: All his life, he had wanted to live in service to God; all his life he had dreamed of this day.

Q: shield
A: Avelyn pulled out his hematite, then remembered the anti-magic shield that Quintall had constructed.

Q: mostly
A: For her part, Cat kept her distance, offering a shy smile once or twice but mostly looking the other way.

Q: heat
A: Perhaps it was the boredom, the heat, or the tasteless provisions, but the crew grew increasingly uneasy, even hostile.

Q: trouble
A: The elves, of course; had little trouble keeping ahead of him, silent and out of sight.

Q: protect
A: To Jill, their mission seemed paramount, a stoic existence protecting the welfare of all the kingdom.

Q: mist
A: It appeared to him as if the mist were somehow blocking, or at least escaping, the winds, but how could that be?

Q: crouch
A: Gradually he came up in a crouch, studying the area intently, trying to get some bearings on where he might be.

Q: belly
A: The one remaining howled and scrambled, fell to its belly, and slid halfway back to the bottom.

Q: glare
A: Elbryan glared at Juraviel, in no mood for cryptic talk.

Q: breathe
A: The elf was already there, and Elbryan breathed a sigh of relief when he noted that it was not Tuntun waiting for him.

Q: distant
A: Dinoniel was gone, a distant memory, but the demon spirit had returned and the physical wounds had healed.

Q: deny
A: But she could not deny the tears, and the guilt and the pain.

Q: bent
A: The monk crouched low, bent his legs, and tightened his muscles, measuring the dog's swift approach.

Q: discern
A: Avelyn swallowed hard, trying to discern his best response.

Q: chamber
A: There were several monks, men a few years Avelyn's senior, in the chamber above.

Q: patrol
A: Elbryan and his friends had offered to walk patrols since the first day of the hunting party's return.

Q: blast
A: Elbryan, dazed, his breath blasted away, nearly fainted.

Q: bottom
A: Then likely he was now a charred thing, drifting to the bottom of the harbor.

Q: loud
A: That brought a loud snort from Pellimar.

Q: gate
A: A grinding sound, the great gates sliding open, brought the young man from his contemplations.

Q: metal
A: One hand banged against the powrie's solid waists against a metal ball above the dwarf's belt.

Q: beat
A: If lightning hits me arrow - for that's the only way ye'll beat me - I'll take ye to the one who leads the wild herd.

Q: cap
A: Early that evening, Elbryan walked onto the low meadow, ringed by tall, thick pines and capped by the starry canopy.

Q: obvious
A: From the sounds emanating from within, it was quite obvious what was going on in there.

Q: pray
A: Always working or praying; there were no other recollections of Avelyn to be found.

Q: caravan
A: Up in front, one of the women signaled that the caravan was nearly upon them.

Q: prisoner
A: You are not a prisoner, yet you are not free.

Q: deadly
A: How many thousands of goblins and giants had fallen to Mother's deadly blade!

Q: doom
A: Avelyn winced, seeing men leaping from the deck, their doom at hand.

Q: stare
A: Master Jojonah settled back on his heels but met the penetrating stare firmly.

Q: scout
A: Thus, when the scouts of Elkenbrook reported goblin sign, the hardy folk were not too concerned.

Q: steady
A: Elbryan forced himself to remain steady, to think clearly.

Q: lean
A: A cry of agony within the house froze her in place, and she leaned heavily on the frame for support.

Q: sting
A: Finally, the stinging ended, and the fomorian tried to move forward, back toward its prey.

Q: barrelboat
A: Avelyn could see the craft clearly now; no longer did he confuse the strange barrelboat with any wave shadows.

Q: refugee
A: Back at the sheltered meadow, Elbryan gave his permission for the refugees to start a couple of low fires.

Q: ease
A: Thagraine was most ill at ease, pacing, stalking, and muttering to himself.

Q: toss
A: Avelyn continued to stare at Bradwarden, and smiled as the centaur smiled, as the monk tossed the flask into the brush.

Q: crystal
A: Fortunately, the water was crystal clear.

Q: awake
A: The demon dactyl came awake.

Q: armor
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: purpose
A: This was the purpose of the voyage, after all, and Father Abbot Markwart had made.

Q: wildly
A: Pony spun and jumped on it, flailing wildly with both fists, kicking and kneeing viciously.

Q: feature
A: Avelyn wanted to go closer to it to study the stern facial features and the incredible craftsmanship of the armor.

Q: sort
A: Jill was beside him at once, on one knee as he sorted himself out.

Q: collect
A: Soon the basket was full, so Elbryan hauled it back to the bank and collected another one.

Q: horror
A: Cat could hardly believe she had spoken the words, but her horror vanished when Connor laughed heartily.

Q: southern
A: The Windrunner glided easily over calmer seas, the southern reaches of the Mantis Arm's coast a gray blur to the west.

Q: ghost
A: The Forest Ghost was a common legend in the Timberlands.

Q: press
A: Master Jojonah kept quiet and continued on his way, and Avelyn knew better than to press the point.

Q: groan
A: The other was also on the ground, squirming and groaning.

Q: length
A: Bluish-white light trailed the length of its path, stealing the green hue, and the zombie fell back and growled.

Q: indicate
A: Stronger than its little body would indicate, the goblin finally pushed her aside and turned its spear.

Q: yard
A: The barrelboat closed - fifty yards, forty, twenty - cutting the water smoothly.

Q: grim
A: It took grim Cat a long while to learn the truth of Pettibwa.

Q: wrap
A: Avelyn undressed and wrapped a blanket about himself, then sat alone with his thoughts in front of a blazing fire.

Q: fully
A: Avelyn nodded and reached out for the jewel, too stunned to fully appreciate the gravity in the old man's voice.

Q: tunnel
A: A cloud of bats shuddered to life at the unexpected noise and flew off down one of the tunnels formed when the lava had flowed from this spot.

Q: stern
A: Elbryan held his breath, thinking that Pony's mother, often stern, would scold the girl severely.

Q: rank
A: And the goblin ranks, for all the carnage, remained deep, and seemed undiminished.

Q: hook
A: Elbryan let fly a wide-arcing left hook as he spun back toward the elf.

Q: craft
A: Father Abbot Markwart, closest to the craft, looked at the man, then turned back to the suddenly quiet gathering.

Q: tremendous
A: The fomorian charged ahead with a tremendous, hideous howl, its cudgel going high.

Q: horizon
A: But for all the harsh reality, for all the possibilities that he would not survive, Avelyn watched the watery horizon for hint of those square sails most intently of all.

Q: halfway
A: The boy believed the sun to be in the west, halfway from noon to sunset.

Q: bare
A: Belli'mar Juraviel held his hand up, begging silence, then shifted his sensitive bare feet about on the stone face.

Q: weave
A: She took up her tray and weaved across the room, getting back to the corner table with hardly a drop spilled.

Q: overwhelm
A: Avelyn didn't really understand, but he was too overwhelmed by all of this to think of interrupting with a question.

Q: graphite
A: Avelyn noted the considerable bag, of stones at his belt and the grayish graphite he held in his hand.

Q: size
A: It was the right size for a goblin - a small one - but the way it moved did not seem right to the perceptive ranger.

Q: bone
A: Elbryan saw the bright red gash, the white of split bone, the grayish brain.

Q: belt
A: Avelyn noted the considerable bag, of stones at his belt and the grayish graphite he held in his hand.

Q: possibility
A: Pony shrugged, not willing to discount the possibility of giants, not after viewing a dead goblin.

Q: response
A: Avelyn's lack of initial response to the news that his mother had died had lent credence to Siherton's complaints.

Q: stagger
A: The goblin staggered weirdly, dropped its weapon, and fell to its knees.

Q: tightly
A: Pony clenched the graphite tightly, nodded once, and walked away.

Q: dart
A: With a growl, the ranger threw the dart to the ground.

Q: chuckle
A: Belli'mar Juraviel suppressed a chuckle, for he liked seeing Tuntun flustered.

Q: ruby
A: Malachite, amber, serpentine, ruby, in that order.

Q: closely
A: Some of the other masters, Siherton in particular, watched him closely, very closely, seeking an excuse to berate him.

Q: curious
A: Elbryan and Pony exchanged curious looks.

Q: dismiss
A: Rumors hinted that students of St.-Mere-Abelle had been dismissed for less.

Q: comfort
A: Quiet and sweet were the notes, but that did little to comfort Elbryan.

Q: threat
A: Apparently Quintall and Thagraine's secret posed no threat, so whatever it might be really didn't matter.

Q: frustration
A: Pony sighed, too, and shook her head as if to show her ultimate frustration with adults.

Q: hint
A: No answer, no hint, just the murmur, an endless string of mysterious whispers.

Q: defensive
A: Jill understood his concern to be both defensive and compassionate.

Q: behemoth
A: But they hardly seemed to stop the behemoth.

Q: sacred
A: To hear his fellow monks speaking of something as sacred as love in such crude terms did surprise and offend him.

Q: pack
A: When he got there, Juraviel handed him a full pack, a fine knife strapped on one side, a balanced hand axe on the other.

Q: blink
A: Smealy never blinked and didn't dare look away from the dangerous monk until he was halfway across the deck.

Q: height
A: A six-foot bear could indeed appear twice that height when angered.

Q: square
A: The Windrunner veered hard to port, sails filling and pushing the square-rigged caravel on with tremendous speed.

Q: guide
A: Then he went on, letting his instincts guide him to which stones were the most full of heavenly energy.

Q: general
A: The monk was soon again back on the road, riding steadily and making a general course to the north.

Q: middle
A: Jojonah pointed to a case near to the middle of the room, and motioned for Avelyn to approach it.

Q: state
A: For the boy who had just witnessed such carnage and loss, the semiconscious state was preferable.

Q: knock
A: Then back left, then left again, knocking wide the creature's club arm.

Q: poke
A: The dactyl's ears were pointed as well, poking up about the demon creature's thin tuft of black hair.

Q: hunt
A: Next spring, Elbryan would hunt with the adults, the games of his youth left behind.

Q: confuse
A: When the giant was within one huge stride, Elbryan leaped out, trying to confuse it with sheer savagery.

Q: bite
A: It wasn't difficult to imagine the power of the creature's bite or the pain of getting free from those nasty teeth.

Q: claim
A: Elbryan thought on that for a moment, particularly on Juraviel's last claim that the plants were pliable.

Q: range
A: The conditioning ranged from sleep deprivation to long periods of hunger.

Q: fighting
A: So he suffered the brutal hours of the day, the fighting in which Quintall almost always bested him.

Q: warning
A: Would the people of that village have heeded his warnings?

Q: shelter
A: When the showers arrived, he and his fellow Preparer would be hidden underground, sheltered from the pelting meteors.

Q: tease
A: Elbryan felt no desire to tease when looking at Pony's lips now.

Q: slide
A: A grinding sound, the great gates sliding open, brought the young man from his contemplations.

Q: trust
A: As their friendship deepened, their trust becoming so strong, Avelyn again dared to use the hematite to instruct Jill.

Q: monstrous
A: One group in particular, a pile of many monstrous corpses together in the road, posed a curious riddle.

Q: opening
A: Elbryan saw an opening and let fly a combination left jab, step, and right cross.

Q: tragedy
A: Elbryan winced at the reference to the tragedy of Dundalis.

Q: pursuit
A: Tallareyish turned in pursuit and came forward, one step, left foot.

Q: retrieve
A: Even if he went and retrieved it, the liquid within the stone had been tainted and was no good.

Q: malachite
A: Malachite, amber, serpentine, ruby, in that order.

Q: mighty
A: Tol had no desire to fight him, had no desire to face the mighty cut of Tempest.

Q: cloak
A: The elves prodded and pushed him, finally getting him out of his low tree house wearing only a cloak and a loincloth.

Q: torch
A: The room inside was well lit, though Avelyn saw no torches and didn't smell the usual odor of burning wood.

Q: sparkle
A: Elbryan didn't answer, but that familiar sparkle fit up his eyes.

Q: thinking
A: A combination of strength and agility, a balanced, thinking warrior.

Q: case
A: Jojonah pointed to a case near to the middle of the room, and motioned for Avelyn to approach it.

Q: carefully
A: Avelyn scrutinized the broach carefully.

Q: aloud
A: Jojonah nearly laughed aloud at the spectacle, and held forth the hematite.

Q: smooth
A: There were several various stones within, all smooth and polished.

Q: fiercely
A: Elbryan tugged more fiercely with his other hand instead, increasing the pace of the roll.

Q: directly
A: Shocked back to his senses, Avelyn turned his attention to the high roof directly below him.

Q: emotion
A: Panic hit him, wrestling hard with a jumble of other emotions that Elbryan did not understand.

Q: robe
A: Avelyn's brown robes were tattered and dripping; he had the stench of burned hair about him.

Q: possibly
A: Elbryan found that he could not possibly maintain such a stance.

Q: bother
A: What was it about Avelyn that really bothered Siherton?

Q: fairly
A: It was fairly circular, perhaps eight feet in diameter.

Q: boulder
A: Elbryan glanced both ways, then, figuring that the paths converged just the other side of the boulder, went right.

Q: openly
A: Not that many humans had ever tasted the elixir, for the elves did not deal openly in the juice.

Q: foolish
A: Avelyn retracted his hand a few inches, wondering if he was being a bit foolish here.

Q: witness
A: For the boy who had just witnessed such carnage and loss, the semiconscious state was preferable.

Q: bellow
A: It bellowed again and hardly slowed.

Q: steadily
A: Shane McMichael did not argue the point, though the weight of it grew steadily on his shoulders.

Q: foe
A: Elbryan didn't know what to make of this armored foe, and especially of its glowing spike.

Q: reveal
A: The pair looked at Viellain, their expressions revealing much.

Q: sunstone
A: The monk quickly took out his yellow sunstone, falling immediately into its defensive magic.

Q: rockman
A: The turn cost the rockman another sting as Elbryan seized the moment and thrust ahead, Tempest cutting hard.

Q: kingdom
A: Even the children of the Alpinadoran frontier - and most of the still - wild kingdom was considered frontier!

Q: beam
A: The girl pushed hard, but the beam would not give.

Q: swift
A: Hopefully we will be able to keep our pace swift enough so that the powries' initial ram causes little damage.

Q: sweet
A: Quiet and sweet were the notes, but that did little to comfort Elbryan.

Q: scene
A: The starkness of the scene from this vantage point, in this mounting light, amazed the companions.

Q: knowledge
A: The large man's knowledge of goblins simply didn't reconcile with this sight before him.

Q: whole
A: The crew were blaming the monks for their discomfort, for this whole journey.

Q: support
A: Brother Justice grabbed hard onto the staff with both hands, as much to support himself as to prevent any attacks.

Q: refuse
A: The elf offered a hand, but Elbryan stubbornly refused, struggling shakily to his feet.

Q: shout
A: Elbryan fell back behind the twin pines, catching the shout in his throat, gasping for breath.

Q: squarely
A: Then Avelyn eyed Tol squarely, matching the man's ominous expression with one of pure excitement.

Q: gem
A: If the man, like his crew, was so obviously nonreligious, then he should not possess such a gem, not for any reason.

Q: thunder
A: Another shot came thundering in, this one scoring a hit on Pireth Tulme's front wall, taking down some stones.

Q: shining
A: Its limbs were slender and long and its armor a silver shining coat of fine interlocking links.

Q: excitement
A: Indeed he was tired from the previous day's labors, but so full of excitement that.

Q: confirm
A: Quintall neither denied nor confirmed the execution.

Q: parry
A: Strike, parry, strike - the same routine.

Q: loss
A: For the boy who had just witnessed such carnage and loss, the semiconscious state was preferable.

Q: silent
A: The elves, of course; had little trouble keeping ahead of him, silent and out of sight.

Q: survive
A: And to the young man who had somehow survived a goblin raid, such a conclusion meant it could only be one thing.

Q: forearm
A: Another arrow came by and slashed across Elbryan's forearm as he struggled.

Q: ignore
A: To his credit, Elbryan had pretty much learned to ignore them.

Q: zombie
A: But when he came up from the roll, the zombie was there, suddenly, magically.

Q: extend
A: Avelyn's hands were large indeed, yet even with his fingers fully extended he could not touch all edges of the stone.

Q: weakness
A: Did the dactyl bring the weakness, the immorality, to humanity?

Q: float
A: It took great effort for the monk to get the sunken boat raised and floating, but he somehow managed.

Q: deeply
A: Elbryan sighed deeply and turned to Pony.

Q: minor
A: There were minor points untouched, to be sure.

Q: elbow
A: Dazed, bleeding, Elbryan pulled himself up to his elbows, looking over the edge of the cairn.

Q: declare
A: But pragmatism, too, should be part of that pledge, so said Father Abbot Markwart, and so had declared the abbey's.

Q: beg
A: Something about the comparison, something she could not grasp, tugged hard at her, begging for release.

Q: cheek
A: A tear rolled down Avelyn's cheek, then another.

Q: stocky
A: The short, stocky man went at the martial training as eagerly as Avelyn went at the nighttime studies.

Q: basket
A: Carefully placing the basket at last at the trough, the boy then sprinted full out the half mile back to the bog.

Q: rail
A: Quintall was already at the rail, pointing far out and down.

Q: descend
A: The weight of his first kill descended upon him, bowing his shoulders, nearly driving him to his knees.

Q: momentum
A: Elbryan set his feet and launched a vicious uppercut jab with the staff, using the powrie's momentum against it.

Q: curiosity
A: The kiss shifted, from curiosity to urgency, then back to gentleness.

Q: instinct
A: Pony's first instincts were to try and join that battle group, but she quickly surmised that she would never get in.

Q: grip
A: The giant released its grip and Elbryan fell to the ground.

Q: fate
A: Inevitably, though, that led Elbryan to thoughts of mortality and thus to the recent fate of his family and friends.

Q: color
A: Even the vivid, bright colors of the clothing of Entel's inhabitants struck the four as unusual.

Q: loudly
A: Father Abbot Markwart, also sensing the sudden tension, cleared his throat loudly.

Q: round
A: The sight of it, round and firm and creamy white, seemed to calm him for a moment.

Q: hurt
A: Connor lifted his head up from her, and he seemed to her truly hurt and saddened.

Q: hug
A: Elbryan, horrified, hit it again, and the dwarf slumped to its knees, finally dead, but still hugging the tree.

Q: smell
A: Again it was the smell of his burning village that cleared his head.

Q: particular
A: But it was Avelyn's turn to crank, and the taskmasters were particular about such things.

Q: dryly
A: "Perhaps because he is already dead," the tall man said dryly, and he turned to glare at his counterpart.

Q: series
A: Pireth Tulme was but one in a series of keeps dotting Honce-the-Bear's coastline.

Q: awaken
A: The man had passed the point of redemption and had perhaps awakened a dangerous curiosity in the demon.

Q: occasion
A: Elbryan and Jilseponie had seen it on a few occasions, but never so clearly as this, never so vibrant.

Q: mystery
A: As he listened, Avelyn felt the mystery melting around him.

Q: row
A: It had taken Jill hours to manage to row the craft near shore and then to find some place where she could put in.

Q: heavily
A: A cry of agony within the house froze her in place, and she leaned heavily on the frame for support.

Q: soul
A: But that fear couldn't hold against the river of his own soul, pouring forth in great release.

Q: hesitation
A: When he thought about his hesitation, it only strengthened his resolve.

Q: barrier
A: Jill worked to get behind the boat, to use it as a barrier against the powrie archers on the deck.

Q: perspective
A: From Juraviel's perspective, the first meeting had gone quite well.

Q: slump
A: Just the goblins and a lone giant, slumped together, soaked in blood from the many small wounds on each corpse.

Q: seek
A: Some of the other masters, Siherton in particular, watched him closely, very closely, seeking an excuse to berate him.

Q: bid
A: Tuntun held up a hand to her elvish companion, silently bidding Juraviel to let her take care of this situation.

Q: trapper
A: The three trappers were at a loss; Brother Avelyn could think of no sanctuary closer than St.

Q: obsidian
A: The spirit had come back to Corona encased in obsidian!

Q: burst
A: Father Abbot Markwart burst out into the most heartfelt laughter Avelyn had ever heard.

Q: smash
A: She clenched her fist hopefully as Olwan Wyndon smashed a goblin's head, dropping the wretch to the dirt.

Q: experience
A: No, it was his experience and Pony's - theirs alone.

Q: warmth
A: Elbryan felt his nose crack, felt the warmth of his blood running.

Q: individual
A: If that failed, the next task was to save as many individuals as possible.

Q: fail
A: If that failed, the next task was to save as many individuals as possible.

Q: exactly
A: The girl cocked her head, suddenly realizing exactly where she was.

Q: somewhere
A: A soft melody vibrated in his ear, somewhere just below his consciousness.

Q: term
A: To hear his fellow monks speaking of something as sacred as love in such crude terms did surprise and offend him.

Q: avoid
A: Elbryan stepped left as well and spun, avoiding an awkward cut of its sword.

Q: jaw
A: Its head, too, was somewhat human, except more angular, with a narrow jaw and pointed chin.

Q: determine
A: The pecking order for the voyage had indeed been determined in just that manner.

Q: agony
A: Before the woman had even swung her sword, half the small creatures lay dead or squirming in agony on the ground.

Q: responsibility
A: There was security in that, Avelyn came to realize, but also responsibility.

Q: stalk
A: Without a word, the tall master stalked from the room.

Q: stubborn
A: For whatever had happened, today and in the days and weeks before, this stubborn behavior could only lead to disaster.

Q: repeatedly
A: The bells of the abbey pealed repeatedly, drawing curious onlookers from the nearby village of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: suffer
A: But she suffered that pain, and let Connor kiss her, every once in a while.

Q: brute
A: By sheer will and brute strength, the dactyl flexed its wings.

Q: stretch
A: From up here: St.-Mere-Abelle appeared as a thick and stretched snake, winding its way along the top of the sea cliff.

Q: slender
A: Its limbs were slender and long and its armor a silver shining coat of fine interlocking links.

Q: secure
A: For near to forty years he kept a line a hundred miles long secure from goblins and fomorian giants alike.

Q: cabin
A: That meant gathering wood and tending the fires, repairing the cabins-which always seemed to need repair!

Q: passage
A: Next spring would bring his thirteenth birthday, the passage from childhood in the hardy land that was the northern wilderness.

Q: prompt
A: Elbryan gave a slight nod, prompting Avelyn to continue.

Q: posture
A: And even with any credible arguments, Siherton's posture, bordering on anger, on outrage, seemed so out of place.

Q: crash
A: The door to the common house opened with a crash, and both Pony and Elbryan immediately spun away from each other.

Q: courage
A: Avelyn shot back, drawing some courage with words of conviction.

Q: relief
A: The elf was already there, and Elbryan breathed a sigh of relief when he noted that it was not Tuntun waiting for him.

Q: heel
A: Master Jojonah settled back on his heels but met the penetrating stare firmly.

Q: presence
A: That, combined with the presence of this magic-wielding assassin, surely concerned the monk.

Q: rub
A: Elbryan sat up and rubbed his face, noting the cut and dried blood on one of his hands.

Q: bade
A: He led the two masters back to Avelyn and bade the young man to look up at him.

Q: serpentine
A: As he spoke, the elf fingered a green stone, serpentine, feeling its subtle vibrations.

Q: aboard
A: You should have gone aboard and stayed aboard.

Q: encampment
A: Elbryan recalled the image of the vast encampment.

Q: magma
A: Tuntun flew away, back up toward the combatants, her slender daggers in hand, both dripping magma from Quintall's eyes.

Q: bounce
A: Then the world was spinning as Elbryan bounced and rolled.

Q: subtle
A: As he spoke, the elf fingered a green stone, serpentine, feeling its subtle vibrations.

Q: insult
A: But that would be a disservice to Annalisa, Avelyn knew, an insult to the memory of the gentle woman.

Q: bolster
A: But another dwarf was behind it to bolster the defense, and another behind that.

Q: crawl
A: Juraviel was waiting for the young man when he crawled out of the hole.

Q: eager
A: Avelyn took a deep breath, consciously keeping his eyes from the eager gazes of the onlookers.

Q: peace
A: All that the gentle and idealistic young man wanted was to serve God, to foster peace, to heal, and to comfort.

Q: especially
A: It surprised Elbryan that adults would act that way, especially considering the gravity of the situation.

Q: helplessly
A: Again the young monk could only shrug helplessly, wanting to know but afraid to know.

Q: anyway
A: The point was moot, anyway, for Elbryan never got close to touching the elusive deer.

Q: beauty
A: How many others could look upon the Halo and understand the beauty of the thing?

Q: uncomfortable
A: Since her first days in the house, Grady had made the young woman uncomfortable.

Q: dodge
A: Pony cried out, thinking her love cut in half, but Elbryan had been quick enough to dodge out of harm's way.

Q: exchange
A: Elbryan and Pony exchanged curious looks.

Q: frame
A: A cry of agony within the house froze her in place, and she leaned heavily on the frame for support.

Q: ceremony
A: Only the call to vespers, the ceremony heralding eventide, had interrupted Avelyn's frantic pace.

Q: joy
A: That excitement turned to sheer joy when they passed out of the town and began their ascent of the ridge.

Q: peer
A: Adjonas took up his spyglass and peered in the direction.

Q: silence
A: Then abruptly it was no more, and for Elbryan, the sudden silence was like waking up from a dream.

Q: counter
A: As such, it was quite easy for Avelyn to counter the effects with his powerful hematite, and soon Elbryan was breathing steadily again, soon the burning pain was no more.

Q: prod
A: Elbryan prodded the ground with the tip of his sword.

Q: vast
A: Journeys into the wide, vast ocean were extremely rare, and rumors told of a madness that often grabbed at a crew.

Q: spit
A: The day was cool and gray, the sky spitting light snow every so often.

Q: entire
A: The giant's hand covered the tall man's entire forearm.

Q: abruptly
A: The pair rolled hard into the trunk of another tree, and the goblin abruptly stopped its thrashing.

Q: thoroughly
A: That night, Avelyn retired to his room, thoroughly exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

Q: ledge
A: Pony screamed; Elbryan grabbed her and pulled her back to safety, the pair falling to the ledge in a jumble.

Q: mission
A: Avelyn and the other monks would give their lives willingly to see the mission successful.

Q: fiend
A: So that left Avelyn against the fiend, just them, facing off from five paces.

Q: skid
A: The bear skidded to a stop and turned to follow.

Q: skip
A: Then she turned and skipped off, and was startled a moment later when Elbryan jumped out in front of her.

Q: raid
A: And to the young man who had somehow survived a goblin raid, such a conclusion meant it could only be one thing.

Q: stem
A: Carley clutched desperately at the wound again, but he could not hope to stem the blood.

Q: pit
A: The real pit, he discovered was several feet beyond the apparent pit.

Q: retreat
A: The other two scrambled in sudden retreat, slipping as they tried to get back up the slope.

Q: echo
A: Avelyn ran from the chapel, skittering down the empty halls, his footsteps echoing noisily.

Q: weary
A: The question would have to wait, though, for the monk made his weary way back to his room and went back to bed.

Q: claw
A: With a mere thought, Avelyn extended his claws and raked them across, taking the face off of the stunned powrie.

Q: gold
A: And well mannered and up to his waist in the gold, too.

Q: clearing
A: The ranger waited a few moments longer as the figure neared, as it came out into a clearing under the moonlight.

Q: ill
A: Thagraine was most ill at ease, pacing, stalking, and muttering to himself.

Q: suppose
A: At peace, I suppose, and probably with Pony, and that is a fate about which no man could complain.

Q: clench
A: The young man stared at him wide-eyed with hope and eagerness, his hands clenching and opening at his sides.

Q: nowhere
A: Jill instinctively recoiled, but she had nowhere to hide.

Q: taste
A: Not that many humans had ever tasted the elixir, for the elves did not deal openly in the juice.

Q: deal
A: Not that many humans had ever tasted the elixir, for the elves did not deal openly in the juice.

Q: disaster
A: Had they been prepared, this disaster would not have befallen them.

Q: earn
A: Another sported a heavy axe, while the last earned a slender sword.

Q: glowing
A: Juraviel remained at the glowing fire pit until all had gone, his eyes ever skyward, looking for the blackest of forms.

Q: liquid
A: Its feel was impossibly smooth, almost liquid.

Q: wicked
A: Smealy turned a wicked grin on the captain.

Q: chill
A: It floated through-the chill air, barely perceptible.

Q: judge
A: How will they judge me twenty years hence, a mere day by an elf's measure?.

Q: proud
A: Above it all stood Olwan, proud and strong and unshakable.

Q: leading
A: Elbryan's instincts - something about the air, perhaps, the aroma told him this was not the slope leading out of Dundalis up to the ridgeline, the slope where he had met the ...

Q: dirt
A: The young man knew all that, as he sat in the dirt, staring curiously at the somehow dead giant.

Q: entrance
A: Fiery rocks streaked down before the cave entrance, slicing holes in the wide leaves of trees and bushes.

Q: concentrate
A: If Avelyn had concentrated so much of his energy into the ruby, then likely he had let the serpentine shield slip.

Q: novice
A: Both the novices stopped their work and looked up at the window.

Q: safety
A: Putting his personal safety aside, Avelyn had to consider the greater good.

Q: drunk
A: Not that the seated drunk was even looking at her face; his eyes never seemed to angle quite that high.

Q: fortress
A: Pireth Tulme, and apparently all the other Coastpoint fortresses, were far from the stoic bastions of their reputation.

Q: somewhat
A: Its head, too, was somewhat human, except more angular, with a narrow jaw and pointed chin.

Q: tough
A: The people were much the same - strong and firm, tough as the deepest winter night - and yet, they were not the same.

Q: evergreen
A: It bothered Elbryan, too, for the scarring of the evergreens made no sense.

Q: rocky
A: Pony had to wonder as she skittered down the rocky slope, a pair of giants in fast pursuit.

Q: monastery
A: Many merchants in Ursal likely possessed stones; the monastery was not averse to selling them.

Q: chant
A: The master closed his eyes and began to softly chant.

Q: bloody
A: Then he stalked after them, his bloody sword in his bloody hand, hoping one of the creatures would stray from its friends.

Q: split
A: Elbryan saw the bright red gash, the white of split bone, the grayish brain.

Q: shriek
A: The club fell into the stream; the goblin shrieked and clutched at its arm.

Q: hesitate
A: Modesty caused Elbryan to hesitate, but Tuntun wasn't in the mood for a debate.

Q: blur
A: The sun seemed a gray blur above him, a lighter spot in the sky.

Q: pitiful
A: Thagraine spotted him then, a hopeful, pitiful, smile widening on his bloody face.

Q: swipe
A: A series of swipes, stabs, and forward strides put Elbryan in the desired position.

Q: handle
A: Cat suffered his insults, but couldn't dismiss the realization that Pettibwa would have handled it differently, better.

Q: satisfy
A: For in the Ring Stones, the young man found his ideals satisfied.

Q: attempt
A: Avelyn realized then that an attempt at possession was akin to fighting an enemy on his home ground.

Q: smack
A: A shift of the angle sent his staff poking straight up, smacking the man's groin.

Q: damned
A: He remembered Avelyn, damned Avelyn, and the rivalry.

Q: dais
A: It moved across the dais, dipped one arm into the molten flow, then looked back at Quintall.

Q: delicate
A: Elbryan wondered, having no explanation of who or what those delicate winged creatures might be.

Q: fierce
A: On the main road of Dundalis, just on the other side of this house, a fierce battle raged.

Q: rear
A: Jill heard the dying scream of a soldier to her rear and fully expected that she would soon be overwhelmed.

Q: sack
A: And if the humanoids didn't sack the town, that indicated they meant to continue on.

Q: halt
A: Finally, Father Abbot Markwart halted the conversation with an upraised hand.

Q: squeeze
A: Still she dug, widening the hole, trying desperately to squeeze under the slab.

Q: grave
A: Quintall's expression grew suddenly grave at the sight of the imposing ranger.

Q: consciousness
A: A soft melody vibrated in his ear, somewhere just below his consciousness.

Q: intensity
A: Grady could see that in his every fidget, in his almost animal-like intensity.

Q: thin
A: The dactyl's ears were pointed as well, poking up about the demon creature's thin tuft of black hair.

Q: scar
A: Adjonas straightened, the blood rushing to his face, making that garish scar seem all the more imposing.

Q: normally
A: Elbryan's father had assured him that Wyndon boys were normally late in sprouting.

Q: separate
A: Up came Hawkwing; three feathers separated.

Q: actually
A: But the thought of actually going to see the woman terrified Avelyn.

Q: act
A: It surprised Elbryan that adults would act that way, especially considering the gravity of the situation.

Q: king
A: To Avelyn Desbris, nothing in all the world, not the treasures of a dragon's hoard, nor the powers of a king, could outweigh that accomplishment.

Q: advantage
A: Juraviel took full advantage, put Elbryan off balance and kept on twisting, angling the boy over the trough.

Q: kneel
A: Elbryan knelt beside her, his arm about her shoulders, comforting her.

Q: strange
A: The air came alive with a strange humming sound.

Q: tie
A: Pony got Symphony and her roan around the back, ropes looped about the war engine and tied to the tugging horses.

Q: discover
A: The real pit, he discovered was several feet beyond the apparent pit.

Q: column
A: Twin rows of massive columns, each carved into the likeness of a giant warrior, lined the room.

Q: destiny
A: Now, finally, Avelyn could face his destiny with no regrets for the path that had led him to this place.

Q: shudder
A: A fomorian, Avelyn realized with a very visible shudder, in the typical battle dress of its warlike race.

Q: murder
A: The wicked goblins certainly, so full of anger and greed, so delighting in murder and war.

Q: western
A: The ranger ran off, arriving at the appointed spot as the moon settled behind the western horizon.

Q: youth
A: Next spring, Elbryan would hunt with the adults, the games of his youth left behind.

Q: frighten
A: Avelyn came out, frightened but determined.

Q: announce
A: It took him some time to realize that the elves had announced her, and thus, that the elves had met her!

Q: border
A: And even with any credible arguments, Siherton's posture, bordering on anger, on outrage, seemed so out of place.

Q: wink
A: He looked at Pony and winked, and was surprised when she returned the gesture with a serious frown.

Q: remaining
A: While Adjonas tended to the crew and their course, the three remaining monks - even Pellimar, whose condition had steadily improved - worked with the stones.

Q: confident
A: Tuntun was growing more confident, he realized.

Q: poison
A: Elbryan recognized the black, sappy poison, a pain - inducing product of a rare black birch tree.

Q: rolling
A: And then it was over, suddenly, the creature rolling, dead.

Q: contact
A: But Avelyn had apparently not come home, or at least, had not made contact with his father.

Q: torso
A: Soon Jill's hands were flapping inconsequentially at the powrie's barrel-like torso, her strength fast deserting her.

Q: curl
A: On the floor and curled up like a baby, wanting his mother, praying for his mother.

Q: chase
A: It cursed aloud the name of Terranen Dinoniel, who had rallied the humans and the elves, chasing the dactyl's armies back to the base of this mountain, Aida.

Q: flash
A: Elbryan rolled to one knee quickly and brought the sword flashing across, severing the plant at exactly the stripe.

Q: visible
A: A fomorian, Avelyn realized with a very visible shudder, in the typical battle dress of its warlike race.

Q: existence
A: The reward for such a life, for such a good heart, was a better existence in a better place.

Q: retort
A: Avelyn swallowed his next retort, knowing that it would be a useless argument.

Q: tangle
A: Elbryan wondered, as he, too, worked through the tangled crowd, angling to intercept the newcomer.

Q: corpse
A: Elbryan and Pony lingered long by the corpse, studying it intently.

Q: willingly
A: Avelyn and the other monks would give their lives willingly to see the mission successful.

Q: relieve
A: A few minutes later, one of the goblins went off a short distance into the brush to relieve itself.

Q: shore
A: It had taken Jill hours to manage to row the craft near shore and then to find some place where she could put in.

Q: terrify
A: Elbryan was terrified and thrilled all at once.

Q: instant
A: Five men were atop him in an instant, grabbing and twisting.

Q: brace
A: In came the giants at full charge; Bradwarden braced and set his hind legs firmly.

Q: cudgel
A: The fomorian charged ahead with a tremendous, hideous howl, its cudgel going high.

Q: skinny
A: This creature's limbs didn't look skinny, any more than did the supple branches of a bending willow.

Q: depth
A: Already the young monk was falling into the depths of the stone.

Q: implication
A: Avelyn paused and considered the sequence and the implications.

Q: finest
A: She would dress in the finest gowns and attend the highest social events in Palmaris, even in Ursal!

Q: intense
A: Worst of all, and most intense of all, was the physical training.

Q: firm
A: The sight of it, round and firm and creamy white, seemed to calm him for a moment.

Q: aid
A: Before the guard could come to the master's aid, Avelyn hauled the stunned Siherton and himself over the rail.

Q: furious
A: Elbryan went back to report to his companions, expecting that a furious argument would ensue.

Q: mortal
A: Jill saw a pair of dwarves go flying over, saw a man slump to his knees, hands clutching a mortal chest wound.

Q: rushing
A: Elbryan tilted back his head, considering the stars, the few rushing clouds.

Q: gemstone
A: So much so that he chanced to pocket a gemstone, a hematite, one day.

Q: cairn
A: For surely it was the magic of the cairn that had done all of this; Elbryan knew that without doubt.

Q: handful
A: Avelyn dared to peek out from under his hood at the handful of spectators lining the road before the monastery's.

Q: grief
A: Mercifully, Elbryan's grief had brought with it exhaustion, and the boy had found some sleep.

Q: lightly
A: Pony came through the brush lightly, wearing only a soft silken nightshirt that didn't reach her knees.

Q: serious
A: So foolish Avelyn wasn't really any serious threat to the abbey or to the Order.

Q: discussion
A: Quintall spent the better part of an hour in a sometimes heated discussion with Captain Adjonas.

Q: coast
A: The Windrunner glided easily over calmer seas, the southern reaches of the Mantis Arm's coast a gray blur to the west.

Q: peek
A: Avelyn dared to peek out from under his hood at the handful of spectators lining the road before the monastery's.

Q: decision
A: But still she feared that his decision was folly, based on his underestimating the pain within her.

Q: hall
A: Avelyn ran from the chapel, skittering down the empty halls, his footsteps echoing noisily.

Q: nature
A: But Avelyn didn't fully understand the nature of that love.

Q: route
A: Elbryan continued his diligent work, though, reorganizing the routes to cover more ground since he was down to three teams of five, with a couple of messengers.

Q: explanation
A: Jojonah's explanation for the tour had been weak, some remark about an area that needed cleaning.

Q: replace
A: Gofflaw growled at her, but under Jill's unyielding glare, he replaced his sword in its sheath.

Q: fork
A: The path meandered, joining another, then forking three ways.

Q: complain
A: Paulson started to complain, but Elbryan glared so fiercely at him that he seemed to melt.

Q: fair
A: Mounted sidelong on a platform, the thing would have passed for a fair-sized ballista!

Q: grass
A: It was a place of thick grass and lines of trees, with houses built in the boughs above' the ground.

Q: engine
A: Pony got Symphony and her roan around the back, ropes looped about the war engine and tied to the tugging horses.

Q: ceiling
A: Torches burned at regular intervals, and the massive beams that supported the hall's ceiling seemed to dance in their light.

Q: harden
A: Elbryan smiled and considered the monk, understanding there was indeed a hardened frame beneath the soft exterior.

Q: curse
A: He didn't know what to do, then cursed himself silently for what he had already done!

Q: cunning
A: On those first two occasions, the hopeful lad had fallen victim to ever more cunning elvish traps.

Q: hunter
A: The startled, almost feral, reaction of the hunters froze Elbryan in his tracks and sent Pony ducking for cover.

Q: proper
A: It was with great anticipation that l walked that last mile to the village proper - to see a place that I knew not.

Q: tongue
A: He was shocked as her mouth opened a little bit, as he felt her tongue against his lips, so soft and inviting.

Q: rogue
A: This was an action of a rogue goblin chieftain, perhaps, or one of the many powrie raiding parties, acting on their own initiative, bringing misery to the wretched humans.

Q: ugly
A: Groups of the ugly creatures ran into each house, ransacked the place, and then, set it ablaze.

Q: stubbornly
A: Still the creature held on stubbornly, pulling Elbryan over, and they began to roll sidelong again, heads to feet.

Q: waste
A: Elbryan went into a crouch, and Tuntun wasted no time in going on the attack, sending her sword straight ahead.

Q: convince
A: On more than one occasion, the lanky Avelyn was convinced that Quintall meant to kill him.

Q: pour
A: As soon as the story came pouring out, Dansally pulled away from Avelyn and sat staring hard at the man.

Q: canopy
A: Not so far down, they moved beneath the misty canopy, and the forested valley came clear to Elbryan.

Q: appreciate
A: Avelyn nodded and reached out for the jewel, too stunned to fully appreciate the gravity in the old man's voice.

Q: heal
A: All that the gentle and idealistic young man wanted was to serve God, to foster peace, to heal, and to comfort.

Q: hollow
A: Then he wanted to turn back, to run into the hollow and cover his face.

Q: shock
A: After a moment of shock, the goblins had thrown their spears, injuring one man.

Q: pose
A: How could anyone, or anything, that could pipe so beautifully pose a danger?

Q: resist
A: Elbryan resisted the sudden and inexplicable urge to run over and kiss Pony.

Q: shin
A: The ruby, shining with power, arced lazily over the open hatch.

Q: ridiculous
A: The ruby was strong, but this was ridiculous!

Q: wise
A: The words, coming from so mysterious, so wise, and aged a creature, hit Avelyn profoundly.

Q: pride
A: Master Jojonah watched the young brother with mounting pride, and Avelyn recognized that the older man considered him a protégé.

Q: wretched
A: Elbryan thought that a curious thing; why hadn't the wretched humanoids pursued the fleeing humans?

Q: protection
A: And, like a father who has watched his children grow beyond his protection, Elbryan had to let them go.

Q: trunk
A: The pair rolled hard into the trunk of another tree, and the goblin abruptly stopped its thrashing.

Q: struggle
A: Not wanting to continue the struggle, Avelyn was up and walking fast before the felled monk could respond.

Q: sidelong
A: Still the creature held on stubbornly, pulling Elbryan over, and they began to roll sidelong again, heads to feet.

Q: rescue
A: All thought of rescuing anyone was gone.

Q: surround
A: Avelyn bit his lip, remembering the hours on the beach, surrounded by so vast a wealth of useless gems.

Q: recall
A: Elbryan recalled the humming sound; he conjured an image of buzzing bees.

Q: forcefully
A: Avelyn shoved his plate forward forcefully, angered now at being left out of their little secret.

Q: breeze
A: All the forest seemed to join in - the gusty breezes, the birdsong, the croaking of frogs.

Q: clarify
A: Cat-the-Stray could hardly refuse, but she went to the man with a cold demeanor indeed, asking what he fancied and pointedly clarifying that she wad referring to food or drink only.

Q: pile
A: One group in particular, a pile of many monstrous corpses together in the road, posed a curious riddle.

Q: ruin
A: Surely all the world had fallen to ruin; surely all the people were dead, were being pecked and torn by vultures.

Q: fellow
A: When the showers arrived, he and his fellow Preparer would be hidden underground, sheltered from the pelting meteors.

Q: fireball
A: Despite the efforts of the mad friar, the rain of powrie fireballs increased, coupled with bouncing boulders that smashed more than one home to kindling.

Q: hillock
A: Slowly, determinedly, Elbryan moved down the hillock, looking back often to the sky.

Q: wounded
A: The monk stared at his wounded hand, and at his opponent, so much more solid than it appeared!

Q: splash
A: A final hack from Jill sent the rope flying free, half a dozen powries splashing down hard into the cold waters.

Q: tune
A: The moment ended all too soon, Cat-the-Stray tuning back to the bustle of the lively room about her.

Q: handsome
A: Not in a lewd way, like the drunk in the bar, or even in a teasing way, like the handsome young man.

Q: voyage
A: Brother Avelyn's thoughts were full of that island and of the long voyage ahead of him.

Q: beard
A: Pony reached up to touch that smile and felt the sharp stubble of the ranger's beard, several days grown.

Q: swish
A: The staff swished harmlessly through the air.

Q: silverel
A: I am a ranger now, and no gift in all the world - not all the gold, not all the silverel, not all the kingdoms - could be greater.

Q: molten
A: It was alive with the magic of molten stone, the magic of demon dactyls.

Q: sensation
A: It was warm; Elbryan felt that first, felt a soft, moist sensation gently touching all his skin.

Q: outrage
A: That only fueled the young man's outrage.

Q: flesh
A: The soldiers of Pireth Tulme engaged in the revelry, the pleasures of the flesh, to avoid noticing their empty souls.

Q: dip
A: Juraviel walked past Elbryan to the trough and dipped his cupped hands in.

Q: venture
A: On Quintall's orders, the four monks ventured out together to seethe city.

Q: assault
A: And the dirtiness of the woman assaulted him.

Q: barrel
A: Every so often, one would shift to the side and dip his mug into a barrel, first brushing away the many flies and bees drawn to the liquid.

Q: torture
A: He remembered the emotional torture the execution had exacted on Thagraine, the restlessness.

Q: noise
A: That slight noise had sounded so clearly to Elbryan!

Q: smiling
A: Pony chanced to look back to the south, and she stopped, stunned and smiling, and pointing to the night sky.

Q: crowd
A: Jill sifted through the crowd to get to the bar, started to order a mug of ale, but then realized she had no money.

Q: stupid
A: Tuntun had thought Mather stupid, as well - at first.

Q: weak
A: Jojonah's explanation for the tour had been weak, some remark about an area that needed cleaning.

Q: relationship
A: The huge man had never appreciated Belster's relationship with the strange Nightbird and had said so often and loudly.

Q: sway
A: Tuntun was on the ground again, swaying slowly, hands waving before her.

Q: seat
A: Entel was the third largest city in Corona, behind Ursal, the throne seat, and Palmaris.

Q: broken
A: Both your arms and both your legs will be broken and useless when you hit the water, Bunkus Smealy.

Q: increase
A: Elbryan tugged more fiercely with his other hand instead, increasing the pace of the roll.

Q: argument
A: And even with any credible arguments, Siherton's posture, bordering on anger, on outrage, seemed so out of place.

Q: remove
A: All seemed a dream, vague and somehow removed.

Q: usual
A: The room inside was well lit, though Avelyn saw no torches and didn't smell the usual odor of burning wood.

Q: hilt
A: Elbryan clutched the sword hilt so hard his knuckles whitened.

Q: effect
A: All of that was, of course, tempered by her realization that she was, in effect, a deserter.

Q: badly
A: He was dirty and gray, his hair cropped short and badly trimmed, and his beard untended.

Q: burning
A: As if on cue, the burning catapult creaked again and slanted over farther.

Q: rough
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: frontier
A: Like the rain that came into her life, first in that frontier village, when the goblins came, then in Palmaris.

Q: living
A: Nor were there any living goblins or giants, Pony, realized, with small relief.

Q: pipe
A: How could anyone, or anything, that could pipe so beautifully pose a danger?

Q: lack
A: It had tried to flee with its companions but fell short of the brush for lack of breath and died soon after.

Q: punishment
A: Elbryan simply could not believe the punishment this creature had accepted!

Q: spread
A: It had awakened, darkness rising, and already its influence was spreading throughout Corona.

Q: confused
A: Elbryan glanced back to a smiling Chipmunk, the man running off to engage another confused powrie.

Q: passion
A: And, because of that passion, because of worldly lusts, a man who could be controlled.

Q: wary
A: The elf was too quick and wary for that.

Q: honor
A: Perhaps worst of all for the young woman were the host of other eager young men ready to defend her honor, offering everything from a thrashing of the man to his very life.

Q: sailor
A: They put into Freeport only briefly, with but a handful of sailors going ashore in the boat.

Q: supply
A: Finally, he and Thagraine, carrying their supplies, slipped down the rope off the side of the Windrunner into the boat, Pimaninicuit looming large before them.

Q: treasure
A: On another note, Avelyn could not help but laugh at the absurd, useless treasure that lay strewn all about him.

Q: confusion
A: Everything was confusion, screams and cries of pain.

Q: caribou
A: In many places, the caribou moss was even deeper than his knees!

Q: apparent
A: It quickly became apparent to the watching masters that Avelyn Desbris would be one of the two.

Q: scoff
A: Brody Gentle scoffed at him.

Q: jumble
A: Panic hit him, wrestling hard with a jumble of other emotions that Elbryan did not understand.

Q: rose
A: Tuntun nodded and rose unsteadily, then walked from the glade, leaving Elbryan kneeling in the grass.

Q: melt
A: As he listened, Avelyn felt the mystery melting around him.

Q: sentry
A: There should have been a second sentry there, the relaying voice to the soldiers within.

Q: turned
A: Bunkus Smealy turned about and waved his hand forcefully, quieting the rising murmurs.

Q: interrupt
A: Only the call to vespers, the ceremony heralding eventide, had interrupted Avelyn's frantic pace.

Q: breast
A: Graevis used to wrestle with her; had helped her to mature her fighting skills, but once those breasts had swelled, the man stayed away.

Q: feather
A: Up came Hawkwing; three feathers separated.

Q: opponent
A: The monk stared at his wounded hand, and at his opponent, so much more solid than it appeared!

Q: confidence
A: With another deep and steadying breath, his confidence in the stone growing, Avelyn walked out across the dark waters, his feet barely making the slightest depression on the rolling surface.

Q: farther
A: Elbryan meant to stop there, but a movement farther to the south along the trail caught his attention.

Q: wander
A: Often I sit and stare at the stars, wondering, wandering.

Q: pure
A: I knew the purest contemplation, the release of physical boundaries, the brotherhood with all the universe.

Q: enchanted
A: The notion of going out from the enchanted valley, perhaps of walking with his own kind again, scared him.

Q: hip
A: Out came a straight thrust of the spike; Elbryan turned his hips and skittered back.

Q: gulf
A: Land was out of sight again as the Windrunner cut a direct course across the gulf to All Saints Bay.

Q: pitch
A: The barrage intensified, more pitch, great heavy stones, and giant ballista bolts battering the ill-fated craft.

Q: shot
A: Up came Hawkwing, and two shots later, the immediate threat was ended.

Q: townsfolk
A: The other three townsfolk joined in the laughter, more than willing to do so at Elbryan's expense.

Q: soar
A: Avelyn resisted the urge to meet that charge and his spirit flew away, soaring fast for the south.

Q: intently
A: Gradually he came up in a crouch, studying the area intently, trying to get some bearings on where he might be.

Q: limb
A: This creature's limbs didn't look skinny, any more than did the supple branches of a bending willow.

Q: alert
A: To Pony and Elbryan, alert as they were, the creature was invisible and unnoticed.

Q: vulnerable
A: The goblin was behind her; she could imagine it readying its spear, lining up her vulnerable back.

Q: whip
A: The man groaned as the whip struck him again, tearing a red line across his back.

Q: congratulate
A: Before the monk could begin to congratulate himself, he found Bestesbulzibar's free hand around his throat, lifting him from the ground.

Q: strain
A: The ruby was thrumming in his hand, its magic intense and straining for release.

Q: guilt
A: But she could not deny the tears, and the guilt and the pain.

Q: count
A: Avelyn rushed past the approaching group, muttering something about speaking with them soon, then ran about the room, taking a mental count of those in attendance.

Q: mention
A: Father Abbot Markwart had pointedly mentioned that there were no ships in; Avelyn knew where he was supposed to go.

Q: fearful
A: Avelyn dropped his gaze once more, fearful of discipline should he be caught peeking out from under his hood.

Q: direct
A: The dactyl could not take direct credit, but that mattered little.

Q: wet
A: The young man shifted to a sitting position and sagged on the wet ground.

Q: earth
A: All advantage was lost as the young man stumbled, the loose earth slipping out from under his foot.

Q: straighten
A: Cat backed away, glanced over her shoulder, and straightened her dress.

Q: double
A: You have lost all, so it seems, and have more than doubled your size.

Q: belong
A: I love Caer'alfar, and all of this valley, but here I do not belong.

Q: safe
A: Elbryan watched for a moment, confident that the woman and boy would be safe enough with Symphony carrying them.

Q: fog
A: The hole opened in the middle of the fog that covered the elven valley, showing the deep blue sky.

Q: swiftly
A: Juraviel turned on Elbryan swiftly and suddenly, wings lifting the elf into a short hop.

Q: clothing
A: Even the vivid, bright colors of the clothing of Entel's inhabitants struck the four as unusual.

Q: pouch
A: Avelyn placed them in a bag, and in it he placed, as well, a small pouch of tiny carnallites, the one stone whose magic could be brought forth only a single time.

Q: layer
A: Elbryan cocked his head and ran a hand through his thick layers of straight, light brown hair.

Q: reality
A: Avelyn tried not to think of the reality of his position as the tower walls slipped past his descending form.

Q: treat
A: Elbryan and his friends were not being left out this time, were not being treated as mere children.

Q: standard
A: Was Avelyn, perhaps, a higher standard, a shadowy mirror, held up before all the monks of St.-Mere-Abelle, a testament of true faith that seemed so rare in these times, even in the holy abbey?

Q: deflect
A: Elbryan waited until the last possible moment, then flashed Hawkwing across in front of him, deflecting the spear.

Q: properly
A: By mid-afternoon, Elbryan knew he was defeated, knew he could not hope to properly bury all the corpses.

Q: huddle
A: Still the pair huddled near the edge of the cave, looking for some sign.

Q: surface
A: The dwarf would not find the surface ever again.

Q: damage
A: And the amount of damage to the house was remarkable.

Q: agreement
A: The other two nodded their agreement, for Allarbarnet, a wandering monk of St.

Q: mud
A: The cold mud squishing through his toes felt good, at least.

Q: net
A: Quintall tossed the net into the water, and Thagraine went in right behind it, taking hold.

Q: challenge
A: Jilly was a challenge he had not before faced and one he was determined to overcome.

Q: stranger
A: The group turned as one to regard the stranger.

Q: entertain
A: Elbryan gave a smile and shook his head, entertained, as usual by the complex man.

Q: immediate
A: Up came Hawkwing, and two shots later, the immediate threat was ended.

Q: corporeal
A: The tangible, corporeal body felt good to the wandering spirit.

Q: cord
A: The ranger started to leap over the suddenly taut, suddenly moving, cord, but only made it halfway.

Q: hue
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: diminutive
A: Instead of sizing up the diminutive creature as a potential enemy now, he regarded it in a different light.

Q: fumble
A: Avelyn rolled off the cot and fumbled with his flint and steel, finally getting the candle lit.

Q: waist
A: And well mannered and up to his waist in the gold, too.

Q: stunned
A: Pony chanced to look back to the south, and she stopped, stunned and smiling, and pointing to the night sky.

Q: grumble
A: That backed them off, though they continued grumbling.

Q: moss
A: In many places, the caribou moss was even deeper than his knees!

Q: logical
A: It seemed logical enough to Pony, so she.

Q: pas
A: Pony dared to reach out then; the connection was too strong to let the moment pass.

Q: mug
A: Immediately a pair of mugs came up into the air from the side of the room.

Q: bond
A: Siherton maintained his tight bond with Quintall and lobbied for the younger man to be included - as Thagraine's replacement and not Avelyn's.

Q: jolt
A: The huge stone gates of St.-Mere-Abelle slammed shut with a resounding crash that jolted Annalisa Desbris violently.

Q: massive
A: Twin rows of massive columns, each carved into the likeness of a giant warrior, lined the room.

Q: magnificent
A: Symphony had gone perfectly still, his head raised high, his magnificent, muscled chest presented openly to the two men.

Q: potential
A: Instead of sizing up the diminutive creature as a potential enemy now, he regarded it in a different light.

Q: reputation
A: Elbryan nodded; he had heard of the fierce powries and their reputation for destroying human ships.

Q: terror
A: Pony came to know that it was not simple terror and grief that had forced her to bury those awful images, but guilt.

Q: blind
A: Pony ran on desperately, blinded by tears.

Q: determination
A: With a grimace of determination, Elbryan halved the distance to his foe.

Q: flail
A: Pony spun and jumped on it, flailing wildly with both fists, kicking and kneeing viciously.

Q: dazed
A: Confused and dazed, Elbryan staggered to his feet.

Q: quiver
A: The fleshless thing fell quivering, dying, to the ground.

Q: incredulously
A: Elbryan, thinking Bradwarden to be referring to the elves, crinkled his brow incredulously.

Q: root
A: Paulson was caught; he tripped over an exposed root and went facedown into the mud and slush.

Q: exhaust
A: That night, Avelyn retired to his room, thoroughly exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

Q: swallow
A: Avelyn swallowed hard, trying to discern his best response.

Q: rid
A: The monk was soon again back on the road, riding steadily and making a general course to the north.

Q: bush
A: Elbryan made his way from tree to tree, to bush and to the back of hills, moving ever closer to the great army.

Q: melodic
A: Finally Juraviel's melodic voice broke the tension.

Q: turquoise
A: Avelyn nodded, not doubting the power of the turquoise.

Q: jewel
A: Avelyn nodded and reached out for the jewel, too stunned to fully appreciate the gravity in the old man's voice.

Q: furiously
A: His heart was racing, blood pumping furiously.

Q: trough
A: Carefully placing the basket at last at the trough, the boy then sprinted full out the half mile back to the bog.

Q: horde
A: Several frightened men ran right over its back as it tumbled, a horde of shrieking goblins close on their heels.

Q: considerable
A: Avelyn noted the considerable bag, of stones at his belt and the grayish graphite he held in his hand.

Q: darkfern
A: The darkfern landed upright and held for a moment, then slowly tumbled to the side into Juraviel's waiting hands.

Q: bowstring
A: Elbryan pulled the bowstring back with all his strength; Hawkwing's three feathers were as wide apart as they could go.

Q: yerself
A: Hear me now, because I would not lie to ye, I'd have no reason to lie to ye: ye did right in running, in taking the stones, even in killing the man who meant to kill yerself.

Q: strand
A: More arrows whistled past, each trailing a strand, each tightening the web about Elbryan, holding him from his meal.

Q: ally
A: A line of drool hung low from the dactyl's mouth as it considered its former and future allies, its army of woe.

Q: midst
A: To their midst the rider, Nightbird the Ranger,

Q: bulk
A: This was the bulk of his physical training now, not sparring but gaining a memory of the movements within his muscles.

Q: patch
A: Parting one patch of reeds, the boy found his first stone of the day, bobbing low in the water.

Q: overlook
A: There are several small caves on the backside of that slope, overlooking the wide vale.

Q: reasoning
A: Juraviel nodded and seemed pleased by the perceptive reasoning.

Q: stun
A: Elbryan and Pony were stunned and terrified for many seconds.

Q: inspect
A: The older boy moved quickly to inspect the wound, forcing Carley's hands away.

Q: diminish
A: How much that notion diminished the sacrifice of Thagraine and Pellimar, of the Windrunner's crew and of Dansally!

Q: shatter
A: Half-crazed, his entire world shattered, Avelyn understood.

Q: flicker
A: Elbryan felt totally alone, yet one with the universe, a small part of majesty, a small but endless flicker in eternity.

Q: structure
A: He marveled at the loose structure of the wood, at the density of the higher room's tile floor.

Q: necessary
A: They learned how to tie ropes in a variety of ways, knots necessary for the many uses aboard a sailing vessel.

Q: holding
A: Elbryan looked about; the other two were staggering to their feet, neither holding a weapon.

Q: closed
A: That was it, the young man decided as the gentle kiss, their closed mouths barely touching, lingered on and on.

Q: pocket
A: There were no lines of defense anymore, no organized pockets of resistance.

Q: tool
A: Avelyn didn't believe a word of it; in his mind, Thagraine had acted as a tool for the murderous Quintall.

Q: invite
A: No longer did the island seem so plush and inviting.

Q: progress
A: The young man paused then to consider the extent of his progress.

Q: worry
A: But Avelyn would have to worry about that when the time came.

Q: exact
A: Juraviel wanted to respond that Mather had fought the exact same way in the first years of his training, but he let it pass.

Q: pleased
A: Juraviel nodded and seemed pleased by the perceptive reasoning.

Q: pop
A: Jill's eyes popped wide in horror and she jumped, startled, to find that the monk was still reclining in front of her.

Q: disagree
A: Jojonah noted the look and could not disagree.

Q: smoking
A: Even worse, their fight would draw unwanted attention from the smoking mountain, the monk feared; and if the dactyl came upon him as he battled this evil spirit, he would surely be destroyed.

Q: flask
A: The friar held out his flask, but Jill refused.

Q: leaf
A: Fiery rocks streaked down before the cave entrance, slicing holes in the wide leaves of trees and bushes.

Q: determinedly
A: All the while, he was circling in toward the heart of the grove, moving determinedly toward the ruined cairn.

Q: leather
A: He approached the snared creature boldly, only to find that it had chewed right through the leather bindings.

Q: victim
A: On those first two occasions, the hopeful lad had fallen victim to ever more cunning elvish traps.

Q: value
A: Faith heeded no proof - indeed the very value of faith was loyalty to beliefs without proof!

Q: release
A: The giant released its grip and Elbryan fell to the ground.

Q: bee
A: Again he thought of bees - giant bees, perhaps, that stung and stung and flew away.

Q: deliver
A: The powrie advanced on the sobbing woman, its hand raised to deliver another heavy blow.

Q: worth
A: Cat decided that it wasn't worth arguing.

Q: slightly
A: Perhaps it was the slightly crestfallen look of his friend Juraviel that tipped him to the truth of his own thoughts.

Q: pleasure
A: Old Bunkus Smealy seemed to take extra pleasure in ordering the monks on any particularly dangerous task.

Q: mental
A: One of his will and mental prowess, no doubt, considering the three gifts he carried.

Q: brave
A: He was indeed brave - it was no act - and would willingly face whatever enemy he found without fear of his own death.

Q: property
A: There were nearly fifty different types at the abbey, each with its own particular properties, and each individual stone with its own particular intensity.

Q: wickedly
A: Brother Justice stopped and smiled wickedly.

Q: wince
A: Elbryan winced at the reference to the tragedy of Dundalis.

Q: eastern
A: A powrie crawled atop the eastern wall directly in front of Pony and the villager, not so far from the gate.

Q: copse
A: The anxious couple went back into the last copse and cut sticks, wrapping them with cloth to make torches.

Q: fiery
A: Though she didn't understand its source, Tuntun watched the growing spectacle of the fiery avalanche with satisfaction.

Q: resolve
A: Gradually, though, his resolve drained away and so did his strength.

Q: minion
A: Elbryan winced as the fire flared to life, as if expecting all the minions of the dactyl to descend upon him.

Q: foul
A: Hath brought foul beast from caverns deep

Q: deserve
A: Let the younger boys and girls see him then, and afford him the respect he deserved, and let the older men see that the village, under his watchful eye, had fared well in their absence.

Q: constantly
A: Half an hour passed uneventfully, Elbryan walking and looking about, constantly awed by the beauty and the.

Q: awkward
A: Both were large boned, but Avelyn was gawky and awkward, whereas Quintall was muscular, a fine athlete.

Q: mock
A: The dactyl laughed at him, mocking his words and his courage, making him feel like an insignificant thing.

Q: demeanor
A: Connor's demeanor changed again, suddenly.

Q: hearth
A: In the Way the hearth was always blazing, the beds were always soft, and the song was always loud.

Q: cliff
A: With the malachite, he floated gently over cliffs that any pursuing monks would spend hours climbing down.

Q: accord
A: It was as if the being shone of its own accord, an inner light making the flowing hair glow and shimmer.

Q: courtyard
A: Jojonah looked back at the courtyard, to Avelyn at work as always as though nothing was amiss.

Q: bough
A: Only a coward would shoot from the boughs.

Q: comfortably
A: Some rested back against the trees or lay comfortably in the soft grass, drinking their sweet Questel ni'touel wine.

Q: vibration
A: Yes, the dark vibrations were running strong through the stone.

Q: hopefully
A: Elbryan looked at Juraviel hopefully, but the elf just stood, shaking his head.

Q: defend
A: Cat knew it, and knew that many others would have defended her as well.

Q: dig
A: Still she dug, widening the hole, trying desperately to squeeze under the slab.

Q: heaven
A: Perhaps he would shine in the heavens above, a fifth light on the girdle of Progos-Behemoth!

Q: possess
A: If the man, like his crew, was so obviously nonreligious, then he should not possess such a gem, not for any reason.

Q: distinct
A: Elbryan had the distinct feeling the mist and the treetops were somehow connected.

Q: conscious
A: Elbryan was hardly conscious, with Pony holding him up and holding his smashed.

Q: retract
A: Not even blinking, he reached under his robes, then quickly retracted his hand.

Q: appropriate
A: Elbryan chewed on his lip for a moment, trying to find an appropriate response.

Q: grunt
A: Barmine continued to scream, though his words soon became but grunts and howls of agony.

Q: inevitably
A: That notion inevitably led her back to images of her own childhood, of her mother ...

Q: perception
A: Thagraine's perception of his sexual past was indeed accurate.

Q: recover
A: The powrie got to the monk, but Avelyn had recovered now.

Q: streak
A: Fiery rocks streaked down before the cave entrance, slicing holes in the wide leaves of trees and bushes.

Q: chop
A: Now the monk did come on fiercely, chopping at the staff as if he meant to snap it in half.

Q: tension
A: Father Abbot Markwart, also sensing the sudden tension, cleared his throat loudly.

Q: crewmen
A: The twitchy little man looked across the open deck, past the staring eyes of the crewmen, to the tall, regal figure of Captain Adjonas.

Q: encounter
A: Had their encounter really been special to Dansally?

Q: flank
A: The eager young man rushed through the opening, shuffling a few steps past Tallareyish's right flank, then cut a swift pivot, grabbing his pole down low with both hands and sweeping it back.

Q: prospect
A: But the boisterous moment could not last, not with so grim a prospect as a journey to the Barbacan before them.

Q: intrigue
A: Jill watched him for a fete moments, honestly intrigued.

Q: shark
A: No powrie would dare go into the water to try and untangle the netted fan with frenzied sharks so close.

Q: paw
A: The centaur shrugged and pawed the ground uneasily.

Q: brutal
A: So he suffered the brutal hours of the day, the fighting in which Quintall almost always bested him.

Q: occasional
A: Elbryan shook his head; he had never heard of rangers, except for occasional references by the elves.

Q: settlement
A: The village was not even walled, as earlier settlements near the Wilderlands had been, and the folk were not well armed.

Q: gathering
A: Now Avelyn knew why Adjonas was not at the gathering, and as he considered the implications, his gut churned violently.

Q: grace
A: Truly the muscled young human was a thing of beauty and grace, a combination of pure strength and uncanny agility.

Q: intact
A: Ships had been found, so the stories went, intact and seaworthy, but with not a crewman aboard.

Q: oblivious
A: Avelyn swallowed hard; she was so oblivious of her partners that she didn't even know how many of them had visited her.

Q: suspicion
A: The pair walked back toward Dundalis then, Avelyn telling Elbryan his suspicions about the pursuit from the church.

Q: harmony
A: There was a music that swelled about him, he suddenly realized, a beautiful harmony, and it, too, seemed to draw him higher to walk among the stars, to dwell in their light and mystery.

Q: compel
A: Yet he could not deny the tug of that lone, smoking mountain, calling to him, compelling him .

Q: loom
A: And here, before him, loomed the threat, the same threat.

Q: tolerate
A: And how could he tolerate any of this madness, this insult to God?

Q: strip
A: A tiny strip peeled away, so thin as to be nearly translucent.

Q: ember
A: Waves of pain assaulted her suddenly; she threw the ember back into the fireplace.

Q: careful
A: Jojonah suspected that young Brother Avelyn should be careful in the coming weeks.

Q: fist
A: Elbryan clenched a fist, thinking himself victorious as he marked the flight.

Q: opportunity
A: The grueling schedule, though, allowed Avelyn the opportunity to put off his more personal problems.

Q: refer
A: Elbryan, thinking Bradwarden to be referring to the elves, crinkled his brow incredulously.

Q: nervous
A: The pair, along with Bunkus Smealy, went out late that afternoon, leaving the nervous gazes of three monks and thirty crewmen at the rail.

Q: brighten
A: The merchant waved his hand, his face brightening at the mention of the man.

Q: goal
A: For now Avelyn, had his duties, and his goal was growing closer with each gliding league.

Q: wooden
A: In her hand she clutched her heavy wooden spoon.

Q: instruction
A: Master Jojonah's instructions were vague at best, but Avelyn came to understand them in his heart.

Q: helpless
A: Siherton knew the truth of Jojonah's words, and seemed now caught within that truth, helpless in the face of reality.

Q: physically
A: And indeed, Quintall now seemed physically human.

Q: twin
A: Elbryan fell back behind the twin pines, catching the shout in his throat, gasping for breath.

Q: faint
A: Elbryan never saw it; he had fainted dead away.

Q: luck
A: Again sheer luck saved her, for she found a boat hanging from the stern.

Q: daily
A: It was yet another part of this unchanging daily ritual.

Q: perform
A: Precious and thus the third ranking priest in the entire Abellican Church, had performed the ceremony himself!

Q: unusual
A: The stallion had accepted the ranger, but Elbryan knew that to be an unusual thing for proud and wild Symphony.

Q: item
A: With a shrug, he took up his items and moved to the opening.

Q: working
A: So they sat tight and waited, the woman working hard to keep her youngest child, a mere infant, from crying.

Q: nervously
A: Adjonas watched nervously from the taffrail.

Q: react
A: Elbryan could not watch them and try to react.

Q: appearance
A: That word was in his head again, a word that perfectly described the appearance of the great horse.

Q: bluntly
A: He noted that several other patrons shifted their seats, one woman even bluntly turning her back on him.

Q: option
A: This time, though, more than a few of the village folk were considering their options should an emissary approach.

Q: summon
A: The demon spirit fell deep within itself, summoned its powers, both physical and magical.

Q: reflect
A: Elbryan's surprise at her qualification of the remark reflected clearly on his face.

Q: reaction
A: The startled, almost feral, reaction of the hunters froze Elbryan in his tracks and sent Pony ducking for cover.

Q: rare
A: Journeys into the wide, vast ocean were extremely rare, and rumors told of a madness that often grabbed at a crew.

Q: servant
A: The man on the other side, a servant, flew to the floor as the door swung wide and Brother Justice entered.

Q: host
A: Something tugged hard at the young monk, some dark temptation that he should enter one of these men, that he could push out the host spirit and possess the body!

Q: agile
A: To think that he had put one of the agile elves off his balance!

Q: honestly
A: The slips had become too common; Avelyn honestly believed Quintall meant to eliminate the competition.

Q: reference
A: Elbryan winced at the reference to the tragedy of Dundalis.

Q: string
A: No answer, no hint, just the murmur, an endless string of mysterious whispers.

Q: breathing
A: Slowly, concentrating on his breathing more than anything else, Elbryan turned.

Q: destination
A: What Avelyn focused on, therefore, was the destination, the isle itself.

Q: current
A: Soon the Windrunner was adrift, the strong currents of All Saints Bay taking her toward a dangerous reef.

Q: shove
A: Grady was more than willing to comply, practically shoving Cat right onto the man's lap.

Q: trick
A: We know the tricks Avelyn used to escape, and his cache of magic stones is considerable.

Q: hurry
A: Pony was trying to hurry, concentrating with all her will on the malachite.

Q: wielder
A: To cause such devastation as this, simply because it left the hand of its dying wielder and fell across the stone!

Q: potion
A: I know that yer drinking yer `potions o'

Q: bat
A: Two goblins rushed to intercept him, but he batted their weapons aside with a furious two-handed swipe of Hawkwing.

Q: crackle
A: Up came a zombie arm to block; the sword's gemstone flared with sudden power and the blade crackled with energy, as if it had caught a bolt of white lightning and held it fast.

Q: hoof
A: He set out from the abbey one dark and dreary morning, riding an ash-gray mare, not swift of hoof but long in heart.

Q: ultimate
A: Pony sighed, too, and shook her head as if to show her ultimate frustration with adults.

Q: cock
A: The girl cocked her head, suddenly realizing exactly where she was.

Q: vantage
A: The starkness of the scene from this vantage point, in this mounting light, amazed the companions.

Q: swarm
A: The younger children came out in a mob, swarming around the older pair.

Q: piety
A: There is more to spirituality than piety, my friend.

Q: display
A: Avelyn had never seen such a display, couldn't begin to decipher it.

Q: beret
A: The red beret gave the figure's identity away.

Q: mysterious
A: No answer, no hint, just the murmur, an endless string of mysterious whispers.

Q: incident
A: Perhaps the incident in the common room was no accident.

Q: swirl
A: Earthquakes and thunderstorms, swirling tornadoes, even exploding volcanoes, were more often than not natural events.

Q: trance
A: Jojonah dismissed him then and he left the room as if in a trance, overwhelmed indeed.

Q: hurl
A: Pony let out a cry, hurled one of her stones at the creature, and ran off.

Q: pursue
A: As her thoughts cleared, she saw that the monk was not pursuing, was not capitalizing on the advantage he had earned.

Q: instinctively
A: Avelyn recoiled instinctively, out of shyness.

Q: wisdom
A: Soon after, with Palmaris behind her, Jill had come to see the wisdom of the abbot's decision.

Q: comrade
A: Jill stoically suffered the barbs of her comrades, particularly from Warder Miklos Barmine, who seemed to covet her all the more since she would not give in.

Q: sincerely
A: Whatever her personal problems, the sight of Graevis and Pettibwa so animated and so sincerely happy warmed her heart.

Q: excuse
A: Some of the other masters, Siherton in particular, watched him closely, very closely, seeking an excuse to berate him.

Q: exit
A: Avelyn bowed deeply and exited the room.

Q: chrysoberyl
A: Jojonah dropped the chrysoberyl into the pocket of his thick robe and moved far from Avelyn, facing the younger man directly.

Q: enchantment
A: Lodestone was highly magnetic; its enchantment would send it fast to a metal surface.

Q: palm
A: Carved into the roof were four arms, two sets, hands lifted high, palms open and holding stones.

Q: nerve
A: After a few moments, Elbryan's nerves began to wear thin.

Q: threaten
A: The questions spiraled into a singular line of thought, a singular fear that threatened to break the monk's very mind.

Q: battered
A: Seeing that creature in full flight, Elbryan stabbed the staff back out hard to his left, hitting the dazed and battered goblin right in the face.

Q: stroke
A: The young woman closed her eyes and felt the gentle, unthreatening stroke on her hair.

Q: sarcastically
A: He studied the man in the distant corner, the one Tol had referred to sarcastically as "our lord protector," with new interest.

Q: teasing
A: Not in a lewd way, like the drunk in the bar, or even in a teasing way, like the handsome young man.

Q: useless
A: Avelyn swallowed his next retort, knowing that it would be a useless argument.

Q: threatening
A: A bit of water had accumulated in one low spot, but nothing threatening or even inconvenient.

Q: maneuver
A: How simple the evasion proved, for the giants could not maneuver their great bodies to follow!

Q: rapid
A: Again came the spinning slivers, two in rapid succession, this time angled higher to hit the monster about the head.

Q: estimation
A: Bunkus Smealy spoke for many of them by Adjonas' estimation.

Q: combination
A: Elbryan saw an opening and let fly a combination left jab, step, and right cross.

Q: frantically
A: Adjonas looked up at his sails, then at his crew, tacking frantically to keep them as full of wind as possible.

Q: bang
A: That notion was lost along with so many others, fleeting thoughts banging into a wall of images.

Q: swell
A: And so the days went, the sun, the stars, the endless swells and sparkles.

Q: bog
A: But many of the hardier plants had kept their summer hue, many flowers still bloomed, and this reedy bog, the one place in all the valley that Elbryan had truly come to hate, had not frozen.

Q: extract
A: When he squeezed them, extracting the now-flavored liquid, the elves would inevitably complain about how little he had collected.

Q: broad
A: The powrie dipped its broad shoulder, trying to tackle the ranger.

Q: accompany
A: Again that hoarse laughter, this time accompanied by the other two.

Q: concentration
A: Boredom crept into his concentration, along with the frustration of realizing that Tuntun might be right.

Q: singular
A: All his dreams melded into that singular, mounting fear.

Q: folly
A: But still she feared that his decision was folly, based on his underestimating the pain within her.

Q: hatch
A: He shuffled for the hatch and got there just after it opened.

Q: forfeit
A: On the open seas, he was the captain; at Pimaninicuit, he would do as told, or all payment, and the sum was considerable, would be forfeit.

Q: amethyst
A: The object of Thagraine's death, a huge purple amethyst, held Avelyn's attention.

Q: quartz
A: Scattered around it were the small quartz crystals, blackened, some stuck in the remains of the golden setting.

Q: destruction
A: For a moment, I admit, I even held fast a fantasy that my memory of the destruction, of the carnage, was in error.

Q: naked
A: Elbryan got up once to add wood to the fire, and Pony laughed at him as he hopped about, naked, his bare feet stumbling on the cold ground.

Q: invasion
A: If one invasion came every five hundred years the Coastpoint Guards, the elite of the elite, must be prepared for it!

Q: broach
A: The central stone of the broach was a hematite, as he had suspected, an oval of liquid gray, deep and smooth.

Q: endless
A: To face the Nightbird, to know endless sleep?

Q: youngster
A: The patrols began that day, with a score and five youngsters walking the rim of the bowl-shaped vale that held Dundalis.

Q: sake
A: She wanted to yell out for someone to help doomed Olwan, wanted to scream simply for the sake of screaming.

Q: lament
A: The master paused and lamented his own weakness.

Q: intensify
A: The dance intensified, the pace, the spins.

Q: tighten
A: More arrows whistled past, each trailing a strand, each tightening the web about Elbryan, holding him from his meal.

Q: patron
A: She got pinched at every stop, hugged by every patron who left at night, but she never seemed to care.

Q: realization
A: Cat suffered his insults, but couldn't dismiss the realization that Pettibwa would have handled it differently, better.

Q: quest
A: Avelyn cried out, thinking himself doomed, thinking that he had failed and that all the quest was ended.

Q: creep
A: If he didn't have their respect, he couldn't expect their loyalty, and given the level of jealousy that had been creeping about the four since they had become the chosen Preparers ...

Q: crush
A: The fire on that particular dwarf was indeed extinguished as a huge booted foot crushed the diminutive creature flat.

Q: normal
A: The monk had shed his telltale brown robe in favor of the more normal dress of a villager.

Q: politely
A: Most listened politely but turned up their eyes and shook their heads whenever Brody looked away.

Q: lend
A: Avelyn's lack of initial response to the news that his mother had died had lent credence to Siherton's complaints.

Q: hood
A: Avelyn dared to peek out from under his hood at the handful of spectators lining the road before the monastery's.

Q: following
A: If Avelyn left St.-Mere-Abelle for any reason, he would have to wait until the following year to enter.

Q: fighter
A: Then the ranger began his scan again, seeking the newcomer, this skilled fighter, this assassin.

Q: stomach
A: Avelyn's stomach churned; he knew the woman, hardly more than a girl.

Q: continuing
A: The older woman collected her tray and rushed away, blending into the continuing party just a step from the bar.

Q: moon
A: Under the light of a half moon, he saw the outline of the Windrunner gliding out into the bay.

Q: towering
A: The fog had receded now to the edges of the vale, and there it hung, blurring the dark shadows of the towering mountains, blurring the boundary between earth and sky.

Q: tremble
A: Quintall glowered at Smealy, the old sea dog trembling with frustration.

Q: harmlessly
A: The staff swished harmlessly through the air.

Q: lessen
A: Still, without complaint, the good monk used his hematite once more, this time to lessen the wounds of the injured.

Q: crime
A: There was still the matter of Jill's crime, though.

Q: muddy
A: Elbryan looked her over carefully, satisfied that she, was not injured, only muddy and weary from so long a ride.

Q: bubble
A: Most of the fiery stuff of that time long past had bubbled and flowed away from the cavern, but enough had remained to harden about the dactyl's corporeal form.

Q: consume
A: Dinoniel and much of his army had been consumed and destroyed, but the dactyl...

Q: tend
A: That meant gathering wood and tending the fires, repairing the cabins-which always seemed to need repair!

Q: mood
A: Elbryan glared at Juraviel, in no mood for cryptic talk.

Q: sharply
A: The tunnel continued straight for a dozen paces, then turned sharply to the right, where Elbryan had run.

Q: intercept
A: Elbryan wondered, as he, too, worked through the tangled crowd, angling to intercept the newcomer.

Q: impressive
A: The visible parts of the monastery were impressive; the sea wall alone rose and melted back into the cliff face for more than a mile.

Q: painful
A: In the morning came the second painful parting.

Q: impact
A: Elbryan was surprised by the force of the impact and that his sword had not cut into the goblin's skull.

Q: conjure
A: Elbryan recalled the humming sound; he conjured an image of buzzing bees.

Q: signal
A: Up in front, one of the women signaled that the caravan was nearly upon them.

Q: forever
A: Pettibwa was forever laughing, dancing with her tray from one table to the next.

Q: horrible
A: Jill felt as if she must be the most horrible person in the world.

Q: limit
A: Mere-Abelle to the very limits of his powers!

Q: technique
A: For the first year, they would study barehanded techniques, punching and grappling.

Q: explosion
A: Avelyn slumped low, his vision blurred, sharp explosions going off in the back of his head.

Q: dock
A: The four crewmen of the Windrunner's boat, which was bouncing noisily against the wooden dock, sat through it all with smirking faces, thoroughly amused and certainly not impressed.

Q: rarely
A: Of the six, only one was still accounted for, a huge broadsword named Icebreaker, wielded by a rarely seen ranger, Andacanavar, in the far northland of Alpinador.

Q: consequence
A: Might there be consequences for such an action?

Q: issue
A: Elbryan chuckled, not surprised that predictable Tuntun enjoyed issuing the beatings.

Q: intention
A: Of course, he had no intention of allowing any court.

Q: dust
A: Terranen Dinoniel was dust in the earth; the dactyl meant to win this time.

Q: assassin
A: That, combined with the presence of this magic-wielding assassin, surely concerned the monk.

Q: unnoticed
A: To Pony and Elbryan, alert as they were, the creature was invisible and unnoticed.

Q: inner
A: It was as if the being shone of its own accord, an inner light making the flowing hair glow and shimmer.

Q: unexpected
A: A cloud of bats shuddered to life at the unexpected noise and flew off down one of the tunnels formed when the lava had flowed from this spot.

Q: grand
A: The dactyl cackled, thinking itself grand to be able to send such creatures - any creatures!

Q: nightmare
A: Chasing the nightmares away.

Q: anxious
A: Elbryan felt the anxious gazes of his companions upon him, waiting for him to start it all.

Q: hunting
A: Elbryan and his friends had offered to walk patrols since the first day of the hunting party's return.

Q: hardy
A: The folk of Dundalis were, a hardy bunch, not shying from the occasional fight.

Q: taunt
A: The elves were taunting him, the boy knew.

Q: golden
A: The rest of his dress, though weathered, was rich, particularly a golden brocade and jewel-studded baldric.

Q: startle
A: Then she turned and skipped off, and was startled a moment later when Elbryan jumped out in front of her.

Q: universe
A: Elbryan felt totally alone, yet one with the universe, a small part of majesty, a small but endless flicker in eternity.

Q: urge
A: Elbryan resisted the sudden and inexplicable urge to run over and kiss Pony.

Q: blush
A: The young woman blushed and looked away.

Q: unexpectedly
A: He nodded to Adjonas, then unexpectedly handed the stone to Avelyn.

Q: amaze
A: The starkness of the scene from this vantage point, in this mounting light, amazed the companions.

Q: steep
A: Finally, after hours of backtracking, the pair came to a short descent down a steep, sandy bank.

Q: expanse
A: Exhausted, the two men dove under for the last expanse, swimming so the craft would pass right over them.

Q: amazement
A: Expressions ran from excitement to awkward fear to blank amazement as the villagers took stock of the kills, especially the last carcass on the shoulder poles, a smallish humanoid form.

Q: nasty
A: These weren't particularly nasty traps, designed more to embarrass than to injure.

Q: nestle
A: Juraviel, too, was near to sleep, the elf comfortably nestled in the V of a high branch.

Q: fume
A: Twice he fumed corners to see the monster waiting for him.

Q: lower
A: Elbryan crouched lower, though he was obviously seen.

Q: known
A: It came out in a burst of emotion Avelyn had not known since that night he had cried for his dead mother.

Q: inform
A: Elbryan took it all in stride, with the exception of any insults to Pony, which he promptly informed the teasers would bring them serious and painful retaliation.

Q: greatly
A: It pleased her greatly to help out Elbryan, to guard his emotions.

Q: comforting
A: I hold no comforting illusions; that group is in danger as great as my own.

Q: overcome
A: That thought sparked anger in the young man, enough to overcome his fear.

Q: sympathetic
A: Master Jojonah was glad to hear the sympathetic question.

Q: whimper
A: Carley dan Aubrey's whimper brought him back to his senses.

Q: shaft
A: It raised the shaft like a club, bearing down on him.

Q: skitter
A: Avelyn ran from the chapel, skittering down the empty halls, his footsteps echoing noisily.

Q: squirm
A: The other was also on the ground, squirming and groaning.

Q: shadowy
A: Still his eyes searched the corners of the shadowy room for his mother's spirit.

Q: widely
A: So went the widely accepted argument that allowed for relaxing some aspects of the holy pledge.

Q: neatly
A: Pettibwa had neatly burst apart at Abbot Dobrinion's decree, at the notion that

Q: frantic
A: For Elbryan, life went along at its usual frantic pace, learning and growing.

Q: cot
A: Avelyn rolled off the cot and fumbled with his flint and steel, finally getting the candle lit.

Q: recite
A: Now Avelyn began to recite his evening prayers so that he might hear no more.

Q: heed
A: Would the people of that village have heeded his warnings?

Q: drew
A: Up on the branch, the ranger fitted two arrows to his bow, one above the other and drew back the string.

Q: lone
A: Just the goblins and a lone giant, slumped together, soaked in blood from the many small wounds on each corpse.

Q: miserable
A: When he finished, he seemed a miserable wretch indeed; his huge form had wilted upon the hard ground, his eyes teary.

Q: sincere
A: From the trees at the base of the hillock, Juraviel and some others watched the sword-dance in sincere admiration.

Q: recognition
A: The gentleman smiled in recognition of Grady when he noticed the approach.

Q: tingle
A: Avelyn clutched the malachite firmly, felt its magic tingling and coursing through his hand, then his arm, and into all his body.

Q: tense
A: followed a tense moment - Jill, and probably Connor, not sure if he would try to kiss her again.

Q: freedom
A: In that elven forest, under that elven sky, l knew freedom.

Q: jab
A: Elbryan saw an opening and let fly a combination left jab, step, and right cross.

Q: barkeep
A: Jill turned to the barkeep, the man merely shaking his head.

Q: whore
A: Why, even the practiced whores of House Battlebrow were losing their charms for him!

Q: trained
A: True, Elbryan had been taken in and trained; true, Lady Dasslerond had allowed Juraviel, Tuntun, and the others to go out to find the ranger and help him with his fight.

Q: moan
A: The creature gave a slight moan and tumbled headlong into the brush.

Q: headlong
A: The creature gave a slight moan and tumbled headlong into the brush.

Q: spar
A: Dozens of elves were about this day, some sparring with practice weapons, others dancing.

Q: buckle
A: Waves of pain buckled the young man's legs.

Q: horizontal
A: The attack flurry played itself out, Elbryan coming to a crouched stance, Hawkwing horizontal in front of him.

Q: futilely
A: Dosey grabbed at the monk's wrists, tugging futilely, trying to cry for help, scream, anything.

Q: crossbow
A: There were indeed powries on her deck now, some with heavy crossbows; taking potshots at the swimming monks.

Q: bulky
A: As soon as Pony was away, the monk searched for some hiding spot for his bulky frame, but realized that he had little time to spare.

Q: flick
A: A flick of the wrist dislodged the bar and Elbryan kicked open the door, striding a single step into the shack.

Q: burly
A: Elbryan was surprised that the burly man hadn't decided to go out alone and hunt the bear.

Q: intrusion
A: And then she felt the intrusion, the spirit of Avelyn making its way into her.

Q: huff
A: Brother Avelyn came huffing and puffing behind her, the monk trotting along without complaint.

Q: resemble
A: Its bottom was nearly flat, and placed on the floor it resembled some strange purple bush, with stems of various heights rising at many angles.

Q: eternal
A: To Avelyn, these stones were truly the gift of God, the magic of the heavens, the promise of eternal life and glory.

Q: linger
A: Elbryan and Pony lingered long by the corpse, studying it intently.

Q: stake
A: The usual answer to such a request came in the form of the messenger's head staked before the village wall.

Q: graceful
A: Sometimes they held hands, and other times they let go long enough for every other elf to turn a graceful pirouette.

Q: cutting
A: Then he sent it straight out a second time, cutting short the thrust as the elf predictably ducked.

Q: spectacle
A: With great effort, Elbryan tore his gaze from the dreadful spectacle below and glanced all around.

Q: grind
A: Most did not see the charge then, a splendid thing indeed; but they heard it, the very ground shaking under their feet.

Q: mercy
A: They showed no mercy; Pony saw one woman beg for her life, offer herself to the goblins circling about her.

Q: profound
A: Questions too profound flitted about his consciousness.

Q: vessel
A: Another ball of flaming pitch soared out from the monastery, skipping in along the starboard rail of the vessel, igniting the mainsail into one tremendous flame.

Q: succession
A: Again came the spinning slivers, two in rapid succession, this time angled higher to hit the monster about the head.

Q: standing
A: Finally, he opened his eyes and rolled to find Juraviel alone standing near him.

Q: stir
A: The young man had a million questions stirring around in his head.

Q: reverse
A: The powrie immediately reversed direction, deftly turning about on the rope with sure, strong grips.

Q: tide
A: The Windrunner caught the next tide away from the unlawful and dangerous place, and they were soon into Entel harbor.

Q: bind
A: Short of that, there was the very real possibility that Abbot Dobrinion would bind Jill into indenture to Connor, perhaps for the remainder of her life.

Q: heighten
A: These movements alone would continue to heighten Elbryan's balance, his sense of control over his body.

Q: descent
A: From the sound of its descent, the floor of the cave was not more than eight feet below the opening, he figured.

Q: ancient
A: Who will quell the ancient and deep hatred between powrie and goblin when Bestesbulzibar is gone?

Q: silver
A: Its limbs were slender and long and its armor a silver shining coat of fine interlocking links.

Q: incredible
A: Avelyn wanted to go closer to it to study the stern facial features and the incredible craftsmanship of the armor.

Q: hero
A: But they, these innocents placed in the path of war, and not I, are the true heroes of the day, for each of them -

Q: credit
A: The dactyl could not take direct credit, but that mattered little.

Q: organize
A: Now the creature saw the time to organize its forces fully; to begin its unified attacks.

Q: careen
A: Cat-the-Stray winced as the thoughts careened back in time.

Q: board
A: I took my frustrations out on the signpost, I admit, tearing off the lowest board, the scribbled references to the original village.

Q: winding
A: The ranger left Weedy Meadow that night, moving through the winding valley east of the village with the fleeing family.

Q: speech
A: Jojonah launched into a rushed explanation, more the regurgitation of a prepared speech than anything spontaneous.

Q: feed
A: Just the birds, feeding on the bodies of her fallen friends.

Q: thud
A: At the last moment, the arrow turned in mid-flight, thudding hard into a tree.

Q: female
A: The guards were forty in number, with only seven of them female.

Q: sailing
A: One - at least one - had already gone by Pireth Tulme, making for the beach of Horseshoe Bay, and two flanked the sailing ship on the right, a third on its left.

Q: possession
A: Avelyn realized then that an attempt at possession was akin to fighting an enemy on his home ground.

Q: harbor
A: Then likely he was now a charred thing, drifting to the bottom of the harbor.

Q: guest
A: All four of the dactyl's guests felt that imposing weight keenly.

Q: pat
A: Juraviel exclaimed and patted the young man on the back.

Q: method
A: At first, the monk used the conventional methods, the same lessons that had been given to him in St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: awful
A: Pony came to know that it was not simple terror and grief that had forced her to bury those awful images, but guilt.

Q: flying
A: Immediately the mob rolled in around them, for all the Howling Sheila was flying fists and breaking chairs.

Q: wedding
A: How much more could she have hoped for above the wedding in Palmaris?

Q: instrument
A: The man would be reduced to an instrument of destruction, Avelyn's destruction.

Q: stuff
A: Most of the fiery stuff of that time long past had bubbled and flowed away from the cavern, but enough had remained to harden about the dactyl's corporeal form.

Q: fold
A: It would bring them into its fold, tribe by tribe, race by race, growing as the night grows when the sun touches the western horizon.

Q: scatter
A: And so were a dozen other goblins, scattered all about the area.

Q: complaint
A: Still, without complaint, the good monk used his hematite once more, this time to lessen the wounds of the injured.

Q: flowing
A: It was as if the being shone of its own accord, an inner light making the flowing hair glow and shimmer.

Q: weigh
A: That was something of an exaggeration, but, indeed, the goblin wasn't much above four feet tall and couldn't have weighed more than Elbryan's ninety pounds.

Q: boldly
A: It didn't matter, the ranger decided boldly, and went to work.

Q: eagerly
A: The short, stocky man went at the martial training as eagerly as Avelyn went at the nighttime studies.

Q: poverty
A: Piety, dignity, poverty, that was the pledge offered upon entering the Order of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: violently
A: Cat-the-Stray shook her head violently, as if trying to launch the disturbing half memories right out of her ear.

Q: perch
A: Something else watched the young man from a perch in one of the thicker pines on the ridge.

Q: sink
A: With trembling fingers, Elbryan retrieved his short sword, and then he sank even deeper into the hollow, paralyzed with terror.

Q: attitude
A: Juraviel glared at Tuntun, for the female's sour attitude had forced the words out before any sound screen could be cast up.

Q: flinch
A: Despite the thrill, Avelyn flinched as he drifted through the room's ceiling.

Q: despair
A: Elbryan bowed his head but in thought and not in despair.

Q: vivid
A: Soft blues and purples, vivid oranges and sometimes a deep crimson lined the night sky, lifting hearts and spirits.

Q: keen
A: If the day had been clearer, his keen eyes might have spotted something, some flicker, some-confirmation.

Q: determined
A: Avelyn came out, frightened but determined.

Q: risk
A: Elbryan's arm was agonizing, but not life threatening, and Pony knew her love well enough to realize that he would be angry indeed if she risked the centaur's life to alleviate his pain.

Q: locate
A: Fear gripped Elbryan as he realized that his own use of Oracle might be helping his enemy locate him and his friends.

Q: friendship
A: Theirs became a tentative friendship, an offered smile and exchange of news whenever the pair happened to be in the same area.

Q: gentleman
A: Again, he was more than polite, the perfect gentleman, not pressuring Cat to even so much as offer a greeting to him.

Q: glide
A: The Windrunner glided easily over calmer seas, the southern reaches of the Mantis Arm's coast a gray blur to the west.

Q: smart
A: Jill thought of some smart remark about the tavern being a public place, but she held her tongue and merely nodded, offering a warm smile.

Q: valuable
A: Avelyn then went to the other end of the room and pocketed a valuable emerald, not an enchanted one, but one used as an example of a particular cut, and then he, bade the guard to follow him - and quickly, since the use of the hematite was draining the monk and Siherton's spirit was nearby, trying, Avelyn knew, to find some route back to its body.

Q: pin
A: Jill rolled away immediately, falling to the side, grabbing at the release pin and pulling hard.

Q: slice
A: Fiery rocks streaked down before the cave entrance, slicing holes in the wide leaves of trees and bushes.

Q: solidly
A: The arrow hit solidly, denting the armor plate and driving through, but not so deep as to cause any serious wound.

Q: absolute
A: Only then did he notice the room had darkened almost to the point of absolute blackness.

Q: squat
A: Avelyn squatted on the floor, cradling the woman.

Q: weariness
A: Despite his weariness, Avelyn Desbris could hardly sleep.

Q: perimeter
A: Paulson and Chipmunk were out and about, guarding the perimeter.

Q: capture
A: Cric motioned across the way to the boy Elbryan had captured.

Q: stiff
A: Then it was before him, so suddenly, clubbing him with those rock-stiff arms, sending him tumbling back into the pines.

Q: scold
A: Elbryan held his breath, thinking that Pony's mother, often stern, would scold the girl severely.

Q: heavenly
A: Of course he knew of the Ring Stones, the heavenly gifts to St.-Mere-Abelle, the source of all the magic in the world.

Q: pant
A: Elbryan rolled his breeches up over his knees - not that the worn and ragged pants would stay that way for long!

Q: cast
A: He wanted to do it, as he had so many times in his earlier years, wanted to cast off his shoes and all his clothes ...

Q: shade
A: Elbryan was glad that the distracted girl had not noticed his own shade of red.

Q: glee
A: Jill noted that the missile was far more likely to burn a host of powries than any human, but the dwarves hardly seemed to care, howling with glee as they loaded the next ball.

Q: spruce
A: A living forest, with enough pine and spruce to offer cover even now, with winter fast holding the land.

Q: humanoid
A: Elbryan thought that a curious thing; why hadn't the wretched humanoids pursued the fleeing humans?

Q: forehead
A: Gothra stared down at the line of blood running from forehead to crotch, then looked back at the demon.

Q: stew
A: It struck the bowl of stew, overturning it and making a mess of the meal.

Q: riverbank
A: The ranger did just that, circling west of the riverbank as he made his way to the north.

Q: cue
A: Elbryan took the cue - it was his lesson, after all.

Q: constant
A: I had ascended from this temporary existence, from a place of constant change to a place of eternity.

Q: shuffle
A: Avelyn ate a light meal, then shuffled outside and promptly regurgitated it.

Q: translucent
A: That left only one possibility, an escape borne on translucent wings.

Q: specter
A: For the adults, the specter of the goblins brought a sobering wariness and then a troublesome distraction.

Q: thrill
A: Elbryan was terrified and thrilled all at once.

Q: dull
A: A warm fog hung thick about him, caressing his body and dulling his senses.

Q: logically
A: Pony sympathized with the young man, but logically, this was the best scenario they could have hoped for.

Q: necessity
A: And an that course, in these times, I have by reason of necessity become leader of the folk of the three villages.

Q: carnage
A: And the goblin ranks, for all the carnage, remained deep, and seemed undiminished.

Q: footstep
A: Avelyn ran from the chapel, skittering down the empty halls, his footsteps echoing noisily.

Q: dying
A: The scream of a dying child, of her mother, of her village.

Q: dot
A: Pireth Tulme was but one in a series of keeps dotting Honce-the-Bear's coastline.

Q: reward
A: All thoughts of Taddy Sway and Bunkus Smealy were behind them now, for their destination and their reward were at hand.

Q: wealth
A: Avelyn bit his lip, remembering the hours on the beach, surrounded by so vast a wealth of useless gems.

Q: proof
A: Faith heeded no proof - indeed the very value of faith was loyalty to beliefs without proof!

Q: flutter
A: Nothing moved across that gray sea, save the occasional flutter of ash, caught by a swirl of wind.

Q: belch
A: Elbryan shook his head and smiled - all the wider when Bradwarden belched again, a great, thunderous burp.

Q: self
A: Jojonah pushed his own self-pity away and smiled about Avelyn.

Q: char
A: Then likely he was now a charred thing, drifting to the bottom of the harbor.

Q: whine
A: But nothing else came to her - not the whimper of a survivor, not the whining, grating voice of a goblin, not the guttural grunts of the fomorian giants.

Q: maintain
A: Elbryan found that he could not possibly maintain such a stance.

Q: encircle
A: The elves quietly encircling him paused and cocked curious ears.

Q: strengthen
A: When he thought about his hesitation, it only strengthened his resolve.

Q: scamper
A: Elbryan ducked the blow, just barely, and scampered back as Quintall's hand thundered against the wall.

Q: floating
A: Gradually his consciousness came floating back to him, as if from a far distant place.

Q: erupt
A: A forked blast of blue-white lightning erupted from the monk's hand, one finger of the bolt striking each giant.

Q: predictable
A: Elbryan chuckled, not surprised that predictable Tuntun enjoyed issuing the beatings.

Q: frustrate
A: Frustrated, the ranger abandoned his bow and ran on, sword in hand.

Q: sputter
A: The fat man sputtered something unintelligible and turned away, waving his hand dismissively.

Q: sweat
A: How could she sweat so much on such a cool night?

Q: adopted
A: To Cat-the-Stray, his adopted sister, he was always polite, too polite.

Q: roughly
A: After a long moment, Tuntun nudged him roughly.

Q: lewd
A: The implications were clear, considering the man's lewd manner, and Grady and Connor shared a laugh.

Q: alley
A: Jill left the alley hurriedly, thinking to go back to her room across town.

Q: inquire
A: Perhaps the fool Dosey would use his hematite to invade the bodies of several innkeepers from the lowlier sections of the city, using their forms to inquire about the mad friar.

Q: sitting
A: The young man shifted to a sitting position and sagged on the wet ground.

Q: accuse
A: How dare he accuse Elbryan and Pony, if that was indeed what he was doing.

Q: predictably
A: Then he sent it straight out a second time, cutting short the thrust as the elf predictably ducked.

Q: stoic
A: Quintall nodded, his respect for the stoic, tireless enemy redoubled.

Q: disappoint
A: Thagraine's face as he glanced Avelyn's way showed that he was disappointed; that alone clued Avelyn in to the fact that Pellimar had slipped.

Q: drag
A: Seconds, minutes, and hours seemed to drag on endlessly, and yet, at the same time, once the weeks had passed, it seemed as if they had flown away.

Q: kin
A: He hesitated; were these goblins responsible for what their kin had done to Elbryan's home?

Q: torn
A: Not a sound came from about the beast as, clothing and all, the dactyl devoured the torn skin of Gothra.

Q: approaching
A: Avelyn rushed past the approaching group, muttering something about speaking with them soon, then ran about the room, taking a mental count of those in attendance.

Q: archer
A: Jill worked to get behind the boat, to use it as a barrier against the powrie archers on the deck.

Q: telltale
A: The monk had shed his telltale brown robe in favor of the more normal dress of a villager.

Q: owe
A: The one the elves had named Nightbird had to give himself an honest answer; he owed that much, at least, to Belli'mar Juraviel.

Q: puff
A: The man puffed out his chest and glared hard at the ranger.

Q: usher
A: Dark, too, is the journey for those men and women I leave behind, who will continue the fight while ushering their more helpless kin to a safer place - if one can ever be found.

Q: muse
A: Elbryan slumped back in the chair, musing over his own words.

Q: trample
A: If the stallion now bolted forward suddenly, trampling the monk into the earth, Elbryan would not be surprised.

Q: mightily
A: and swept it across mightily, smashing in the side of Brother Justice's face.

Q: breastplate
A: Finally, Elbryan found that crease between breastplate and girdle, mentally marking the spot.

Q: glory
A: The creature flexed and stretched, extended its wings to their full glory, reached and clawed at the air with its humanlike arms.

Q: domain
A: In worm's cold domain.

Q: stark
A: From the ridge top, the vale seemed stark and open, but descending into it, Elbryan and Pony quickly remembered just how confusing and intimidating a place it could be.

Q: dignity
A: Piety, dignity, poverty, that was the pledge offered upon entering the Order of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: prominent
A: The dangers of such a voyage were many, but perhaps most prominent among them was the danger to the mind.

Q: anchor
A: Squat towers anchored every turn in the wall; narrow windows showed that the place was built for somber reflection and defense.

Q: passing
A: Whispers bred open talk in the heat and boredom of the passing days, and open talk bred accusing shouts.

Q: fluid
A: The monk's fighting prowess was indeed remarkable, his movements quick and fluid, his frame always in perfect balance.

Q: spark
A: That thought sparked anger in the young man, enough to overcome his fear.

Q: glimpse
A: She saw the image of dead Olwan again, and the last glimpse of her father.

Q: filter
A: Jill ordered her troop to filter about, then went to see the man behind the serving bar.

Q: profoundly
A: That bothered the young monk profoundly.

Q: tender
A: He felt it, a tender vibration all along his frame, more than he heard it.

Q: substantial
A: Inevitably the hits, particularly on Elbryan, became more substantial as weariness caused some sloppy defensive posturing.

Q: superior
A: The elves watched every move, some with respect, some with a hugely superior attitude.

Q: blend
A: The older woman collected her tray and rushed away, blending into the continuing party just a step from the bar.

Q: striking
A: Up came Hawkwing and off flew the arrow, striking hard on the far distant target.

Q: proclaim
A: It was a strange decree, one that caught Avelyn so much by surprise that he hardly noticed Quintall had openly proclaimed the name of the island.

Q: terrain
A: Then he talked more to Pony, who better understood the terrain of this region, with its hilly forests and many streams.

Q: ominous
A: Then Avelyn eyed Tol squarely, matching the man's ominous expression with one of pure excitement.

Q: log
A: Empty logs, gray with ash, stretched away in the gloom.

Q: missile
A: Concentrate your missiles on the giants pulling the front catapult.

Q: guidance
A: Pony looked at Elbryan for guidance, but the man was past reasoning, slumping once again into blackness.

Q: elite
A: If one invasion came every five hundred years the Coastpoint Guards, the elite of the elite, must be prepared for it!

Q: defensively
A: He wore only a loincloth and stood defensively, shoulders hunched, arms crossed to cover his belly and loins.

Q: rip
A: Waves of searing agony ripped through Paulson.

Q: thunderous
A: Elbryan shook his head and smiled - all the wider when Bradwarden belched again, a great, thunderous burp.

Q: gloom
A: The room darkened even more as the sun moved westward, but Elbryan, his eyes long past the gloom, didn't notice.

Q: process
A: All three monks knew the process, and knew each stone, except for that amethyst.

Q: service
A: All his life, he had wanted to live in service to God; all his life he had dreamed of this day.

Q: shut
A: The huge stone gates of St.-Mere-Abelle slammed shut with a resounding crash that jolted Annalisa Desbris violently.

Q: trembling
A: Elbryan pulled back his trembling hand, staring wide-eyed at the bright blood that now covered it.

Q: ankle
A: The group looked up to the elf, resting easily, his legs crossed at the ankles, feet dangling a few.

Q: birth
A: The class had been divided by birth dates; Avelyn and Quintall had been put, together solely because they had been born in the same week, and not for compatibility, either physical or emotional.

Q: fan
A: No powrie would dare go into the water to try and untangle the netted fan with frenzied sharks so close.

Q: hawkish
A: Then she felt as if she was falling, looked into the face of a hawkish man who was falling beside her.

Q: ocean
A: Journeys into the wide, vast ocean were extremely rare, and rumors told of a madness that often grabbed at a crew.

Q: oil
A: Others had to be treated with oils for many days, that their magic be locked permanently within them.

Q: singing
A: A soft singing he could not quite discern?

Q: prevent
A: Brother Justice grabbed hard onto the staff with both hands, as much to support himself as to prevent any attacks.

Q: amount
A: And the amount of damage to the house was remarkable.

Q: community
A: It was a difficult concept for Elbryan, because he had been brought up with the idea of community, and within that concept, such elevation of self was considered the worst of sins: pride.

Q: material
A: Something beyond the rich materials caught his eyes, though; as the lids were being secured in place once more.

Q: knife
A: When he got there, Juraviel handed him a full pack, a fine knife strapped on one side, a balanced hand axe on the other.

Q: darken
A: Only then did he notice the room had darkened almost to the point of absolute blackness.

Q: understanding
A: Elbryan still could not navigate this area, but he was gaining some understanding.

Q: desert
A: To a man once of my order but who deserted the way and who stole from my abbey.

Q: perish
A: And if I perish in the journey, then so be it.

Q: role
A: The elf had played only a minor role in the battle, fired only a single arrow.

Q: brow
A: Elbryan, thinking Bradwarden to be referring to the elves, crinkled his brow incredulously.

Q: ponder
A: Unless, Elbryan pondered, another would-be ranger had been brought in.

Q: freeze
A: The startled, almost feral, reaction of the hunters froze Elbryan in his tracks and sent Pony ducking for cover.

Q: sob
A: Still the tears came; every so often his even tone was broken by a sniffle or a sob.

Q: organized
A: There were no lines of defense anymore, no organized pockets of resistance.

Q: hack
A: Then she went at the line ferociously, hacking and chopping, chipping her sword from one ill-aimed blow, the blade ringing off the stone wall.

Q: admiration
A: Juraviel responded with a nod of his own, but his admiration was sincere.

Q: belief
A: Faith heeded no proof - indeed the very value of faith was loyalty to beliefs without proof!

Q: combine
A: There was something most sacred, yet particularly unmysterious, and thus unholy, in all of this, a tingling of ecstasy combined with a slightly foul taste that Avelyn Desbris could not ignore.

Q: practical
A: Avelyn shrugged, having no practical response.

Q: explode
A: Earthquakes and thunderstorms, swirling tornadoes, even exploding volcanoes, were more often than not natural events.

Q: slay
A: He had done well this day, though he regretted having to slay the bear.

Q: punish
A: Then, with none evident, the fiend came straight for Avelyn, thinking to punish, to tear and to kill.

Q: trade
A: Here and there debates sprang up concerning the value of the spirits and what they should bring in trade, for the spring caravan.

Q: clue
A: It wasn't until Quintall had left, though, that he finally got the clue he needed.

Q: innocent
A: Mere-Abelle, since that innocent time before he had learned the truth of the Abellican Order.

Q: port
A: The Windrunner veered hard to port, sails filling and pushing the square-rigged caravel on with tremendous speed.

Q: setting
A: It was risky setting a light in the dark forest, but these folk sorely needed the warmth.

Q: flex
A: By sheer will and brute strength, the dactyl flexed its wings.

Q: willpower
A: It took considerable willpower for Brother Justice, his blood so hot for the kill, to turn away for the door.

Q: steam
A: And when he slipped back beside the tenth and last basket, he saw steam still rising from his tea.

Q: goblins
A: Several frightened men ran right over its back as it tumbled, a horde of shrieking goblins close on their heels.

Q: fare
A: Let the younger boys and girls see him then, and afford him the respect he deserved, and let the older men see that the village, under his watchful eye, had fared well in their absence.

Q: mane
A: Pony tugged hard on her mare's mane, turning the horse when she saw the behemoth moving to intercept.

Q: jealousy
A: By the beginning of the third year, the level of jealousy among the four began to rise noticeably.

Q: distract
A: Elbryan was glad that the distracted girl had not noticed his own shade of red.

Q: breathlessly
A: "Punishment?" Quintall echoed breathlessly.

Q: corral
A: There was an old, broken-down fence on the northern edge of town, formerly a corral, Jill realized, and beyond it was the slope.

Q: mounting
A: The starkness of the scene from this vantage point, in this mounting light, amazed the companions.

Q: troop
A: Jill ordered her troop to filter about, then went to see the man behind the serving bar.

Q: rim
A: The patrols began that day, with a score and five youngsters walking the rim of the bowl-shaped vale that held Dundalis.

Q: lung
A: The dog's legs splayed wide; it gave one yelp, then lay still, its back broken, its lungs collapsing.

Q: envision
A: Elbryan savored every word, envisioning the battle clearly.

Q: panic
A: Soothing sounds, and that made defiant Elbryan panic even more.

Q: inland
A: One army will march south, the other west, inland, until they join at the very gates of Ursal!

Q: rumor
A: Journeys into the wide, vast ocean were extremely rare, and rumors told of a madness that often grabbed at a crew.

Q: emotional
A: Piled in the emotional jumble were Elbryan's mixed feelings concerning the elves.

Q: comprehend
A: Avelyn had never seen a place so huge, could not comprehend the effort that had been expended to put this hall together.

Q: noted
A: From his vantage point, the ranger noted, too, that a bar was in place across the one door.

Q: martial
A: The short, stocky man went at the martial training as eagerly as Avelyn went at the nighttime studies.

Q: distraction
A: To Avelyn, it was more of a distraction than anything else.

Q: tire
A: Avelyn also noted that his three monk companions, apparently tiring of Dansally, visited her far less often.

Q: vital
A: The mission was vital, true enough, the greatest moment in seven generations.

Q: boredom
A: Perhaps it was the boredom, the heat, or the tasteless provisions, but the crew grew increasingly uneasy, even hostile.

Q: messenger
A: Master Jojonah hadn't even conversed with the messenger.

Q: chieftain
A: This was an action of a rogue goblin chieftain, perhaps, or one of the many powrie raiding parties, acting on their own initiative, bringing misery to the wretched humans.

Q: squash
A: At that horrible moment, the monster had been lifting its club to squash Elbryan; now it was dead.

Q: engage
A: The soldiers of Pireth Tulme engaged in the revelry, the pleasures of the flesh, to avoid noticing their empty souls.

Q: skull
A: The massive skull cracked with a tremendous sound and the giant slumped to the floor.

Q: churn
A: Elbryan felt his guts churning and labored for his breath.

Q: consciously
A: Avelyn took a deep breath, consciously keeping his eyes from the eager gazes of the onlookers.

Q: hoot
A: And Elbryan heard hoots from behind him and knew the other four goblins were on the way.

Q: slab
A: Olwan had used large slabs for the base, and, as Pony suspected, the house hadn't completely settled.

Q: rib
A: Jill retreated immediately, but got stung on the ribs, her breath blasted away.

Q: backtrack
A: Elbryan paused for a long while, backtracking the conversation; considering the options.

Q: tap
A: The centaur tapped one powrie on the head, then scooped up the dazed dwarf and dropped it into a sack.

Q: jerk
A: Then it jerked suddenly and its straight run shifted to the diagonal.

Q: favor
A: The monk had shed his telltale brown robe in favor of the more normal dress of a villager.

Q: select
A: - one of a man he had selected to go along on the raid to the evergreen vale, but who had refused, claiming sickness.

Q: sympathy
A: In a rare display of sympathy, with Jojonah glaring at him out of the corner of his brown eye, Siherton let it go.

Q: imposing
A: All four of the dactyl's guests felt that imposing weight keenly.

Q: impress
A: Even Tuntun was impressed by his stamina.

Q: ache
A: The work was ended now, and the ache settled in.

Q: steel
A: Avelyn rolled off the cot and fumbled with his flint and steel, finally getting the candle lit.

Q: upward
A: He reached between the powrie's legs and tossed the stone upward, toward the hatch.

Q: impossibly
A: Its feel was impossibly smooth, almost liquid.

Q: decipher
A: Avelyn had never seen such a display, couldn't begin to decipher it.

Q: wriggle
A: Again came the wriggling, the tearing of clothes and scraping of skin, the frantic pull and twist that, at last, freed her from the hole.

Q: facedown
A: Carralee's mother lay facedown in the road, just a few feet from the threshold where lay the baby.

Q: cradle
A: Avelyn squatted on the floor, cradling the woman.

Q: desperation
A: But that wasn't the point, wasn't the source of the Father Abbot's desperation.

Q: haul
A: So he ran on, hauling bodies, peeking under rubble, kicking aside piles of dead goblins to see who might be underneath.

Q: likewise
A: Thagraine was likewise chuckling the next day on the deck.

Q: spur
A: But thoughts of his slain family and friends, of Pony, spurred him on.

Q: preparation
A: In addition to their daily duties as first - and second - year students at the abbey, they were given the extra chores of preparation for their journey to Pimaninicuit.

Q: lying
A: Avelyn then let go and dropped into a leg sweep that left Thagraine lying flat on the deck.

Q: failure
A: Think not of the failure but of the triumph.

Q: pointedly
A: Father Abbot Markwart had pointedly mentioned that there were no ships in; Avelyn knew where he was supposed to go.

Q: trial
A: Though the trial of the four stones, the high wall, and the cold sea had exhausted him, he did not sleep that night.

Q: arid
A: The delicate creature stepped lightly onto a branch and jumped again immediately, disappearing into the thick brush so completely arid easily that Elbryan blinked and rubbed his eyes.

Q: understood
A: Always it was a hot meal they set, and Elbryan soon understood why.

Q: stinging
A: Elbryan snapped his staff down low, quite hard, stinging the man on the forearm.

Q: lumbering
A: Avelyn ran between the pair, easily avoiding their lumbering attempts to grab him.

Q: barb
A: And so I accept the barbs and open chiding.

Q: hoist
A: That done, he hoisted the last basket and started back the half mile to the trough.

Q: boggle
A: Bradwarden laughed riotously, then hoisted a huge skin and poured an amber-colored liquid - Elbryan recognized it as boggle - into his mouth, a considerable amount splashing over his bearded face.

Q: taint
A: Even if he went and retrieved it, the liquid within the stone had been tainted and was no good.

Q: coax
A: To a squirrel and a rabbit, he could become perfectly unthreatening, coaxing the beast to feed right from his hand.

Q: surly
A: After his first few encounters with the surly elf, Elbryan had wondered what it was that so prompted her desire to punish.

Q: intruder
A: Then she was up, meeting the second intruder with a foot in his face as his head came above the roof edge.

Q: batter
A: Where trees and thick brush had grown was now only battered pulp and blasted stone.

Q: subsequent
A: The only secret remained the subsequent destination of that ship, for only the masters and the four chosen monks knew the magical name Pimaninicuit.

Q: spinning
A: Then suddenly, brutally, he leaped ahead, fell low in a spinning crouch, and kicked up hard at Jill's extended sword.

Q: diagonally
A: Now firmly held in both hands, his staff made a second twirl, then came arching diagonally toward the ground, toward Tuntun.

Q: leer
A: The demon leered down at the monk from its obsidian throne.

Q: balanced
A: When he got there, Juraviel handed him a full pack, a fine knife strapped on one side, a balanced hand axe on the other.

Q: harm
A: Another prank, another cruelty, as with the bear, will bring you more harm than this, I promise.

Q: swoon
A: What young woman would not swoon at the mere thought of such a day?

Q: uncontrollable
A: Untamed, uncontrollable, fearfully strong.

Q: eyebrow
A: Avelyn cocked an eyebrow at that curious title, not the response he had expected.

Q: ashore
A: Using the amber, he walked across the cold water to a point where he could get ashore, then he moved off down the road.

Q: seclude
A: Avelyn found himself secluded from the rest of the monks over the next few weeks.

Q: arch
A: Even as Adjonas spoke, a flaming quarrel arched over the taffrail of the Windrunner, slashing into the rear sail.

Q: whale
A: Moments of excitement - a whale spout, the flight of a dolphin beside the prow, a run of bluefish churning white the water - came all too rarely and lasted barely seconds, to be inevitably replaced by the emptiness of the open sea.

Q: spout
A: Avelyn was in the tavern, as usual, standing atop a table, spouting warnings and curses.

Q: flaming
A: Even as Adjonas spoke, a flaming quarrel arched over the taffrail of the Windrunner, slashing into the rear sail.

Q: finished
A: Quintall was shaking his head before Adjonas even finished.

Q: sturdy
A: Elbryan looked at his weapons, so ineffective against the sturdy powrie.

Q: hillside
A: Elbryan skipped down one tree-covered hillside, into a narrow vale and to the edge of a rushing river.

Q: crease
A: Finally, Elbryan found that crease between breastplate and girdle, mentally marking the spot.

Q: emanate
A: From the sounds emanating from within, it was quite obvious what was going on in there.

Q: fern
A: Without saying a word, he dropped between the pair, took the cut fern from Juraviel, and held it up near Elbryan.

Q: waterskin
A: Instinctively, the ranger's hand went to his waterskin, and he found it less than half full.

Q: shack
A: The walls of the shack were in bad disrepair, with cracks between every board.

Q: heave
A: But then, Quintall gave a great heave and caught the rope again, barely inches below Elbryan's feet.

Q: flatten
A: Elkenbrook was flattened before the sun dipped below the horizon.

Q: saddle
A: Elbryan hoisted the woman onto Symphony's back, into the saddle, then placed the boy behind her.

Q: newcomer
A: Then the ranger began his scan again, seeking the newcomer, this skilled fighter, this assassin.

Q: campfire
A: Elbryan paced about the campfire, looking down often at the map.

Q: reflection
A: Something was there, a reflection of a man, perhaps.

Q: await
A: The reception awaiting the three returned monks inside the abbey was more in tune with what they had been expecting.

Q: straightforward
A: Jill wasn't sure that they should move in so straightforward a manner against the friar.

Q: mob
A: The younger children came out in a mob, swarming around the older pair.

Q: logic
A: He was beyond grief, beyond logic, with no tears to cry.

Q: worthy
A: The dactyl scoffed as if the notion were absurd, revealing that he did not think these pitiful few worthy of his time and energy.

Q: suck
A: But it was right there beside her, pulling at her life force, sucking her into its depths.

Q: blessing
A: The change came as a mixed blessing to Elbryan and his forest band.

Q: execution
A: Quintall neither denied nor confirmed the execution.

Q: harsh
A: A harsh noise from somewhere in the forest startled the pair and stole the moment.

Q: hopeful
A: On those first two occasions, the hopeful lad had fallen victim to ever more cunning elvish traps.

Q: fade
A: So gradually that Elbryan never noticed it, the elven voices faded away one by one.

Q: fleeing
A: Elbryan thought that a curious thing; why hadn't the wretched humanoids pursued the fleeing humans?

Q: vigilant
A: But despite her feelings, Jill kept her vigilant watch, day after day, often long into the night.

Q: vicious
A: Still, the vicious monk would have let it go, but then Tenegrid made a dangerous mistake.

Q: loop
A: Pony got Symphony and her roan around the back, ropes looped about the war engine and tied to the tugging horses.

Q: betray
A: Suddenly he felt guilty for what he had just given this woman he hardly knew, felt as if he had somehow betrayed God, giving a blessing without first asking for any guidance or sacrifice.

Q: enact
A: Using the sunstone he had taken from Quintall, he had enacted a shield against divining magic.

Q: asleep
A: Elbryan wanted to eat, or fall asleep, even looked for a place, a moss bed, perhaps, where he might lie down.

Q: successful
A: Avelyn and the other monks would give their lives willingly to see the mission successful.

Q: suit
A: Getting in would be test enough, for the cave was far more suited to one of elven stature.

Q: regular
A: Torches burned at regular intervals, and the massive beams that supported the hall's ceiling seemed to dance in their light.

Q: plate
A: Avelyn shoved his plate forward forcefully, angered now at being left out of their little secret.

Q: link
A: A group of soldiers encircled the friar, one man quickly putting his sword in link and calling for the monk to yield.

Q: strangely
A: And then he felt lighter, strangely so, almost as light as he did when spirit-walking with hematite.

Q: anywhere
A: But before it could get anywhere near to the young man, the giant went down, choking in its own blood.

Q: permission
A: Even to utter the, name of the island without Father Abbot's permission was forbidden.

Q: reaching
A: A new wharf had been constructed, reaching far enough out into the bay so that the Windrunner could dock.

Q: scrap
A: Suddenly, the giant was off balance, feet barely scraping the stone.

Q: shiver
A: To the right, she saw a slight shiver of one small bush.

Q: invitation
A: He accepted the invitation of the soft earth.

Q: specific
A: As he spoke, Elbryan found his mind drifting back to a specific place and moment, a time nearly five years previous, when he had stood on the ridge outside of Dundalis, Pony beside him, looking up at the glowing Halo.

Q: stamp
A: Elbryan stamped his foot as Juraviel turned away.

Q: sheet
A: A sheet of conjured lightning silenced the screams forever.

Q: condition
A: Pellimar's condition did not much improve as the days slipped past.

Q: stair
A: At the bottom of the tower stairs, through the small hallway that led into the main house, the pair passed a partly opened door.

Q: survey
A: Breathing hard, the woman surveyed the scene.

Q: recent
A: Inevitably, though, that led Elbryan to thoughts of mortality and thus to the recent fate of his family and friends.

Q: comment
A: Ignoring the comment, the ranger walked past the group and knelt low, inspecting a set of tracks.

Q: castle
A: The noble visitors to Palmaris mostly stayed at the more haughty establishments, those near or within the duke's castle, but for those who knew, for the lesser merchants and the frequent wanderers, there was no better place in the world than Fellowship Way.

Q: pinch
A: Connor brought his hand to it and pinched it hard.

Q: attacker
A: The would be attacker skidded to an abrupt stop, recognizing the man.

Q: gap
A: Out from the gaps in the line came the next surprise, a goblin cavalry, the diminutive creatures astride shaggy ponies.

Q: prize
A: But that would not be prudent, would likely make his course to Avelyn, the grandest prize of all, much more difficult.

Q: ordinary
A: Even without the fighting display, Elbryan knew that this was no ordinary villager.

Q: privately
A: But I am alone, the young man thought privately, not yet ready to admit the truth aloud.

Q: totally
A: Elbryan felt totally alone, yet one with the universe, a small part of majesty, a small but endless flicker in eternity.

Q: toe
A: The cold mud squishing through his toes felt good, at least.

Q: generation
A: The mission was vital, true enough, the greatest moment in seven generations.

Q: identity
A: The red beret gave the figure's identity away.

Q: scan
A: The deer's head came up, ears twitching, scanning; Elbryan's smile vanished.

Q: trot
A: Seven goblins came into sight, trotting easily down the slope.

Q: departure
A: Suspicious, but wise enough to keep his mouth shut, Avelyn bid farewell to Adjonas and the others - though not a man aboard the Windrunner regretted the departure of the three monks - and went ashore.

Q: equal
A: Pony went in with equal ferocity, though her attacks were not quite as effective and she scored only a minor hit.

Q: incredibly
A: Its limbs were incredibly slender, but they weren't bumpy and bony like Jilseponie's had been when she was much younger.

Q: temptation
A: This time the temptation of the other bodies pulled at him even harder.

Q: shine
A: Perhaps he would shine in the heavens above, a fifth light on the girdle of Progos-Behemoth!

Q: wield
A: Of the six, only one was still accounted for, a huge broadsword named Icebreaker, wielded by a rarely seen ranger, Andacanavar, in the far northland of Alpinador.

Q: judgment
A: Elbryan shook that away immediately, knowing the rage within him, the hunger for revenge, could cloud his judgment, could consume him.

Q: celebration
A: Put in that manner, this was indeed a day of celebration.

Q: function
A: Only the amber was functioning now, and it kept him above the water.

Q: honest
A: The one the elves had named Nightbird had to give himself an honest answer; he owed that much, at least, to Belli'mar Juraviel.

Q: payment
A: The sailors cared nothing for this all-important mission, Avelyn realized, beyond their payment of gold - and whatever other trinkets Father Abbot Markwart had included in the bargain.

Q: lunge
A: The ranger jumped back a step, then lunged forward, Tempest squealing as it deflected off Quintall's face.

Q: personally
A: On those first few occasions, Connor took the rejection personally, as a slight, despite Jill's proclamations otherwise.

Q: unable
A: The ranger rocked back on his heels, unable to find even the words to ask the obvious questions.

Q: ravine
A: At the bottom of the ravine, past a blocking wall of low evergreen bushes, they came to a bed of ferns, bluish green in color.

Q: bandage
A: Pony fumbled in her pack and took out a strip of cloth, an intended bandage.

Q: preparedness
A: The man was obviously out of his mind, or at least he appeared so, but to Jill, who had spent a year and a half in the Coastpoint Guards, a cry for preparedness and virtue did not seem like such a bad thing.

Q: stammer
A: The stunned man stammered, taking too long for the impatient monk's comfort.

Q: outlaw
A: Her knowledge would be valuable in locating treacherous Avelyn, he presumed, and her presence as his prisoner would certainly aid in bringing the outlaw monk to him:

Q: cavern
A: Most of the fiery stuff of that time long past had bubbled and flowed away from the cavern, but enough had remained to harden about the dactyl's corporeal form.

Q: taut
A: The muscles on Brother Justice's arms stood taut and too strong to fight.

Q: thumb
A: Bunkus Smealy turned his greasy grin on Avelyn, holding one hand up, his thumb and index finger about five inches apart.

Q: savor
A: Elbryan savored every word, envisioning the battle clearly.

Q: cackle
A: The dactyl cackled, thinking itself grand to be able to send such creatures - any creatures!

Q: former
A: A line of drool hung low from the dactyl's mouth as it considered its former and future allies, its army of woe.

Q: hunger
A: What hopes of treasure, what hunger of gold

Q: outrun
A: You cannot outrun us, yach you cannot, nor can you hope to give a, fight.

Q: snicker
A: The snicker was soon gone, but the smile remained, all the wider for the sight.

Q: eternity
A: Elbryan felt totally alone, yet one with the universe, a small part of majesty, a small but endless flicker in eternity.

Q: wisely
A: She reflexively cocked a fist, and Elbryan wisely jumped back.

Q: unknown
A: Precious Abbey of Palmaris, was not unknown to them or to any reasoning creature of Corona.

Q: briefly
A: They put into Freeport only briefly, with but a handful of sailors going ashore in the boat.

Q: outcome
A: She hoped Elbryan would wage a gallant war now, with an outcome similar to her own.

Q: clap
A: The older woman clapped her pudgy hands before her, her toothy smile nearly taking in her ears.

Q: patience
A: Bestesbulzibar had little patience with that.

Q: blanch
A: The skinny man, two daggers in hand, blanched and let his blades drop to the floor.

Q: cheer
A: Brother Avelyn, too, ignored Tol Yuganick's cheering gallery.

Q: numerous
A: Next came a discussion, led by Brody Gentle, of goblinkind in general, from the numerous small goblins to the rare and dangerous disfigured fomorian giants.

Q: concerning
A: Even young Elbryan soon came to realize that the old man knew little more than anyone else concerning goblins, and Elbryan doubted that Brody had ever seen a fomorian giant.

Q: extension
A: Its gray rock walls seemed to grow right from the solid stone, an extension of the earth's power.

Q: smoky
A: Not a ruby, not a smoky quartz, more.

Q: spiritual
A: Avelyn felt something touch his hand - not his spiritual hand, but the physical one, the one clutching the stone.

Q: discipline
A: Avelyn dropped his gaze once more, fearful of discipline should he be caught peeking out from under his hood.

Q: disbelief
A: Now, the young man did utter an unintended sound, a gasp of disbelief and delight.

Q: spiked
A: Along one wall stood a gigantic statue, fifteen feet or more, dressed in a heavy leather jacket, trimmed in fur and set with spiked metal plates and heavy iron rings.

Q: unfortunate
A: A moment later came the thunder of hoofbeats to the east, many hoofbeats accompanied by the screams of those unfortunate goblins caught in front of the wild horse stampede.

Q: muscular
A: Olwan snorted and shrugged his muscular shoulders.

Q: spare
A: Whatever the source, with every passed scene of utter destruction, the ranger's fear mounted that he would not be able to spare the creature.

Q: squirrel
A: It could have been a ground squirrel, the girl reasoned, but she knew in her heart that it was not.

Q: horrify
A: Images assaulted them, mingling with imagined scenes even more horrifying, and amid all of it welled utter denial, the hope against obvious reality that this simply could not be happening.

Q: bald
A: Bradwarden followed his gaze to a tumble of a pair of goblins and, unmistakably, a bald-headed human lying among them.

Q: survival
A: Then, guided purely by his survival instinct, Avelyn curled his legs under him and came up fast.

Q: wretch
A: This time, though, the wretches ringed the village, completely encircling it with ranks ten deep!

Q: reinforcement
A: The patrol in the valley had been spotted perhaps had even been already engaged, and this goblin had been set as sentry, watching for any other potential human reinforcements while its companions sacked the village.

Q: screaming
A: Scenes of angels conquering demons, of the mighty demon dactyl screaming in agony as its own lava poured over it, consuming it.

Q: foundation
A: There is a tavern now, larger than the old common house and built on the foundation of my old home.

Q: whistle
A: More arrows whistled past, each trailing a strand, each tightening the web about Elbryan, holding him from his meal.

Q: aloft
A: Bradwarden held aloft his own bow then, the first time Elbryan had seen it, and he was truly astonished.

Q: bucket
A: At one point, they even took up buckets as part of a balling line.

Q: sternly
A: Master Siherton eyed his peer sternly, considering the lie, for the messenger, a young boy, had only delivered news of the death and had offered no details surrounding it.

Q: accentuate
A: To accentuate his point, Elbryan lifted the next stone, and, instead.

Q: exotic
A: So they spent the day walking and marveling at the sights of the great city, at the thick rows of exotic flowers in the tree-lined green that centered the place, at the shining white buildings, at the frantic bazaar, the largest open market that any of them had seen, reputably the largest open market in all Honce-the-Bear.

Q: vesper
A: Only the call to vespers, the ceremony heralding eventide, had interrupted Avelyn's frantic pace.

Q: satisfied
A: Despite the hints of doubt in Juraviel's tone, Jingo Gregor seemed satisfied with the words - a speech Juraviel had offered to the man several times over the last few days.

Q: marvel
A: The young monk made no pretense of keeping his gaze low now, looking left and right as they passed each case, marveling at the gems, the reds and blues, amber-colored stones and violet crystals.

Q: incredulous
A: Paulson gave her a sidelong, incredulous glance.

Q: tingling
A: The ranger felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, felt a tingling of trepidation.

Q: evident
A: None of that was evident in the dark, stocky man.

Q: sequence
A: Behind the master, Avelyn watched the sequence of fingers: one, three, two, one, five.

Q: commotion
A: Finally Avelyn could not ignore the commotion from the common room below any longer.

Q: overhead
A: The moon, Sheila, was up, but not yet directly overhead.

Q: tentatively
A: Elbryan took her hand and helped her up tentatively onto the powerful animal's back.

Q: mass
A: But even with all that mass, there was nothing awkward about the young man.

Q: sour
A: Avelyn's expression soured and he looked down at the bar.

Q: berate
A: Some of the other masters, Siherton in particular, watched him closely, very closely, seeking an excuse to berate him.

Q: inspire
A: The daytime training was not as easy or as inspiring for Avelyn.

Q: prowess
A: No longer did any, even Tuntun, question his prowess or his bloodline.

Q: joint
A: The young man bowed low and kept his gaze on the floor stones even when he straightened, focusing his attention on the joints among the rocks, each black line seeming so distinct in the harsh diamond light.

Q: puzzle
A: Avelyn knew what he could do with that jewel, and when he stopped to consider the implications for the other monks if he used the ruby first, the puzzle seemed not so difficult.

Q: burned
A: Avelyn's brown robes were tattered and dripping; he had the stench of burned hair about him.

Q: chosen
A: Besides, at night, and especially on those occasions when the chosen students actually handled the stones, Brother Avelyn easily proved that he was the proper choice.

Q: flit
A: Juraviel shrugged, a flitting little movement of his slender shoulders.

Q: stutter
A: Jill stuttered incoherently for a moment, trying to sort it all out.

Q: adjust
A: Then he forced himself to stare at the darkest spot he could find, that his eyes could adjust more completely.

Q: circuit
A: Brother Justice moved in a wide circuit of the dangerous ranger.

Q: bob
A: Parting one patch of reeds, the boy found his first stone of the day, bobbing low in the water.

Q: pip
A: The elves would set out a grand table, steaming stew and venison, sometimes roasted game fowl, and piping hot tea that warmed the boy from his head to his cold toes.

Q: chide
A: "What, only one this night?" Grady chided.

Q: flare
A: Elbryan winced as the fire flared to life, as if expecting all the minions of the dactyl to descend upon him.

Q: indication
A: The forest was silent, totally silent, about him, and Juraviel made not a move nor any indication of how Elbryan should proceed.

Q: proceed
A: The elf paused, as if wondering how he should proceed.

Q: upper
A: But Grady understood he had the upper hand and he would not back away.

Q: victory
A: Let Tuntun have her fun this day, the elf decided; that would make his victory all the sweeter when Elbryan finally proved himself.

Q: potent
A: Whenever he was allowed to handle a magical stone, Master Siherton was at his side, a potent and lethal gem in hand.

Q: starry
A: That night, Elbryan sat upon the bare hillock that he claimed as his own, under the starry canopy, alone with his thoughts.

Q: boisterous
A: A dozen men and women were in the common room, boisterous until the stranger entered.

Q: crisp
A: Jill had known this air, so crisp and so clean, in her youth, in this place; and images of that past life flitted past the edges of her consciousness now, brief glimpses of what had once been.

Q: distastefully
A: She shook her head distastefully as she walked her watch this night, as she did every night.

Q: gutter
A: The young woman made her way around the back of the inn, down a dark alley that inspired no fear, and up a gutter, to the one section of Fellowship Way's roof that was not slanted.

Q: absorb
A: Elbryan absorbed all their words, sifted through their suggestions.

Q: rake
A: Only chance had brought him in contact with a man named Bildeborough and a rake named Grady Chilichunk, drunkards both.

Q: squeal
A: The goblin squealed but hardly slowed, even when Chipmunk's next blade stuck deep into its shoulder.

Q: depart
A: would soon depart, a group of elves going to their secret contacts in the frontier villages.

Q: blessed
A: Jill took in another blessed gulp of air and staggered to her feet.

Q: caravel
A: The Windrunner veered hard to port, sails filling and pushing the square-rigged caravel on with tremendous speed.

Q: tuck
A: In a barely noticeable movement, the ranger pulled the feathered tip from the bow, tucking it and the bowstring into his belt.

Q: topple
A: And she looked at the dwarf, not understanding until the powrie toppled forward, an arrow deep in its back.

Q: taffrail
A: Now at the taffrail the four monks and Captain Adjonas watched the powries' progress.

Q: sprite
A: Yes, it as Nightbird more than anything else that had the sprite riding hard through the forest night.

Q: flip
A: Elbryan brought his staff back in, letting go with his left hand, flipping with his right to send the forward tip under.

Q: advance
A: And yet she couldn't ignore the advances of handsome Connor Bildeborough, not at the price of breaking Pettibwa's heart.

Q: satisfaction
A: It is, I believe, the difference between physical satisfaction and true lovemaking, the difference between release and passion.

Q: veil
A: Many implications came to him then, as if the fog veiling one of the mysteries of elven life had suddenly lifted.

Q: flap
A: Soon Jill's hands were flapping inconsequentially at the powrie's barrel-like torso, her strength fast deserting her.

Q: backhand
A: The powrie came across with a backhand slash, but Avelyn managed to duck beneath it.

Q: handmaiden
A: The night was chill for late August and the room drafty, but the handmaidens had lit a small fire in the hearth.

Q: relent
A: And Connor would not relent, prodding and pushing.

Q: foolhardy
A: He knew that it was foolhardy for him to go out, but how could he not?

Q: yach
A: You cannot outrun us, yach you cannot, nor can you hope to give a, fight.

Q: wail
A: The dwarf lifted its sword, grinning evilly, and let out a wail that shook Avelyn to the marrow of his bones :as he lay prone not far away.

Q: increasingly
A: Perhaps it was the boredom, the heat, or the tasteless provisions, but the crew grew increasingly uneasy, even hostile.

Q: blame
A: The crew were blaming the monks for their discomfort, for this whole journey.

Q: outline
A: Under the light of a half moon, he saw the outline of the Windrunner gliding out into the bay.

Q: regret
A: Now, finally, Avelyn could face his destiny with no regrets for the path that had led him to this place.

Q: philosophy
A: Elbryan's lessons had turned more toward philosophy during the fall and winter of God's Year 821 to 822, and he had learned that even the simplest questions carried, many layers of subtle meanings.

Q: cavalry
A: Out from the gaps in the line came the next surprise, a goblin cavalry, the diminutive creatures astride shaggy ponies.

Q: commander
A: Perhaps he was trying to be the levelheaded commander, but to Jill, it came off as condescending.

Q: gel
A: The twirling elf tossed several puffs of powder upon the plant, then bent low and with some reddish gel painted a stripe around the base of the stem just an inch or two from the ground.

Q: archery
A: There remained, however, the matter of Elbryan's prize for winning the archery contest.

Q: signpost
A: I took my frustrations out on the signpost, I admit, tearing off the lowest board, the scribbled references to the original village.

Q: bronze
A: These two behemoths weren't going for him however, but for the bronze doors.

Q: fearfully
A: Untamed, uncontrollable, fearfully strong.

Q: plateau
A: That night, they camped on a high plateau, which they agreed to be the most defensible position in the area.

Q: untamed
A: Untamed, uncontrollable, fearfully strong.

Q: abandon
A: Frustrated, the ranger abandoned his bow and ran on, sword in hand.

Q: southland
A: That realization bolstered Avelyn's strength, and he turned away, the southlands wide before him.

Q: roan
A: Pony came riding in then on a roan mare, one of several wild horses that would allow themselves to be ridden.

Q: kosio
A: The demon nodded, seeming pleased, and Kos-kosio stood a bit straighter.

Q: humanity
A: These three, for all their faults and all their vocal protests, carried some degree of humanity within them.

Q: endlessly
A: It was difficult, exhausting work, repeated every day, endlessly.

Q: soak
A: Just the goblins and a lone giant, slumped together, soaked in blood from the many small wounds on each corpse.

Q: screw
A: Elbryan screwed up his face and shrugged.

Q: gravity
A: It surprised Elbryan that adults would act that way, especially considering the gravity of the situation.

Q: skeptically
A: Pony eyed him skeptically.

Q: concede
A: Paulson appeared vindicated, but Elbryan wasn't ready to concede that the man's words were true.

Q: charm
A: Why, even the practiced whores of House Battlebrow were losing their charms for him!

Q: confirmation
A: Cat blushed fiercely, all the confirmation Pettibwa needed.

Q: magically
A: It was magically based; the monk could feel that keenly.

Q: pragmatic
A: Lady Dasslerond was merciful, the elf knew, but she was, above that, pragmatic and protective of her realm.

Q: prey
A: Finally, the stinging ended, and the fomorian tried to move forward, back toward its prey.

Q: loyalty
A: Faith heeded no proof - indeed the very value of faith was loyalty to beliefs without proof!

Q: ray
A: A slanting ray cut in through the smoke, a single shaft of light that beckoned the girl back to the land of the living.

Q: overwhelming
A: The monk felt an overwhelming urge then to do as the demon had asked, to admit Bestesbulzibar's beauty.

Q: devastation
A: Now Elbryan steeled himself against the scene of devastation.

Q: peak
A: Then he came upon the mountains, whipping through passes, over peaks, to a plateau he had seen before above a vast encampment between the black arms of a smoking mountain.

Q: condescending
A: Cat-the-Stray bit her lip, not liking his condescending tone.

Q: plunge
A: It was always cold; the boy didn't know why he even bothered testing it each morning before plunging in.

Q: conscience
A: The monk looked in turn at each of them and nodded, then walked off to be alone with his conscience and his courage.

Q: odds
A: Avelyn's blast did much to even the odds, leaving only two giants and a score of powries against Elbryan's thirty.

Q: exaggerate
A: To the child Elbryan, this had been the place of wildly exaggerated fireside tales.

Q: surrender
A: The dwarf caught the gem securely, but surrendered his hold on the ladder.

Q: presume
A: Suddenly this holy place, this place he had presumed prepared by the Touel'alfar themselves, seemed to him no sanctuary at all.

Q: mask
A: For Jill, her face was a mask of paint and false smiles.

Q: cautiously
A: Pellimar reached the drifting boat first, pulling himself cautiously up its slick, rounded side.

Q: spine
A: A shudder coursed down Avelyn's spine.

Q: reminder
A: Still, despite the prominent reminders of his position, Elbryan's smile was genuine.

Q: forge
A: I only hope that she comes to accept our fate and that she desires to forge ahead in the best manner that we may.

Q: dilemma
A: All too soon, they were faced with a dilemma: light the torch or walk on in near-complete darkness.

Q: greet
A: A way goes Nightbird, the forest to greet

Q: happily
A: "Another!" Pony added happily, and she clapped her hands with glee as more came into view.

Q: holder
A: If the barrelboat got by the net holders, for example, they would never catch up and Adjonas couldn't turn about for them.

Q: surprising
A: A part of him wanted to turn away, but another part, a larger and surprising part, would not let him move.

Q: typical
A: A fomorian, Avelyn realized with a very visible shudder, in the typical battle dress of its warlike race.

Q: ability
A: The one obvious lead fruitless, Brother Justice had to turn to his magic, to the carbuncle, a stone also called Dragon Sight for its ability to detect things magical.

Q: brain
A: Elbryan saw the bright red gash, the white of split bone, the grayish brain.

Q: heap
A: And then Olwan came flying back into sight, falling in a broken heap on the road right in the midst of the valiant fighters.

Q: surprisingly
A: Elbryan's sword was up against the creature's side, had cut in a bit, but the angle was wrong, and the goblin's grip surprisingly strong, preventing the boy from driving the weapon home.

Q: dash
A: She looked back at the small boat, even then being dashed against the rocks, tossed about by the powerful surf.

Q: scrambling
A: Stones burst outward; Elbryan skipped back up the slope a few scrambling steps and dove to the ground.

Q: burrow
A: The fomorian staggered once, twice, and then again, as the bolts burrowed in, one on top of the other, a dozen on top of the previous dozen.

Q: surprised
A: Cat-the-Stray was more than a little surprised, and embarrassed, when her would-be rescuer ventured into the Way the following week.

Q: sore
A: The young man settled on the edge of his cot, head bowed, hands resting on his sore thighs.

Q: seriousness
A: "Brother Avelyn," the master said in all seriousness a moment later,

Q: dry
A: For the first time since they had entered the room, there was no reverence in Master Jojonah's voice, just the dry lecturing tone of an instructor.

Q: dusk
A: Sometime later, as dusk descended, Pony's senses warned her that she was not alone.

Q: original
A: Suddenly he held the spear, aimed right back at its original wielder.

Q: bruise
A: He noted bruises on her legs, his eyes drawn down despite his good intentions.

Q: speaker
A: Somehow he knew the speaker was not human, that no human voice could chime so sweetly, so perfectly.

Q: fashion
A: Elbryan caught the staff firmly in his left hand and extended that arm out in similar fashion so that the other flanking goblin was poked away.

Q: fix
A: The other end of the rope was fixed to the yard of the mainmast.

Q: snarl
A: The monk snarled in defiance and kicked at the heavy door.

Q: error
A: For a moment, I admit, I even held fast a fantasy that my memory of the destruction, of the carnage, was in error.

Q: brightly
A: Pony looked helplessly at her diamond, then wondered if she could make the light shine so brightly that this creature of darkness could not withstand it.

Q: comfortable
A: The pair met day after day, each time growing more comfortable.

Q: transport
A: Given the powers of hematite, might this have been some transport for Quintall's soul?

Q: rumble
A: The goblins and their giant escort moved along slowly but steadily, and soon after, Elbryan and his companions heard the rumble of the war engines, the grunts of the towing giants.

Q: evidence
A: Even without the very prominent evidence that she could defend herself, Jill believed that Presso would not try anything.

Q: resting
A: Soon after, the man was resting as comfortably as possible, and Avelyn left the room.

Q: missing
A: With a growl, proud Elbryan put up his bow and let fly, missing everything this time.

Q: contain
A: But Avelyn's expression of joy, of victory, was short-lived, for the stone could not contain such energy, and it threw it out, dispersed as green smoke into the air, the sheer force of the expulsion throwing Elbryan and Avelyn backward into Pony and Bradwarden, the resulting smoke filling the corridor.

Q: birch
A: Elbryan recognized the black, sappy poison, a pain - inducing product of a rare black birch tree.

Q: driving
A: The powrie slammed her hard from behind, driving her into the bent beam.

Q: helm
A: Out stepped the giant, Togul Dek, still wearing no helm, its huge features twisted with rage.

Q: pale
A: A blanket of slushy snow still covered the field, shining blue-white in the pale light of a bright half moon.

Q: childhood
A: That notion inevitably led her back to images of her own childhood, of her mother ...

Q: undergrowth
A: The ground about the trees caught the morning light and held it fast, for the undergrowth was not dark but was white and thick, a padding of caribou moss.

Q: battling
A: Never losing the slightest edge of balance, Elbryan's muscles worked in perfect harmony, perfect fluidity, none battling, flexing and complementing each move.

Q: nudge
A: After a long moment, Tuntun nudged him roughly.

Q: iron
A: His chest and shoulders grew broad and thick, and his arms, particularly his forearms, bulged with iron-hard muscles.

Q: cruel
A: Elbryan started to respond that he had eliminated the cruel traps, but the words were stuck in his throat.

Q: connection
A: Pony dared to reach out then; the connection was too strong to let the moment pass.

Q: expected
A: He soon came to the expected joining, and, looking ahead, he almost continued on.

Q: sinking
A: That relief fast transformed into a sinking feeling as Elbryan realized the meaning of this creature's positioning.

Q: twisted
A: The ugly goblin face, all twisted teeth and long pointy nose, was barely inches from Elbryan's face, and closer still when the creature began to butt the boy.

Q: collection
A: In elven philosophy, the first truth, the basis of reality was that the entire material, physical world was no more than the collection of perceptions by the observer.

Q: blocking
A: The sword severed that blocking arm cleanly, right above the elbow and slashed across the face of the ducking monster.

Q: knuckle
A: Elbryan clutched the sword hilt so hard his knuckles whitened.

Q: snatch
A: Avelyn tried hard not to eavesdrop, but he did catch snatches of the conversation, mostly Siherton complaining vigorously that this was against strict procedure.

Q: murmur
A: No answer, no hint, just the murmur, an endless string of mysterious whispers.

Q: glade
A: Tuntun nodded and rose unsteadily, then walked from the glade, leaving Elbryan kneeling in the grass.

Q: aware
A: Elbryan was all too aware of that grim fact.

Q: breathless
A: Quintall and Thagraine came up breathless after setting the net in place.

Q: intelligence
A: Only then did Elbryan truly appreciate the intelligence of the animal, filtered through a different perspective, perhaps, but no less intense than his own.

Q: account
A: Physically, by all accounts, he was the image of his father in Graevis' younger days, but by Cat's estimation, Grady could not have been more different than Graevis in temperament.

Q: embarrassed
A: And she was not ashamed, not embarrassed, and no black wings of horrors past swept up about her.

Q: court
A: Of course, he had no intention of allowing any court.

Q: admire
A: How much he loved her, admired her, respected her!

Q: unlikely
A: A wicked grin widened on the captain's face; he decided to test that unlikely truce.

Q: sand
A: Thagraine was out and running as soon as the small boat brushed its bottom on the black sands of the island beach.

Q: entry
A: Had her disaster with Connor Bildeborough destroyed the man's attempts at entry into the high society?

Q: gleaming
A: Elbryan stared hard at the lines of gleaming metal.

Q: fence
A: There was an old, broken-down fence on the northern edge of town, formerly a corral, Jill realized, and beyond it was the slope.

Q: gallop
A: Elbryan prodded Symphony into a short gallop, too quickly for the frightened youngster to scramble away.

Q: torment
A: Quintall looked at his demon master; he knew the dactyl had shown him his mortal memories only to torment him.

Q: angular
A: Its head, too, was somewhat human, except more angular, with a narrow jaw and pointed chin.

Q: pointed
A: Avelyn stared incredulously at the demon's angular face, at the fiery eyes, the white, pointed canines.

Q: fingernail
A: The demon extended its fingernails, transformed them into hooked claws, and grew its teeth-two pointed canines extending down over its bottom lip.

Q: undeniably
A: The young woman was undeniably beautiful, even in her plain barmaid's dress.

Q: demonic
A: For the demonic creature in the cave, such questions hardly mattered.

Q: wage
A: What creatures could the dactyl gather this time to wage its war?

Q: puncture
A: The only serious wound to either side was the hit to the slain goblin - a spear thrust that had punctured the creature's lung.

Q: barrelboats
A: The weather remained hot and clear, and no more barrelboats came into view.

Q: trace
A: In springtime sunshine, of Evil no traces,

Q: spill
A: Candlelight spilled out onto the road, softly illuminating the girl.

Q: severely
A: Elbryan held his breath, thinking that Pony's mother, often stern, would scold the girl severely.

Q: resignedly
A: She only sighed, though, and resignedly closed the cabin door.

Q: legend
A: The Forest Ghost was a common legend in the Timberlands.

Q: fitting
A: End-o'-the-World, they call it, and a fitting name it seems.

Q: gallant
A: Cat-the-Stray had no idea what to respond to the gallant man.

Q: animated
A: Whatever her personal problems, the sight of Graevis and Pettibwa so animated and so sincerely happy warmed her heart.

Q: bushy
A: The centaur stopped his playing when he spotted his friend, his white smile growing wide within his bushy black beard.

Q: feral
A: The startled, almost feral, reaction of the hunters froze Elbryan in his tracks and sent Pony ducking for cover.

Q: bask
A: Elbryan hardly heard the sharp scolding his father offered, the boy's eyes basking in the sight, moving from the carcass of a caribou buck, to a deer, to a line of coneys, to ...

Q: exception
A: Elbryan took it all in stride, with the exception of any insults to Pony, which he promptly informed the teasers would bring them serious and painful retaliation.

Q: promptly
A: Avelyn ate a light meal, then shuffled outside and promptly regurgitated it.

Q: bluster
A: Elbryan conceded the point, though he still thought Brody Gentle more bluster than truth.

Q: chew
A: Elbryan chewed on his lip for a moment, trying to find an appropriate response.

Q: nick
A: It wasn't an impressive weapon - its blade showed many nicks and more than a little rust - but it was one of the few real swords in the village.

Q: envy
A: Those folk who had survived the bombardment soon envied their dead companions.

Q: bore
A: Elbryan looked at Pony, who seemed to be growing quite bored by it all, and motioned to the door.

Q: sleeve
A: Twenty-five stood in a line, cloaked in thick brown robes with voluminous sleeves and large hoods that were pulled low to hide their faces.

Q: balcony
A: The man hesitated; even from the balcony, Master Jojonah sensed they were near a breakthrough.

Q: millennium
A: Bestesbulzibar was confused, had not seen such a display of anti-magic in all its millennia of life.

Q: concept
A: By the time Avelyn was old enough to understand the concept of family, half the children had already moved out of the family house.

Q: controlled
A: He came through the gauntlet without uttering a single sound beyond the range of his controlled, even-toned chant.

Q: delight
A: With a whoop of delight, the other goblins, predictably, came on.

Q: tapestry
A: The ceiling was high, the walls covered in grand tapestries, and both the bed and the hearth were of heroic proportions.

Q: sentinel
A: The monks were the sentinels of God and yet even they had given in to complacency, to the cancer.

Q: gigantic
A: The cave seemed a gigantic caricature of a king's throne room.

Q: trim
A: Along one wall stood a gigantic statue, fifteen feet or more, dressed in a heavy leather jacket, trimmed in fur and set with spiked metal plates and heavy iron rings.

Q: armed
A: Pony wasn't armed, having left her club back at the ridge.

Q: recede
A: He resisted, and the hematite receded dramatically, almost forcing him from the trance.

Q: fireside
A: To the child Elbryan, this had been the place of wildly exaggerated fireside tales.

Q: emotionally
A: That night, Avelyn retired to his room, thoroughly exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

Q: obstacle
A: Their clothes ruffled and seemed more of an obstacle than a necessity.

Q: embrace
A: Jill's heart tugged at her to go out and embrace the woman, to run to Pettibwa as she would have run to her natural mother.

Q: insignificant
A: The dactyl laughed at him, mocking his words and his courage, making him feel like an insignificant thing.

Q: parallel
A: The arrows whipped out, not quite parallel, their angle separating them as they flew.

Q: fend
A: Tempest flashed left, parried up, went out left again and then right, Elbryan easily fending off the clumsy attacks.

Q: bash
A: Singing wildly, the centaur charged in, bashing the monster about the head with his heavy club.

Q: mercifully
A: Pony lost sight of her father immediately, mercifully.

Q: scoop
A: The centaur tapped one powrie on the head, then scooped up the dazed dwarf and dropped it into a sack.

Q: dan
A: Carley dan Aubrey's whimper brought him back to his senses.

Q: futile
A: Bradwarden knew that it was futile to argue with the stubborn ranger.

Q: offensive
A: The powrie didn't even flinch, came right back to the offensive with one, two, and then a third swiping attack.

Q: terrifying
A: That feeling, too, seemed something out of her past, something wonderful and terrifying all at once.

Q: gingerly
A: Elbryan fell to his knees, reaching for the wound, gingerly touching the spear and wondering if he should pull it free.

Q: unnerve
A: Still, Master Jojonah could see why a student such as Avelyn Desbris would so unnerve Master Siherton.

Q: sideways
A: Furious, Elbryan finally launched himself sideways, putting some ground between him and his elusive opponent.

Q: humming
A: The air came alive with a strange humming sound.

Q: puny
A: With a yelp, Avelyn skipped to the side, bringing the puny sword up defensively.

Q: volley
A: Few folk remained on the wall when the second volley roared in, for they were engaged in tending wounded, in battling flames, and shoring up defensive barricades.

Q: midday
A: Now, with a gray morning fast turning to midday outside, Brother Justice had not returned.

Q: befit
A: Siherton's features befit his rank of class overseer, the disciplinarian of the newest brothers.

Q: debate
A: True enough, Siherton had to admit, and he understood that he would not win any debate he might wage against the selection of Avelyn as one of the Preparers.

Q: initial
A: Avelyn's lack of initial response to the news that his mother had died had lent credence to Siherton's complaints.

Q: subsequently
A: The third time, he held the boy under for what seemed like minutes, and when he brought Elbryan up and subsequently let him go, the stunned boy fell to the ground, gasping desperately.

Q: needed
A: Jojonah's explanation for the tour had been weak, some remark about an area that needed cleaning.

Q: wondrous
A: Avelyn, who had often spent hours at a time gazing at the wondrous night sky, recognized some of the points.

Q: digest
A: Avelyn hesitated for a moment, trying to digest the newest information.

Q: engulf
A: It was expanding before him, engulfing his hands, then his arms.

Q: distinctly
A: The name Juraviel had given his people, Touel'alfar, had a distinctly familiar ring, and Elbryan was certain he had heard it in conjunction with tales of the elves.

Q: humour
A: Avelyn knew all the uses of all the stones, and gradually he was coming to sensitize his fingers to the magical humours within any stone he touched.

Q: reverence
A: For the first time since they had entered the room, there was no reverence in Master Jojonah's voice, just the dry lecturing tone of an instructor.

Q: unconscious
A: Jilseponie understood then that she had been unconscious for a long time.

Q: stench
A: Avelyn's brown robes were tattered and dripping; he had the stench of burned hair about him.

Q: rubble
A: So he ran on, hauling bodies, peeking under rubble, kicking aside piles of dead goblins to see who might be underneath.

Q: upright
A: A short distance away, Elbryan sat bolt upright, confused.

Q: maiden
A: Elbryan looked at the elf maiden, studied her blue eyes for some hint.

Q: sensitive
A: Belli'mar Juraviel held his hand up, begging silence, then shifted his sensitive bare feet about on the stone face.

Q: nephew
A: No novice in the ways of love, the nephew of Palmaris' baron was surprised and pained but also intrigued.

Q: embarrass
A: These weren't particularly nasty traps, designed more to embarrass than to injure.

Q: slumber
A: Or had he slumbered right through the next day?

Q: defensible
A: That night, they camped on a high plateau, which they agreed to be the most defensible position in the area.

Q: overtake
A: But weariness overtook him, caught him where he sat, and brought his eyelids low.

Q: slant
A: As if on cue, the burning catapult creaked again and slanted over farther.

Q: moonlight
A: Avelyn caught the arm and held it up in the moonlight.

Q: unceremoniously
A: Tuntun's only avenue of escape was straight down to the ground, and so she took it unceremoniously.

Q: perfection
A: This would be the last bow he ever crafted, for he knew beyond doubt that if he made a thousand more, he would never near the perfection of this weapon.

Q: sneer
A: He sneered at the curious servants gathering in the hall to keep them at bay.

Q: celestite
A: Avelyn reached into a smaller pouch and took out a handful of small prismatic celestite crystals, pale blue in color, and began calling forth their enchantment.

Q: silvery
A: A second bolt whistled behind him, turning him with a start, and only when Elbryan noticed the silvery filament trailing this arrow did he understand what was happening.

Q: ferocity
A: Pony went in with equal ferocity, though her attacks were not quite as effective and she scored only a minor hit.

Q: continual
A: At the same moment that the air grew clear about him, strong winds buffeted him - not gusts but a continual blow.

Q: sculpt
A: Sweat glistened in the morning light, beading and rolling about the man's hard, sculpted form.

Q: underbrush
A: Elbryan ran full out, constantly seeking out shortcuts in the thick underbrush, just to keep pace.

Q: slick
A: A trip line here, a disguised patch of slick mud on a corner there.

Q: veer
A: The Windrunner veered hard to port, sails filling and pushing the square-rigged caravel on with tremendous speed.

Q: tackle
A: The powrie dipped its broad shoulder, trying to tackle the ranger.

Q: solemnly
A: Juraviel stared solemnly at the spot where the stone had bounced for a long moment.

Q: bulge
A: His chest and shoulders grew broad and thick, and his arms, particularly his forearms, bulged with iron-hard muscles.

Q: marvelous
A: Jill finally found the nerve to look back at Connor, to stare into those marvelous brown eyes, sparkling more now in this starry light than she had ever seen.

Q: blaze
A: In the Way the hearth was always blazing, the beds were always soft, and the song was always loud.

Q: rump
A: She stopped short when the winker gave her rump a solid slap, and she stood there, suffering their laughter.

Q: truthfully
A: She knew that Graevis spoke truthfully; she, and not the patrons, was in control in here.

Q: fantasy
A: Avelyn knew the absurdity of his fantasy, of course.

Q: anticipation
A: The first three months of God's Year 821 were dull of excitement and anticipation throughout St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: equinox
A: As Bafway, the third month, whose end marked the spring equinox, neared, the whispers became a contest to see who might first spot the square sails of the chartered ship.

Q: contest
A: Perhaps this was to be a test of his body against the dactyl's, a contest of physical strength.

Q: favorable
A: Resupplied, the Windrunner put out the next day, sails full of wind with a favorable tide, sailing fast to the south.

Q: paramount
A: To Jill, their mission seemed paramount, a stoic existence protecting the welfare of all the kingdom.

Q: amuse
A: The four crewmen of the Windrunner's boat, which was bouncing noisily against the wooden dock, sat through it all with smirking faces, thoroughly amused and certainly not impressed.

Q: finding
A: The deer was having little trouble finding grass through the spotty layer of snow, and its treasurelike find had it, perhaps, a little less alert than usual.

Q: scent
A: He smelled the scent of deer on her fingers.

Q: derisively
A: He and Juraviel continued their conversation until Tuntun walked by, eyeing Elbryan derisively and tapping her smooth cheek and chin.

Q: anticipate
A: The ranger came round as if he would launch a horizontal swipe, but he recognized the move was anticipated: the burly man's axe was up to block.

Q: widespread
A: The elf went into a headlong roll, right between the young man's widespread legs, came up to his feet behind the yelling and turning Elbryan, and reversed his momentum, stabbing both his poles back.

Q: whirl
A: Avelyn's thoughts whirled, too confusing a jumble for him to utter even a sound of protest.

Q: plain
A: The young woman was undeniably beautiful, even in her plain barmaid's dress.

Q: nobleman
A: If she was set up with a nobleman, the gain fox Grady would be twofold.

Q: mesmerize
A: The next powrie coming out saw its sparkle and, mesmerized, reached for it.

Q: purely
A: Then, guided purely by his survival instinct, Avelyn curled his legs under him and came up fast.

Q: lovemaking
A: And now these two fellow brothers were comparing her lovemaking techniques!

Q: fell
A: Not wanting to continue the struggle, Avelyn was up and walking fast before the felled monk could respond.

Q: mischievous
A: She knew that she had had many friends, coconspirators in one grand and mischievous scheme after another.

Q: akin
A: Avelyn realized then that an attempt at possession was akin to fighting an enemy on his home ground.

Q: crinkle
A: Connor backed off almost immediately, his face crinkled in confusion.

Q: tis
A: And know 'tis time to die.

Q: perceptive
A: Juraviel nodded and seemed pleased by the perceptive reasoning.

Q: protector
A: father to these people, as their trusted protector.

Q: combatant
A: Tuntun flew away, back up toward the combatants, her slender daggers in hand, both dripping magma from Quintall's eyes.

Q: wed
A: Would Pony and I be wed, perhaps with children?

Q: sweeping
A: With a single sweeping left hook, Avelyn laid the big man low.

Q: agonize
A: In her mind, she heard a scream, agonized.

Q: coursed
A: A shudder coursed down Avelyn's spine.

Q: lookout
A: One thrown rope splashed right near Avelyn, but understanding the frantic lookout and the newest danger, he refused it, turning about for Quintall and Pellimar.

Q: construct
A: A new wharf had been constructed, reaching far enough out into the bay so that the Windrunner could dock.

Q: critical
A: Adjonas knew he was at a critical point here.

Q: fin
A: A second, smaller dorsal fin joined the first in its tightening ring.

Q: gurgle
A: A flick of the monk's wrist sent a silver item flying and from within the deeper chamber came a gurgled groan.

Q: undeniable
A: Along with the realization came an undeniable sense of intrigue, however, and so the ranger agreed.

Q: returned
A: And the southland will be warned by Pony, my beloved, returned to me and flying fist across the miles upon Symphony.

Q: tenet
A: Quintall's concepts of right and wrong, of duty and punishment, have been systematically replaced by the tenets given him at times of reward.

Q: terribly
A: The ranger heard them long before he caught sight of them, laughing and singing terribly off-key, though the voices were surely human, as he had suspected.

Q: barrage
A: The barrage intensified, more pitch, great heavy stones, and giant ballista bolts battering the ill-fated craft.

Q: revelry
A: The majority of Tinson's residents slept the day through, preferring the revelry of the night.

Q: deftly
A: The powrie immediately reversed direction, deftly turning about on the rope with sure, strong grips.

Q: plummet
A: Then he was floating, Siherton continuing to plummet.

Q: pedestal
A: Elbryan quickly set the mirror on the pedestal, leaning it against the back wall of the cave, and opened his chair; placing it before the mirror, as instructed.

Q: visage
A: Bradwarden's hardened visage fast softened under the ranger's plaintive look.

Q: merciful
A: But Connor had been merciful, and ever was Abbot Dobrinion long on forgiveness.

Q: grit
A: But Elbryan held no such sympathy for powries, and so he shifted the angle of the bow just a bit, gritted his teeth, and let fly, the arrow whipping across the twenty feet, unerringly, so he thought.

Q: bowyer
A: This would be Joycenevial's first human task since Mather, and, since the bowyer was aged even by elven standards, most likely his last.

Q: triangular
A: Juraviel also brought with him a light green triangular huntsmen's cap, which Elbryan accepted with a confused shrug.

Q: rouse
A: The shift came dramatically, unexpectedly, when Elbryan was roused from his bed one blustery Toumanay night by Juraviel and Tuntun.

Q: actual
A: Still, the details of that past existence escaped her, as did the actual names, though many of the faces returned.

Q: intended
A: Back left, back right, each time the angle shifting to defeat the intended attack.

Q: rot
A: He could smell the rot there: the earth itself was tainted from the fiend's presence.

Q: bracer
A: Then Avelyn saw the reason, saw clearly the powrie's studded bracers, glowing fiercely with enchantment.

Q: treachery
A: Among the three evil races, none had earned any reputation of loyalty or honor, but now, with the bracers, the dactyl could hold faith that its four chosen generals would survive the not unexpected treachery of their underlings.

Q: cache
A: We know the tricks Avelyn used to escape, and his cache of magic stones is considerable.

Q: equine
A: From further down the valley, Symphony charged in, followed by his equine minions.

Q: propel
A: Pony floated up as she went, grabbing the branches of trees and propelling herself along.

Q: delay
A: She swam right by that one, realizing if she delayed, the third would get to the boat before her.

Q: carbuncle
A: What he found instead were two stones intact: a sunstone - which did not surprise Avelyn in the least - and a carbuncle.

Q: shortly
A: The sky brightened to a dull gray shortly before the dawn, another lazy snowstorm dropping scattered flakes that floated to and fro during their descent.

Q: stealthy
A: All thoughts of stealthy thievery flew from the fierce ranger's mind.

Q: debt
A: That is my debt and my honor.

Q: swoop
A: Elbryan lifted his eyes at that unsettling notion, looked at the sky as if he expected the dactyl demon to be swooping upon him even then.

Q: harness
A: The first of the giants came into sight, bending low, pulling hard, a heavy harness strapped across its torso.

Q: visor
A: Tuntun had put her arrow right against a giant's visor, right through the slit!

Q: hellish
A: The beast lifted its arms, summoning its hellish magic.

Q: align
A: Those two scars were perfectly aligned with the dactyl's heart, and thus, with that one desperate thrust, Dinoniel had defeated the demon's corporeal body.

Q: breed
A: At gentle hands of elven breed.

Q: suppress
A: Elbryan turned to follow her gaze, and he, too, could not suppress a grin.

Q: melody
A: Then they heard a distant piping, soft music, perfect melody.

Q: contemplation
A: A grinding sound, the great gates sliding open, brought the young man from his contemplations.

Q: resistance
A: Barmine was kneeling but offering no resistance, a powrie wiping its beret across his face.

Q: encouragement
A: The simple fact that they could not be absolutely certain offered Elbryan all the encouragement he needed.

Q: crude
A: To hear his fellow monks speaking of something as sacred as love in such crude terms did surprise and offend him.

Q: gut
A: Elbryan felt his guts churning and labored for his breath.

Q: viciously
A: Pony spun and jumped on it, flailing wildly with both fists, kicking and kneeing viciously.

Q: bleed
A: Her fingers bled, she felt the heat growing behind her, but she dug on desperately.

Q: ominously
A: Master Siherton squinted ominously and leaned close over Avelyn, glaring openly.

Q: pledge
A: Piety, dignity, poverty, that was the pledge offered upon entering the Order of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: bless
A: Avelyn didn't know much, though, just the common rumors about how the stones would fall from the heavens into the hands of waiting monks, to be blessed by the Father Abbot that their special powers be realized.

Q: ward
A: At night, they huddled together around oil lamps and candles, trying to ward off the chill.

Q: haunt
A: Disturbing questions haunted the young monk every day.

Q: countless
A: Yet here they were, countless spearheads glistening in the last slanted rays of day, countless shields, emblazoned with the standards of many different tribes, standing side by side.

Q: alike
A: For near to forty years he kept a line a hundred miles long secure from goblins and fomorian giants alike.

Q: appoint
A: But after vespers, the four Preparers began a four-hour regimen, each with an appointed master.

Q: ritual
A: He found the many prayer rituals boring, even trite, in light of the revelations he was finding every night.

Q: tactic
A: Jill changed tactics and began slugging the dwarf in the face instead, then poking for its eyes.

Q: assert
A: The elves didn't see things that way; Juraviel had once asserted to Elbryan that everything in the.

Q: pump
A: Now the ranger's arm pumped frantically, and finally after perhaps the tenth blow, the powrie's grasp at last loosened.

Q: pond
A: When he was done, Elbryan gathered up his clothing and ran to a nearby pond, diving into the chilly water without hesitation.

Q: elusive
A: Furious, Elbryan finally launched himself sideways, putting some ground between him and his elusive opponent.

Q: respective
A: They were two feet apart as each burrowed into its respective goblin, dropping the creatures where they stood.

Q: replacement
A: Sea journeys were not considered safe in God's Year 821, the year of the stone showers, and replacements might become necessary.

Q: comply
A: Grady was more than willing to comply, practically shoving Cat right onto the man's lap.

Q: beloved
A: And the southland will be warned by Pony, my beloved, returned to me and flying fist across the miles upon Symphony.

Q: absurd
A: On another note, Avelyn could not help but laugh at the absurd, useless treasure that lay strewn all about him.

Q: treacherous
A: The journey was too treacherous, and if the crew had been well paid, as promised, they would have had no reason to dare the perils of the South Mirianic again.

Q: burden
A: Relieve your mind of the burden, then decide, my friend.

Q: sacrifice
A: Avelyn agreed and he would sacrifice his own life for the good of the voyage.

Q: continually
A: But Jill had settled into a routine here, akin to the continually gloomy season.

Q: facilitate
A: The Order had failed; their weakness had facilitated this tragedy!

Q: wipe
A: Gofflaw snorted and wiped a greasy hand down the front of his own red jacket.

Q: trailing
A: Avelyn crouched behind a tree, barely ten feet from the side of the trailing catapult.

Q: seize
A: As fortune would have it, the dagger went straight up, and Elbryan seized it, catching it by the tip.

Q: fateful
A: I love her, Uncle Mather, as I loved her that fateful day on the ridge above our home.

Q: boom
A: "Ho, ho, what!" the centaur boomed in a fair imitation of Avelyn.

Q: protective
A: Lady Dasslerond was merciful, the elf knew, but she was, above that, pragmatic and protective of her realm.

Q: hull
A: The stone wouldn't be nearly strong enough, he realized, to take out the wet barrelboat's sturdy hull.

Q: inviting
A: He sensed their softness, so very inviting ...

Q: carpet
A: Every time he gazed upon the white carpet, he wanted to take off his shoes and pants and run through it barefoot and bare legged, to feel its softness between his toes and brushing against his shins.

Q: maple
A: Autumn was well advanced, and all the leaves of the deciduous trees, particularly the sugar maples, were bright with colors, shining red and orange and yellow, painting the ridge.

Q: hideous
A: The fomorian charged ahead with a tremendous, hideous howl, its cudgel going high.

Q: recently
A: The reaction of the inhabitants to Brother Justice's brown robes tipped the monk off to the fact that he was not the first Abellican monk to come through this place recently.

Q: frown
A: The young woman sighed deeply, paused a moment, then consciously worked hard to erase the perpetual frown from her face as she made her way to the three men calling her from the corner table.

Q: habit
A: Even Elbryan's sleeping habits changed, shifting to a more controlled, meditative process than a lumped time of uncontrollable unconsciousness.

Q: adventure
A: And so he worked, as he was instructed, penning the tale of his adventures in great detail, studying and cataloguing the newest stones, their type, their magic, their strength.

Q: sprint
A: Carefully placing the basket at last at the trough, the boy then sprinted full out the half mile back to the bog.

Q: receive
A: And so it was with great expectations and hopes that Jill had received the news of her appointment into the second most elite unit, behind only the Allheart Brigade, in all of Honce-the-Bear: the famed Coastpoint Guards.

Q: lowly
A: Grady saw himself as above that lowly station, Cat understood.

Q: express
A: But to take humans to Andur'Blough Inninness without the express permission of Lady Dasslerond was indeed a stretch of the Lady's compassion, and Juraviel was not certain that the troop wouldn't simply be turned away; perhaps the paths into the misty valley would be altered and hidden even from Juraviel.

Q: hopelessness
A: And Quintall knew the demon read his every thought, that his hopelessness only made the creature something more.

Q: lifting
A: Perhaps that last Oracle in Andur'Blough Inninness was no more than a lifting of the veil.

Q: schedule
A: The grueling schedule, though, allowed Avelyn the opportunity to put off his more personal problems.

Q: hiss
A: But then came the worst thing of all - a hissing, sizzling noise.

Q: sunset
A: The boy believed the sun to be in the west, halfway from noon to sunset.

Q: misty
A: Not so far down, they moved beneath the misty canopy, and the forested valley came clear to Elbryan.

Q: drawing
A: Quintall's grasp was the darkness of the demo cold, drawing the very life force from his opponent.

Q: wheel
A: He wheeled, but Tuntun turned with him, staying behind him and punching out a veritable drum roll on his upper back.

Q: benefit
A: But it was not without its benefits.

Q: differently
A: Cat suffered his insults, but couldn't dismiss the realization that Pettibwa would have handled it differently, better.

Q: polite
A: To Cat-the-Stray, his adopted sister, he was always polite, too polite.

Q: twig
A: A single great leap sent the beast flying away, disappearing so quickly into the twigs and branches of the forest lining the small meadow that it was lost to Elbryan's sight before he ever recovered from his lunging roll.

Q: correctly
A: He turned a corner within a triangle of tight pines, expecting correctly that the zombie would be there.

Q: store
A: Avelyn could not discern the purpose of the magic, except to note that there was a tremendous amount of energy stored within those crystals.

Q: fortunately
A: Avelyn shook his head, though fortunately Quintall and Adjonas missed the movement.

Q: limp
A: He looked much better, seeming his old bouncy self, except for a slight limp.

Q: shouting
A: More than once, Avelyn heard Bunkus Smealy and Adjonas in a shouting match, and every time.

Q: accident
A: This was no accident but a purposeful attack on the bear.

Q: lake
A: With the amber, he crossed wide lakes that his pursuers would have to circumvent.

Q: crossing
A: By all appearances, the man was impressive - tall and straight, mustache and goatee neatly trimmed, his red-trimmed blue overcoat tailored straight and proper, black leather baldric crossing right shoulder to left hip and sporting an impressive sword, a family heirloom.

Q: hum
A: Hawkwing's bowstring hummed, the arrow flying true, diving into the back of the peeing goblin's head.

Q: peaceful
A: And sleep peaceful lovers, secure.

Q: afford
A: Let the younger boys and girls see him then, and afford him the respect he deserved, and let the older men see that the village, under his watchful eye, had fared well in their absence.

Q: stepping
A: For Jill, who had spent her life so simply, it seemed somehow obscene; a dozen people could sleep comfortably on that bed, and she needed a stepping stool to even get onto it!

Q: hanging
A: All the gang was quiet, hanging on Elbryan's every word.

Q: cloth
A: The anxious couple went back into the last copse and cut sticks, wrapping them with cloth to make torches.

Q: encourage
A: The bond had been particularly strong with Annalisa, a humble and spiritual woman, who had encouraged her youngest child to follow the path of God from his earliest recollections.

Q: fur
A: Along one wall stood a gigantic statue, fifteen feet or more, dressed in a heavy leather jacket, trimmed in fur and set with spiked metal plates and heavy iron rings.

Q: priest
A: Precious and thus the third ranking priest in the entire Abellican Church, had performed the ceremony himself!

Q: remote
A: Had they caught him at last, up here in the most remote corner of Honce-the-Bear?

Q: seriously
A: The Order of St.-Mere-Abelle took its physical training seriously; perhaps Avelyn was expected to defend himself against such tactics.

Q: importance
A: Dosey interrupted, his tales only for an occasional belch; so lost was he in his own sense of importance that he hardly bothered to gauge the monk's reaction.

Q: total
A: The hunting party of twelve had carried with them more than half the total real weapons of the hundred folk of Dundalis.

Q: grateful
A: He was indeed grateful for the kind and optimistic words, and felt better, much better, about his loss to Tallareyish.

Q: charging
A: Charging soldiers met the red-capped dwarves all along the wall, battling fiercely.

Q: thigh
A: The young man settled on the edge of his cot, head bowed, hands resting on his sore thighs.

Q: injured
A: Elbryan looked her over carefully, satisfied that she, was not injured, only muddy and weary from so long a ride.

Q: flint
A: Avelyn rolled off the cot and fumbled with his flint and steel, finally getting the candle lit.

Q: content
A: His dreams were not content, though, not with the prospects of a magic-wielding assassin nearby.

Q: regularly
A: He had been coming into Caer'alfar regularly since the turn of the year, and now the elves hardly gave him a thought as he walked in.

Q: prepared
A: Jojonah launched into a rushed explanation, more the regurgitation of a prepared speech than anything spontaneous.

Q: tent
A: All the valley was filled with tents and campfires; a thousand, thousand forms milled about down below, most seeming about goblin.

Q: addition
A: Despite the addition of the pit, the path appeared almost exactly the same as it had on all of his previous returns.

Q: security
A: There was security in that, Avelyn came to realize, but also responsibility.

Q: plot
A: Avelyn folded his hands and bowed his head, closed his eyes and began to plot his defense for the next time he and Quintall were paired.

Q: tax
A: It was not a difficult enchantment, actually; and one that powerful Avelyn could maintain with the focused sunstone for h very long time without severely taxing his energies for other magics.

Q: central
A: The central stone of the broach was a hematite, as he had suspected, an oval of liquid gray, deep and smooth.

Q: frozen
A: Jojonah held the diamond close to Avelyn, and the young monk felt its warmth flowing into his aching, frozen form.

Q: painfully
A: The next arrow razored painfully across the back of his neck, drawing a line of bright blood.

Q: clutching
A: The boy went down hard, clutching and groaning, feeling suddenly weak and nauseous.

Q: gliding
A: Suddenly he was off balance, and then he was sitting on the floor, the pretty barmaid gliding out of reach.

Q: talent
A: I will use the stones and all my talents, and all my body in whatever course you set.

Q: jagged
A: The leg had splintered in the fall; Cat could see the jagged edge of a bone poking through the skin.

Q: religious
A: From his lessons, years of religious training, years of his masters imparting the fears of that which opposed their God.

Q: intend
A: He forgot all about his game of surprising the pair then, and used his stealth ability to extract himself from the area, return to his tree house - which was closer to the ground than the sky - to shave and to prepare himself for his next sparring session, one he suddenly intended to win.

Q: conclude
A: He studied the bow as he walked, and concluded at once that this was not formed of the darkfern such as he had cut, but from a smaller plant.

Q: shy
A: For her part, Cat kept her distance, offering a shy smile once or twice but mostly looking the other way.

Q: pressure
A: Again, he was more than polite, the perfect gentleman, not pressuring Cat to even so much as offer a greeting to him.

Q: pleasant
A: Jill went to bed that night full of warm feelings, some pleasant, others too intense, too uncomfortable for her to understand.

Q: marriage
A: The reaction of Pettibwa and Graevis to the news of the marriage was not hard to predict.

Q: coin
A: Avelyn did, too, noting the piles of coins and gems and jewelry, such a treasure as he had never before seen.

Q: pounce
A: Elbryan turned to meet the pounce, but even as the goblin came on, silver flickers caught the ranger's eye.

Q: madness
A: Journeys into the wide, vast ocean were extremely rare, and rumors told of a madness that often grabbed at a crew.

Q: loosen
A: He was trying to loosen up her inhibitions, and she was, too.

Q: responsible
A: He hesitated; were these goblins responsible for what their kin had done to Elbryan's home?

Q: location
A: It made sense to Avelyn that, for the security of the world, the location of Pimaninicuit should remain secret, but that thought did little to erase his revulsion at the destruction of the hired ship and the murder of her crew.

Q: hover
A: It wasn't; it hovered on the edge of his perceptions, whatever way he turned.

Q: dim
A: Finally, Miklos Barmine wandered out, rubbing his eyes, blinking repeatedly as if the light, though the day was dim, stung him profoundly.

Q: ambush
A: He looked around again, this time searching for a vantage point, a perch from which he might ambush any enemies.

Q: effective
A: Pony went in with equal ferocity, though her attacks were not quite as effective and she scored only a minor hit.

Q: bluff
A: Elbryan recognized the true fear behind that bluff.

Q: kicking
A: Those monsters that did make it down found Bradwarden and his cudgel waiting for them, the centaur kicking and smashing with abandon.

Q: shorten
A: The ranger elbowed through the brawl, blocking punches whenever necessary, felling with three shortened blows yet another villager who tried to pounce upon him.

Q: praying
A: Avelyn lay across the centaur's back, staring more behind than ahead, praying for his companions.

Q: tangible
A: The tangible, corporeal body felt good to the wandering spirit.

Q: agitate
A: Shining, too, were the demon's eyes, pools of liquid black at most times, but shifting to fiery red orbs, living flames, when the demon was agitated, a glow of absolute hatred.

Q: transform
A: That relief fast transformed into a sinking feeling as Elbryan realized the meaning of this creature's positioning.

Q: lump
A: Avelyn froze in place, a lump rising in his throat.

Q: dominate
A: Brother Justice narrowed his eyes, not appreciating the sentiment, the way the foolish merchant tried to dominate him by referring to his superior in such familiar terms.

Q: tribe
A: It would bring them into its fold, tribe by tribe, race by race, growing as the night grows when the sun touches the western horizon.

Q: stain
A: Elbryan saw the dark stain near those hands.

Q: measured
A: Through flowers and lovers, step measured paces

Q: reverently
A: Gently, reverently, Avelyn reached into the back of his dead companion's head and pulled forth the stone.

Q: labor
A: Indeed he was tired from the previous day's labors, but so full of excitement that.

Q: covet
A: Toward his fellow Preparers, young men he would compete against for the coveted two positions of those who would actually step onto the island of Pimaninicuit, Avelyn felt no rivalry.

Q: aura
A: Still, there was a delicate aura about her, a softness that a younger Elbryan had viewed as weakness, but the older Elbryan viewed as oddly distracting.

Q: sponge
A: Elbryan mastered the intricate movements, every one, soaked them into the sponge he had become and held them fast in his heart, mind, and muscles.

Q: ascent
A: That excitement turned to sheer joy when they passed out of the town and began their ascent of the ridge.

Q: fluster
A: Belli'mar Juraviel suppressed a chuckle, for he liked seeing Tuntun flustered.

Q: carcass
A: The hunters would return with carcasses - elk, caribou, or white-tailed deer - slung on shoulder poles, and it seemed to the watching pair as if this hunt had been successful indeed!

Q: confusing
A: Pony shook the confusing possibilities from her thoughts.

Q: sloping
A: A subtle shift, still too quick for the creature to dodge, and Elbryan stabbed the tapered end out straight, striking the goblin on its sloping forehead right above and between the eyes, laying it out straight in the stream.

Q: venison
A: The elves would set out a grand table, steaming stew and venison, sometimes roasted game fowl, and piping hot tea that warmed the boy from his head to his cold toes.

Q: badger
A: Earlier that year, at the beginning of summer, some of the younger children had snagged a badger in a noose.

Q: noose
A: Earlier that year, at the beginning of summer, some of the younger children had snagged a badger in a noose.

Q: snare
A: He approached the snared creature boldly, only to find that it had chewed right through the leather bindings.

Q: brief
A: Jill had known this air, so crisp and so clean, in her youth, in this place; and images of that past life flitted past the edges of her consciousness now, brief glimpses of what had once been.

Q: outnumber
A: The Coastpoint Guards of Pireth Tulme were fighting well, but they were badly outnumbered and they had lost their one advantage: the walls.

Q: slain
A: Not until this day, he silently added, looking at the slain goblin.

Q: wrestle
A: Panic hit him, wrestling hard with a jumble of other emotions that Elbryan did not understand.

Q: interject
A: "The goblins were never here," Pony interjected.

Q: stoop
A: Tempest weaved its wondrous lines about him slowly-turning, stooping, and rising in perfect balance.

Q: zone
A: Back in St.-Mere-Abelle, he had seen Master Siherton create a magical dead zone while he and several others had tried to discern the powers of the giant amethyst crystal.

Q: craftsmanship
A: Avelyn wanted to go closer to it to study the stern facial features and the incredible craftsmanship of the armor.

Q: recollection
A: Always working or praying; there were no other recollections of Avelyn to be found.

Q: resounding
A: The huge stone gates of St.-Mere-Abelle slammed shut with a resounding crash that jolted Annalisa Desbris violently.

Q: myriad
A: He came up fast on a pair of great bronze doors, inlaid with a myriad of designs and symbols.

Q: classmate
A: After vespers, their classmates knelt to pray for one hour, spent an hour with their letters, then retired early to meditate and sleep, to reinvigorate their bodies for the tasks of the next day.

Q: uneventful
A: Bafway proved to be a long, uneventful month.

Q: chimney
A: Cat rested back against a sooty chimney, the warm bricks taking a bit of the bite from the night chill.

Q: imagination
A: Many images flitted through Elbryan's imagination as Juraviel sang: scenes of war and terror, scenes so very much like Dundalis on that awful day when the goblins came.

Q: temper
A: All of that was, of course, tempered by her realization that she was, in effect, a deserter.

Q: manhood
A: There would be a measure in this of his manhood, Avelyn realized, a test he could not fail.

Q: dizzy
A: Elbryan fell back against the wall, dizzy, defeated, with no answers.

Q: caress
A: A warm fog hung thick about him, caressing his body and dulling his senses.

Q: mingle
A: Frustration boiled in the young woman, mingling with desperation.

Q: surmise
A: Pony's first instincts were to try and join that battle group, but she quickly surmised that she would never get in.

Q: litany
A: Silently mouthing that litany, Elbryan inched his face toward the edge of the pine.

Q: collapse
A: The dog's legs splayed wide; it gave one yelp, then lay still, its back broken, its lungs collapsing.

Q: grimace
A: Cat did well to keep the grimace from her face.

Q: weirdly
A: The goblin staggered weirdly, dropped its weapon, and fell to its knees.

Q: gash
A: Elbryan saw the bright red gash, the white of split bone, the grayish brain.

Q: dismay
A: He looked ahead at the evergreen vale and noted to his dismay that a fight was going on down there.

Q: stifle
A: She took a moment to consider where she was, whose house this was, and she stifled a sob.

Q: vomit
A: Avelyn stepped out of the room, into the stone corridor, and vomited all over the floor.

Q: thrash
A: The creature went berserk, kicking and thrashing, flopping like a landed fish.

Q: thrashing
A: The pair rolled hard into the trunk of another tree, and the goblin abruptly stopped its thrashing.

Q: daze
A: Elbryan, dazed, his breath blasted away, nearly fainted.

Q: alter
A: Elbryan knew it, yet he did not slow his pace and did not alter his course.

Q: mumble
A: Tears ran freely down his cheeks; he mumbled the name "Dansally," over and over.

Q: fortune
A: Not one to argue with good fortune, Elbryan scrambled to his feet.

Q: casually
A: And all hope flew from him as a fomorian giant, holding a club as large as Elbryan's entire body, casually walked toward him.

Q: clamp
A: Cat-the-Stray clamped her teeth over one of his knuckles and bit him hard.

Q: securely
A: Thus she kept her cabin door securely locked.

Q: crank
A: Brother Avelyn turned hard on the crank, both wood and man groaning with each rotation.

Q: appropriately
A: Other bowyers would have marked the stem appropriately, but Joycenevial was far beyond such crude necessities.

Q: tan
A: And though she was not wearing the telltale red jacket, a woman dressed in a simple white shirt, tan pants, and bare feet was not a common sight.

Q: lure
A: If Jill ventured into that tight place, if this man was out here to lure her in, she would likely find, herself in grabby quarters indeed.

Q: assume
A: Pellimar seemed too eager, as if he expected Pimaninicuit to be quite close to Entel, but in truth, the Windjammer would likely spend the better part of four months getting to the island, and that was assuming favorable winds.

Q: sincerity
A: It was obvious that Avelyn had loved his mother dearly, and yet, there was a sincerity in his.

Q: aspect
A: So went the widely accepted argument that allowed for relaxing some aspects of the holy pledge.

Q: healing
A: Pony looked at Bradwarden, but the centaur was smiling widely, the healing salves already at work under the red bandage.

Q: musing
A: Of course Avelyn would not protest aloud, and even his silent musings were washed away as the heavy door opened silently, on balanced and oiled hinges, to reveal the greatest splendor of all.

Q: midsummer
A: Palmaris falls before midsummer, I say, and another powrie force sails to join us, makes fast for the Broken Coast.

Q: polished
A: There were several various stones within, all smooth and polished.

Q: uncomfortably
A: Jojonah cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Q: melodious
A: "In their melodious singing, so it is said, and in the metal their gardens `grow' from the soil."

Q: alternate
A: He collected himself quickly and did as instructed, alternating the number of raised fingers behind his back.

Q: volume
A: This gloom that had come to Honce-the-Bear had come before in a definite shape and manner that was oft-told in the historical volumes at St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: register
A: It took a long moment for Avelyn even to register the question.

Q: blurt
A: "Do those work?" he asked on impulse, blurting out his thoughts before he even realized he was speaking.

Q: grating
A: The fiend ended with yet another hideous laugh, but this time, Quintall heard his own grating voice joining in.

Q: horrid
A: That horrid thought set Pony into violent motion.

Q: ounce
A: Avelyn screamed, and the dactyl shrieked again, throwing all its magical strength, every ounce, behind the beam.

Q: shared
A: Too private and yet shared.

Q: visualize
A: Pony turned with a start, visualizing the fight on the road, the last she had seen of her father.

Q: riddle
A: One group in particular, a pile of many monstrous corpses together in the road, posed a curious riddle.

Q: sometime
A: Sometime later, as dusk descended, Pony's senses warned her that she was not alone.

Q: titter
A: To the left came a titter, a tiny voice whispering softly.

Q: exposed
A: Paulson was caught; he tripped over an exposed root and went facedown into the mud and slush.

Q: sapling
A: He had to leap away instead, far out to the side, crashing through twigs and saplings, for the boulder superheated, turned red, and then melted away right below him!

Q: slaughter
A: And what of those youngsters who had been slaughtered on the hill?

Q: attentive
A: Tuntun thought the boy might be calling to his mount, but Juraviel, who had been more attentive to the boy and his relationships, knew the truth.

Q: methodically
A: Cat ignored it and methodically placed the mugs on the table.

Q: rivalry
A: It seemed to Avelyn as if he had fallen into the middle of a running rivalry between the two older men.

Q: petty
A: But with no time for such petty problems, the ranger had dismissed the incident.

Q: nighttime
A: The short, stocky man went at the martial training as eagerly as Avelyn went at the nighttime studies.

Q: strict
A: Even his strict rules for duty had relaxed within the week, Pireth Tulme reverting to its typical partying ways.

Q: serene
A: The spirit was waiting for him, serene in the depths of the mirror.

Q: staring
A: It had come so fluidly, so fast, that Elbryan was still staring at the elf when he heard the third arrow hit.

Q: maniacal
A: Father Abbot Markwart appeared wickedly intense, the gleam in his eyes seeming almost maniacal, and certainly frightening.

Q: depression
A: Just inside, Elbryan noted the hooflike depression of the centaur's track.

Q: sear
A: All the world was blackness, was searing heat and unbearable agony, and Quintall knew no more.

Q: verge
A: And so it was with a true jumble of emotions, a purely teenage churning of confusion, fear and warmth, happiness and the verge of terror, that the young woman, no longer Cat-the-Stray, drifted off to a sleep of the sweetest dreams and the starkest nightmares.

Q: exertion
A: Then came a sound not so far below them, a deep breath as one might take after great exertion.

Q: bathe
A: Elbryan realized that he was bathed in a cold sweat.

Q: scowl
A: Elbryan's scowl melted away in curiosity.

Q: unpreparedness
A: All of it: the cancer that had grown in his world, the unpreparedness, the ungodliness of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: lush
A: Gray became green as they closed, lush vegetation thick on the slopes.

Q: unseen
A: Up on the balcony, unseen by the victim and his pair of torturers, Master Jojonah sighed and shook his head.

Q: replay
A: He forced himself to remember Dundalis, to replay the horror, that he might find a fighting edge.

Q: promising
A: Despite the promising events, the demon now paced about its obsidian throne anxiously.

Q: detachment
A: Certainly an emotional detachment would prove healthier for this young human who had been through so much and who had so many more trying experiences ahead of him.

Q: icy
A: Winter's icy grip weakened at last, more than three weeks after the vernal equinox.

Q: wad
A: He picked up his basket, cursed when one pant leg slipped down into the water, then waded out through the reeds.

Q: deceivingly
A: The stream flowed around one of the deceivingly high rises, turning out of sight just a couple dozen yards from where he stood.

Q: groin
A: A shift of the angle sent his staff poking straight up, smacking the man's groin.

Q: lick
A: There came a bright flash and then the monk lay still, low flames licking his lifeless body.

Q: agility
A: A combination of strength and agility, a balanced, thinking warrior.

Q: load
A: His legs grew strong and agile from carrying loads and dodging traps.

Q: erase
A: The young woman sighed deeply, paused a moment, then consciously worked hard to erase the perpetual frown from her face as she made her way to the three men calling her from the corner table.

Q: bustle
A: The moment ended all too soon, Cat-the-Stray tuning back to the bustle of the lively room about her.

Q: apology
A: Cat suffered the inevitable apology, the insincere man only offering it at the end of his twisted arm.

Q: populous
A: The real challenge lay in the south, in the most prosperous and populous kingdom, in Honce-the-Bear.

Q: predicament
A: The reminder of Jill's predicament bolstered the monk's failing courage.

Q: pelt
A: Then came the long journey, tagging along with a merchant caravan that had swapped crafted items to the people of the small frontier village in exchange for pelts and great trees that would be used as masts for the sailing ships built in Palmaris.

Q: orphan
A: Any reservations that the nobleman's family had held toward the peasant orphan girl had been washed away when they met Jill, truly beautiful both inside and out.

Q: splinter
A: The leg had splintered in the fall; Cat could see the jagged edge of a bone poking through the skin.

Q: garish
A: Adjonas straightened, the blood rushing to his face, making that garish scar seem all the more imposing.

Q: baldric
A: The rest of his dress, though weathered, was rich, particularly a golden brocade and jewel-studded baldric.

Q: perilous
A: He had to set the ground rules right away or this would be a long and perilous journey indeed.

Q: offend
A: To hear his fellow monks speaking of something as sacred as love in such crude terms did surprise and offend him.

Q: impart
A: Quintall seemed disgusted, but Siherton was unbending, silently imparting to the aggravated Quintall that his.

Q: mainmast
A: The other end of the rope was fixed to the yard of the mainmast.

Q: observe
A: He had learned to observe the world through the senses of each animal, understood now each creature's fears and needs.

Q: elm
A: The giant was near a wide-branching elm with thick, solid limbs.

Q: stature
A: Though diminutive in stature, they were said to be stronger than an average man and with incredible stamina.

Q: sparring
A: But in the weekly sparring contests, Jill released enough enemies from her memories to carry her through with a ferocity that had astonished her superiors.

Q: overrun
A: The monstrous troop in the south had been overrun, so it seemed.

Q: abrupt
A: The would be attacker skidded to an abrupt stop, recognizing the man.

Q: pivot
A: The eager young man rushed through the opening, shuffling a few steps past Tallareyish's right flank, then cut a swift pivot, grabbing his pole down low with both hands and sweeping it back.

Q: bold
A: Avelyn and Pellimar held their breath at the bold words.

Q: faraway
A: He had hoped simply to drive the bear faraway into the deeper woodlands.

Q: rigging
A: Smealy sent them far out on the yard, and they went easily, hanging under, hand over hand, adjusting the rigging and then sliding down the ropes to stand on the deck right beside the first hand.

Q: feathered
A: To the relief of the monks - though Quintall felt a bit of disappointment Adjonas tipped his great feathered hat to the monk and nodded slightly, a clear sign of respect.

Q: clasp
A: They were not clasped, rather, his right hand was cupped, fingers set tight, forearm muscles twitching from the strain.

Q: league
A: For now Avelyn, had his duties, and his goal was growing closer with each gliding league.

Q: chewing
A: Quintall would say no more about it, leaving Avelyn chewing his lip in frustration for the rest of the afternoon.

Q: smelly
A: A bear or a porcupine or even a smelly skunk might have slipped in here, and it was with great relief that Elbryan found the cave apparently empty, and not so large.

Q: solace
A: His only solace came in his many discussions with Master Jojonah, to whom he still felt a bond.

Q: nightshirt
A: Pony came through the brush lightly, wearing only a soft silken nightshirt that didn't reach her knees.

Q: impose
A: Adjonas straightened, the blood rushing to his face, making that garish scar seem all the more imposing.

Q: forsake
A: He could not do that, could not forsake his duty and the destiny that he had been shown by the Touel'alfar.

Q: twirl
A: Now firmly held in both hands, his staff made a second twirl, then came arching diagonally toward the ground, toward Tuntun.

Q: dirk
A: She couldn't even talk, and her dirk, like her sword before it, slipped uselessly from her weakened hand.

Q: stabbing
A: Connor thrust against her, but she felt no stabbing point.

Q: pluck
A: She was ripe for the plucking.

Q: borne
A: That left only one possibility, an escape borne on translucent wings.

Q: remarkable
A: And the amount of damage to the house was remarkable.

Q: proclamation
A: On those first few occasions, Connor took the rejection personally, as a slight, despite Jill's proclamations otherwise.

Q: bartender
A: The man with the broken arm shrugged noncommittally, then turned to the bartender, who likewise had no answers.

Q: gown
A: She would dress in the finest gowns and attend the highest social events in Palmaris, even in Ursal!

Q: lazily
A: The ruby, shining with power, arced lazily over the open hatch.

Q: prow
A: The barrelboat was moving much more swiftly than it appeared, for it cut no prow wake, as did the Windrunner.

Q: tack
A: Adjonas looked up at his sails, then at his crew, tacking frantically to keep them as full of wind as possible.

Q: ram
A: Hopefully we will be able to keep our pace swift enough so that the powries' initial ram causes little damage.

Q: quarrel
A: Even as Adjonas spoke, a flaming quarrel arched over the taffrail of the Windrunner, slashing into the rear sail.

Q: swimmer
A: With their heavy bodies and spindly limbs, powries were not strong swimmers, and Quintall easily overtook the dazed creature, pushing it under the water and gaining a seat atop its shoulders.

Q: loincloth
A: The elves prodded and pushed him, finally getting him out of his low tree house wearing only a cloak and a loincloth.

Q: dorsal
A: A second, smaller dorsal fin joined the first in its tightening ring.

Q: anxiously
A: Up ahead, Avelyn and Pellimar waited anxiously.

Q: uncommon
A: The fan had snagged on some seaweed or on something the caravel had dropped, so the dwarves thought, and it was not so uncommon an occurrence.

Q: snapping
A: Pellimar hit it again, a series of three quick left jabs, then brought his right leg up hard, snapping out his foot to connect right under the powrie's jaw.

Q: dangle
A: But they got him up to the rail, Quintall grabbing Pellimar and hauling the man onto the deck, Avelyn dangling dangerously low.

Q: dissipate
A: The excitement on the Windrunner did not dissipate until the powries were left far behind.

Q: bunch
A: The folk of Dundalis were, a hardy bunch, not shying from the occasional fight.

Q: spray
A: Cold winds and stinging spray buffeted the crew.

Q: decree
A: It was a strange decree, one that caught Avelyn so much by surprise that he hardly noticed Quintall had openly proclaimed the name of the island.

Q: mutiny
A: Quintall realized that shooting the desperate man in front of the crew would likely cause a mutiny.

Q: salve
A: Pony looked at Bradwarden, but the centaur was smiling widely, the healing salves already at work under the red bandage.

Q: dispatch
A: The cool and callous, way Quintall had dispatched the man, had murdered a human being, shook gentle Avelyn to his very bones.

Q: loved
A: The thought that Dansally had never loved caught Avelyn off his guard and settled him back for a bit.

Q: silhouette
A: And beyond the masses loomed a single dark silhouette, a conical mountain tipped by a steady stream of dark smoke.

Q: ignite
A: Another ball of flaming pitch soared out from the monastery, skipping in along the starboard rail of the vessel, igniting the mainsail into one tremendous flame.

Q: ballista
A: The barrage intensified, more pitch, great heavy stones, and giant ballista bolts battering the ill-fated craft.

Q: sizzle
A: But then came the worst thing of all - a hissing, sizzling noise.

Q: succumb
A: The blackness will not fall complete until the last free human spirit has succumbed.

Q: mend
A: Pellimar would carry scars forever, but surely he had mended.

Q: coil
A: He was heading back for his physical coil when he realized that time was against him.

Q: magnetite
A: It hit with a tremendous, thump, jerking the behemoth from the ground, and then, to Avelyn's amazement, for he had never really used magnetite before, the second giant in line shuddered violently as well.

Q: extraordinary
A: It was vespers, so few were about to observe the master and the guard, bearing his extraordinary burden, as they made their way to the abbey roof overlooking All Saints Bay.

Q: daylight
A: Using a chrysoberyl, a cat's-eye, he could see clearly in the dark and move along at daylight pace without the telltale glow of a light.

Q: inflection
A: Jojonah leaned over the rail, listening to every inflection, every whisper.

Q: gratitude
A: But for all their joy, for all the centaur's gratitude toward Pony, the three found themselves in a precarious position.

Q: jag
A: So many times he thought he would collide with jags of stone only to watch them rush under him at the last possible second.

Q: soggy
A: Flames licked at him, at his soggy muddy cloak, but he scampered along, buried by the blaze, bearing down on his unsuspecting enemy.

Q: military
A: Elbryan didn't believe it, not this time, not in looking at that military camp.

Q: hallway
A: Jill hurried down the hallway and entered the common room of the upper level.

Q: woodland
A: But there was no high ground, just thick woodlands, giving way to the brown and gray stones that lined the riverbank.

Q: sever
A: Elbryan rolled to one knee quickly and brought the sword flashing across, severing the plant at exactly the stripe.

Q: escort
A: The goblins and their giant escort moved along slowly but steadily, and soon after, Elbryan and his companions heard the rumble of the war engines, the grunts of the towing giants.

Q: meager
A: Occasionally, the group came upon a lone house or a few clustered together, the real frontier families, living beyond even the meager civilization of the three small villages.

Q: meander
A: The path meandered, joining another, then forking three ways.

Q: midair
A: Elbryan's staff picked it off in midair, deflecting the blow up high.

Q: jolly
A: of the tavern's proprietor, a jolly-looking man, and without a word - I suppose that was the moment the folk of the village began to suspect that l was a bit unusual - headed back the way I had come.

Q: hind
A: In came the giants at full charge; Bradwarden braced and set his hind legs firmly.

Q: trapping
A: Such were the trappings of power that Dosey did not realize what an ultimate bore and ridiculous buffoon he truly was.

Q: dislodge
A: A flick of the wrist dislodged the bar and Elbryan kicked open the door, striding a single step into the shack.

Q: befallen
A: Had they been prepared, this disaster would not have befallen them.

Q: hamlet
A: She recognized the name Tinson as that of the small hamlet some dozen miles inland from the fortress.

Q: fault
A: What had precipitated the trouble, a fault of Avelyn's or the man's lack of fault in an order grown perverse?

Q: brutish
A: He hail never held any love for brutish Quintall, but still he pitied the man.

Q: desertion
A: The master understood the man's desperation, despite the fact that Avelyn's crimes and subsequent desertion were not without precedent.

Q: forgive
A: The ranger nodded, forgiving himself for missing the signs.

Q: tentative
A: Theirs became a tentative friendship, an offered smile and exchange of news whenever the pair happened to be in the same area.

Q: unaware
A: They had been caught unaware; she noted no allies had yet exited the tower even as she got back to the front wall.

Q: plump
A: And then, quickly, the plump woman was gone, back into the bustle of the Way.

Q: whereabouts
A: Avelyn took a deep breath and cursed himself for sleeping the afternoon and all the night through while a potential clue to Jill's whereabouts was right below him.

Q: emanation
A: shortly thereafter, finding no magical emanations in or about the pitiful village.

Q: fortify
A: The two giants banged against the fortified wall for a moment, then simply stepped over it.

Q: emissary
A: This time, though, more than a few of the village folk were considering their options should an emissary approach.

Q: telepathically
A: You have destroyed the fool Dosey, then, the creature telepathically imparted to the monk, and have stolen his treasure.

Q: guided
A: Elbryan could hardly believe that he hadn't found this grove before, that his ranger instincts hadn't guided him to a place so naturally perfect, so in tune with the harmony of the forest.

Q: nicker
A: The horse nickered and threw back his head.

Q: conventional
A: At first, the monk used the conventional methods, the same lessons that had been given to him in St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: underestimate
A: But still she feared that his decision was folly, based on his underestimating the pain within her.

Q: creak
A: As if on cue, the burning catapult creaked again and slanted over farther.

Q: sidestep
A: She dodged each, sidestepping, then came in hard with a thrust of her own.

Q: dizzying
A: His power, sheer strength, was dizzying, overwhelming.

Q: flurry
A: Then the ranger went into a flurry: poking, swishing the staff side to side, then pulling it straight across, and alternating a series of heavy blows, left hand leading, right hand leading.

Q: dizziness
A: It went down hard, groaning, trying to shake the dizziness, growling against the searing pain.

Q: prop
A: Less than ten steps into the woods, he heard a single thump, a centaur's kick against a head propped by a tree trunk, and he knew that it was finished.

Q: puddle
A: Every so often, the pair crossed a low spot, a muddy puddle, and Elbryan spotted the deep tracks of Bradwarden.

Q: repay
A: I told you that I meant to repay a debt."

Q: afore
A: I've waited them out afore, and I'll wait them out again!'."

Q: bark
A: One of the powries stood tall on the first catapult, barking out commands.

Q: stampede
A: Goblins and powries scattered or were crushed beneath the charge, a hundred wild horses stampeding along the ravine.

Q: unmistakable
A: Avelyn and Bradwarden were thrilled to see their companions again, but their smiles could not hold against the tears running down Pony's cheeks and the unmistakable mist in Elbryan's eyes.

Q: thorn
A: They had become a large thorn in the side of the invading army, and no doubt the monstrous leaders in Dundalis and the other villages wanted to get the secretive band out in the open and deal with them once and for all.

Q: lodestone
A: Lodestone was highly magnetic; its enchantment would send it fast to a metal surface.

Q: passageway
A: Elbryan slammed hard, into the wall of the narrow passageway with his already broken arm.

Q: hatred
A: Who will quell the ancient and deep hatred between powrie and goblin when Bestesbulzibar is gone?

Q: sin
A: Was the dactyl the source of the deadly sins, or did it manifest itself and walk the world when those sins had festered to the point of eruption?

Q: embarrassment
A: Recognizing the boy's ultimate distress and embarrassment, Juraviel generously let the insult pass.

Q: legendary
A: Olwan Wyndon nodded, not wanting to get Brody into one of his legendary fits of outrage.

Q: recount
A: Elbryan closed his eyes and recounted the events in his mind.

Q: binding
A: He approached the snared creature boldly, only to find that it had chewed right through the leather bindings.

Q: shed
A: The monk had shed his telltale brown robe in favor of the more normal dress of a villager.

Q: humble
A: The bond had been particularly strong with Annalisa, a humble and spiritual woman, who had encouraged her youngest child to follow the path of God from his earliest recollections.

Q: divine
A: A stone of divining, Brother Justice then realized, and he was beginning to catch on.

Q: meditation
A: list day in prayer and meditation, mentally preparing himself for the task ahead.

Q: invisible
A: To Pony and Elbryan, alert as they were, the creature was invisible and unnoticed.

Q: misery
A: This was an action of a rogue goblin chieftain, perhaps, or one of the many powrie raiding parties, acting on their own initiative, bringing misery to the wretched humans.

Q: crawling
A: He glanced back to see a pair of powries crawling under the war engine, coming for him with prodding spears.

Q: carve
A: Twin rows of massive columns, each carved into the likeness of a giant warrior, lined the room.

Q: carving
A: Twice a week during the carving, he would coat the stem with special oils to add to its resilience.

Q: eagerness
A: The young man stared at him wide-eyed with hope and eagerness, his hands clenching and opening at his sides.

Q: remains
A: Scattered around it were the small quartz crystals, blackened, some stuck in the remains of the golden setting.

Q: latter
A: She knew that she was in pain, physical and emotional, but the reason for the latter escaped her conscious memory.

Q: lap
A: Grady was more than willing to comply, practically shoving Cat right onto the man's lap.

Q: cryptic
A: Elbryan glared at Juraviel, in no mood for cryptic talk.

Q: contemplate
A: Even after the showers ceased, the pair would have to wait some time before handling the heated stones, and then the work would be too furious and desperate to pause and contemplate God.

Q: fleet
A: That notion was lost along with so many others, fleeting thoughts banging into a wall of images.

Q: boundary
A: The fog had receded now to the edges of the vale, and there it hung, blurring the dark shadows of the towering mountains, blurring the boundary between earth and sky.

Q: laden
A: And their poles were laden with the deer they would need, and with ...

Q: cling
A: Avelyn clung to the powrie's sword arm, for all his life.

Q: heritage
A: It took him some time to heal, but he was strong, as is the way of your heritage.

Q: attain
A: And, in the end, it is a sense of accomplishment, of purpose, and not the wealth attained by such accomplishment, that equates to fulfillment and happiness.

Q: establishment
A: He liked the money the establishment brought in, though, and the young woman already understood that if Graevis and.

Q: fleeting
A: I remembered her so very vividly that she was indeed beside me once again for a few fleeting moments.

Q: drifting
A: Pellimar reached the drifting boat first, pulling himself cautiously up its slick, rounded side.

Q: disturbing
A: Cat-the-Stray shook her head violently, as if trying to launch the disturbing half memories right out of her ear.

Q: wholly
A: Avelyn, who had worked so closely with Quintall for more than four years, found that he believed the man wholly.

Q: sentiment
A: Brother Justice narrowed his eyes, not appreciating the sentiment, the way the foolish merchant tried to dominate him by referring to his superior in such familiar terms.

Q: flourish
A: He finished with a leaping flourish and landed pointing to the stripe.

Q: calculation
A: The showers, by their calculations, were now overdue.

Q: volatile
A: Elbryan looked at Bradwarden, and the centaur only shrugged, not about to disagree with the volatile friar's estimation of himself.

Q: compensation
A: "Extra compensation for the lost man," Adjonas remarked.

Q: plead
A: The creature's arms came up, reaching straight out toward the ranger, in a posture that might be threatening or pleading.

Q: circumvent
A: With the amber, he crossed wide lakes that his pursuers would have to circumvent.

Q: verbal
A: Elbryan said firmly, and even as he spoke the words, he understood Bradwarden's cunning verbal maneuver.

Q: conviction
A: It didn't take her long to realize that she was alone in her convictions.

Q: harvest
A: The trees are older, never harvested by humans, and darker.

Q: wit
A: Elbryan gathered his wits and began his dance of praise to the spirit of the bear, thanking it for its gift of food and warmth.

Q: confront
A: She was confronting her past, the monk knew, and he was glad of that, though he wished he could be of more help to the young woman.

Q: descending
A: Pony looked to the fight as she rose, saw Elbryan, Hawkwing in one hand, Tempest in the other, jump out of the path of a fast descending club, then leap back suddenly as a sword swished across.

Q: harshly
A: He ran about, kicking at feet, whispering harshly, until all the humans were roused.

Q: scattered
A: Goblins and powries scattered or were crushed beneath the charge, a hundred wild horses stampeding along the ravine.

Q: appreciation
A: - bow and a long dagger - and with a final look Symphony's way, a final nod of appreciation, she ran off into the night.

Q: strap
A: When he got there, Juraviel handed him a full pack, a fine knife strapped on one side, a balanced hand axe on the other.

Q: softness
A: Still, there was a delicate aura about her, a softness that a younger Elbryan had viewed as weakness, but the older Elbryan viewed as oddly distracting.

Q: sparkling
A: When Pony's eyes showed sadness, Elbryan felt it in his heart; when they soared with sparkling joy, Elbryan's feet moved involuntarily in dance.

Q: blank
A: Expressions ran from excitement to awkward fear to blank amazement as the villagers took stock of the kills, especially the last carcass on the shoulder poles, a smallish humanoid form.

Q: competition
A: Pony had told him many times that Kristeena was sweet for him, and the older girl, not viewing a ten-year-old as competition, had been charmed by the thought.

Q: underground
A: When the showers arrived, he and his fellow Preparer would be hidden underground, sheltered from the pelting meteors.

Q: sweetness
A: The sweetness was there, but somehow just out of Jill's reach.

Q: grayish
A: Elbryan saw the bright red gash, the white of split bone, the grayish brain.

Q: anymore
A: There were no lines of defense anymore, no organized pockets of resistance.

Q: buzz
A: The whole village had buzzed about the house because Olwan Wyndon was laying a stone foundation.

Q: involve
A: Pony, who hadn't been involved in the previous discussion at Avelyn's bedside, seemed not to understand.

Q: gallery
A: Brother Avelyn, too, ignored Tol Yuganick's cheering gallery.

Q: cloudless
A: But there was indeed light inside that room, such a light as to make Avelyn think of a cloudless midsummer day.

Q: fearing
A: And then she could look no more, fearing that she would find Thomas Ault, her father dear, among the dead.

Q: numbness
A: She stood and stared, and a numbness came over her, stealing her emotions.

Q: bravely
A: Elbryan could see his father had died bravely, and understanding.

Q: weightless
A: Every movement forced a countermovement from the weightless behemoth, and so, when the stupid thing brought its club high overhead for a mighty chop, the energy lifted the giant from the ground and tuned it right over in midair, a slow-motion somersault.

Q: grayness
A: Elbryan sprinted down the slope, back into the grayness, and found a smiling Juraviel waiting for him just a few feet beyond the mist's edge.

Q: rising
A: Bunkus Smealy turned about and waved his hand forcefully, quieting the rising murmurs.

Q: quality
A: Elbryan had that same impish quality about him as Mather, a love and luster of life, lurking just below the surface.

Q: cursed
A: He picked up his basket, cursed when one pant leg slipped down into the water, then waded out through the reeds.

Q: crowded
A: The young woman didn't look back as she made her way across the crowded floor to get the drinks.

Q: numb
A: Master Wink-and-Slap twisted his face at her again and gave a breathless burst of laughter, his throat no doubt numb from the drink.

Q: mast
A: Then came the long journey, tagging along with a merchant caravan that had swapped crafted items to the people of the small frontier village in exchange for pelts and great trees that would be used as masts for the sailing ships built in Palmaris.

Q: exist
A: Did such a thing as the Halo even exist, or was her memory a mere fantasy?

Q: society
A: Cat realized that she should have appeared more impressed, but in truth, little about society had ever meant anything to her.

Q: formally
A: Over the next couple of weeks, as they marched along the trails, Avelyn showed Jill just how much he had come to trust her, for he began formally tutoring her in the ways of the stones.

Q: disease
A: Even on successful voyages to Pimaninicuit, more often than not, one or more of the four monks did not return, for disease was a very real fact of life aboard ship.

Q: supporting
A: Elbryan countered by letting go of his staff with his top hand, rolling it under the blocking arm, then grabbing it and sweeping low for the monk's supporting leg.

Q: background
A: He knew it was music, though it seemed too soft, too much in the background for him to actually hear it.

Q: average
A: Though diminutive in stature, they were said to be stronger than an average man and with incredible stamina.

Q: beating
A: Elbryan chuckled, not surprised that predictable Tuntun enjoyed issuing the beatings.

Q: greeting
A: Again, he was more than polite, the perfect gentleman, not pressuring Cat to even so much as offer a greeting to him.

Q: social
A: She would dress in the finest gowns and attend the highest social events in Palmaris, even in Ursal!

Q: develop
A: Jojonah didn't really doubt that - he just wondered why in the name of God such a technique had ever been developed!

Q: patient
A: So he would be patient, would spend his nights walking with Jill and talking.

Q: damp
A: She tried to straighten her still-damp clothes, but realized that she would be conspicuous indeed to any, walking as she was without boots, and without the dirtied, calloused feet of a peasant woman.

Q: predict
A: The reaction of Pettibwa and Graevis to the news of the marriage was not hard to predict.

Q: suggestion
A: Elbryan only smiled, but Bradwarden's suggestion did not seem like such a bad idea.

Q: gaping
A: Avelyn meant to turn him over, but he could not find his breath when he looked at the fatal wound, a gaping hole smashed right through Thagraine's skull, brain matter splattered all about.

Q: reduce
A: The man would be reduced to an instrument of destruction, Avelyn's destruction.

Q: hopelessly
A: Juraviel sighed and looked hopelessly at his Lady, his guilt obvious upon his fair face.

Q: seeming
A: That seeming contradiction had left Elbryan in a quandary.

Q: strategy
A: Every attack and parry angle became ingrained in him; what had been conscious battle strategy melded into a reactive response or an anticipatory strike.

Q: skyward
A: Juraviel remained at the glowing fire pit until all had gone, his eyes ever skyward, looking for the blackest of forms.

Q: covering
A: He moved inside the grove, across the covering of snow to the secret cairn.

Q: sparse
A: The land was relatively flat and brown, with sparse low shrubs poking here and there.

Q: knocking
A: Elbryan swept his staff out to the left, knocking aside a club strike, then back to the right, parrying a sword.

Q: roaring
A: Out came the bear in full charge, roaring.

Q: pulling
A: The first of the giants came into sight, bending low, pulling hard, a heavy harness strapped across its torso.

Q: serving
A: Jill ordered her troop to filter about, then went to see the man behind the serving bar.

Q: bowling
A: The man ran every which way, bowling over all who would stand before him, laughing maniacally all the while, even when one of those dodging his charge landed a solid punch about his face or neck.

Q: boil
A: Frustration boiled in the young woman, mingling with desperation.

Q: chip
A: It was merely a diamond chip, useful for saving the candles and oil on long journeys.

Q: audience
A: She went in expecting a brewing row, but found instead that the mad friar, this time, had a fairly attentive audience.

Q: sorely
A: It was risky setting a light in the dark forest, but these folk sorely needed the warmth.

Q: secretive
A: Not only was her gain exponential, but so was the monk's understanding of this secretive woman - and of her dark past.

Q: hammer
A: The ranger smiled once more as Tol Yuganick attacked again, only to be hammered away.

Q: thief
A: She was sorry that Avelyn had been forced to act as thief and killer, sorry that this gentle man - and despite the barroom brawls, Pony knew Avelyn to be a gentle man - had been put into such an uncompromising position.

Q: stupidly
A: The ranger had to be satisfied with that; he and the refugees were in no position to take on a prisoner, especially one as fierce and stupidly bold as that powrie.

Q: ringing
A: Elbryan pressed on, Tempest hitting so often that the ringing song never paused.

Q: wilderness
A: Next spring would bring his thirteenth birthday, the passage from childhood in the hardy land that was the northern wilderness.

Q: oddly
A: He put a hand to his chin, an oddly human gesture.

Q: piping
A: Then they heard a distant piping, soft music, perfect melody.

Q: sensible
A: His mind drifted up from the ridge, from the solid ground, from the sensible experiences of his existence into the unknown, exhilarating joy of spirituality.

Q: injure
A: After a moment of shock, the goblins had thrown their spears, injuring one man.

Q: reluctantly
A: The cheer went up, and Shane McMichael, a quiet, slender young man just a few years older than Elbryan, reluctantly came forward to stand beside Olwan in front of the blazing hearth: With much prodding, the man was prompted to tell of the fight, of the cunning twist and parry and the straightforward thrust that had come too soon for the goblin to completely dodge.

Q: discount
A: Pony shrugged, not willing to discount the possibility of giants, not after viewing a dead goblin.

Q: statue
A: Along one wall stood a gigantic statue, fifteen feet or more, dressed in a heavy leather jacket, trimmed in fur and set with spiked metal plates and heavy iron rings.

Q: similarly
A: He calmed quickly, though, seeing that all of his classmates were similarly entranced and that the Father Abbot and the other ranking monks seemed not to care.

Q: crumble
A: The left-hand wall of the throne room crumbled; the twin lava flows intensified, spurting molten stone across the room.

Q: absolutely
A: The simple fact that they could not be absolutely certain offered Elbryan all the encouragement he needed.

Q: influence
A: It had awakened, darkness rising, and already its influence was spreading throughout Corona.

Q: portly
A: She stood up and offered her hand, helping the portly monk to his feet.

Q: retire
A: That night, Avelyn retired to his room, thoroughly exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

Q: volunteer
A: He had spent all his waking hours at demanding work, volunteering for the most difficult parts of each task.

Q: flood
A: Images of his mother flooded his thoughts; he wondered if he might see a vision of her now, a visitation of her spirit before it went to its place in heaven.

Q: experienced
A: After only a few weeks in the abbey, Avelyn knew enough about the routine to understand that students much older and more experienced than he were the normal choice for any tasks, however menial, in the Abbot's Maze.

Q: practically
A: Jojonah moved into the room, Avelyn practically stumbling behind him.

Q: click
A: Master Siherton came out of Markwart's room alone, his boots clicking on the floor as he made his way in the direction of the stone room.

Q: fancy
A: There was indeed a mystery here that no tumble of fancy words could lay bare; there was something here of a higher order.

Q: beckon
A: A slanting ray cut in through the smoke, a single shaft of light that beckoned the girl back to the land of the living.

Q: investigate
A: Pony thought she should go closer to investigate, but she hadn't the stomach.

Q: forceful
A: his father's stern and forceful way, he was not surprised.

Q: resourceful
A: He remembered Mather at the start of the legendary ranger's career, a bumbling boy no more adept and probably not even as resourceful as this Elbryan.

Q: conclusion
A: And to the young man who had somehow survived a goblin raid, such a conclusion meant it could only be one thing.

Q: defiantly
A: The young woman shook her head defiantly, then looked back at the stallion, who reared and whinnied, as if to prod her on.

Q: comparison
A: Something about the comparison, something she could not grasp, tugged hard at her, begging for release.

Q: lurk
A: Elbryan had that same impish quality about him as Mather, a love and luster of life, lurking just below the surface.

Q: frightening
A: The situation came to a frightening head one especially hot humid morning.

Q: channel
A: Avelyn growled low and called to God, begging for more energy, channeling it, as pure a conduit of godly might as ever had stood upon Corona.

Q: righteousness
A: Were the fifteen Holy Orders of God, the rules of righteousness, truly God inspired, or were they merely rules of keeping order within a civilized society?

Q: pressing
A: At this point, Tallareyish was playing white, pressing the attack, but Elbryan meant to reverse that.

Q: innocently
A: "But what would they do with their booty?" Avelyn reasoned innocently, drawing looks from the other five.

Q: highly
A: Lodestone was highly magnetic; its enchantment would send it fast to a metal surface.

Q: sexual
A: Thagraine's perception of his sexual past was indeed accurate.

Q: briskly
A: She jumped when he briskly entered, pulling the covers from her bed up before her.

Q: keenly
A: His sense of order was simply too strong, his sense of right and wrong too keenly developed.

Q: union
A: A physical union she could not abide - not with this man, not with Connor!

Q: explore
A: What he came to understand from that viewpoint was a sense of self he had never before felt free to explore.

Q: tail
A: Thinking that the centaur had changed his mind and was trying to flee, the giant lunged for that tail, but Bradwarden's haunches came up high, the centaur kicking out with both his hind legs, hard hooves perfectly aligned with the stooping monster's ugly face.

Q: commit
A: He was somewhat concerned that no sounds of battle came to him from further south, from the lead group, but he and his companions were committed, he knew, and would have to trust that Pony would not let the goblins and giant get behind them, cutting off any quick retreat.

Q: definite
A: The elf had been searching for Symphony, her desires formulating into a definite plan.

Q: lonely
A: A short while later one haggard-looking soldier - a man of forty years by the name of Gofflaw, who had spent more than half his wretched life in the Kingsmen, including a dozen years in the Coastpoint Guards shuffling from one lonely outpost to another came staggering out to the wall, making his way toward Jill.

Q: aged
A: Juraviel explained as the aged elf came out of his home and slowly descended.

Q: powder
A: Without explanation, Lady Dasslerond then threw a handful of glittering powder in Elbryan's face.

Q: deepen
A: As their friendship deepened, their trust becoming so strong, Avelyn again dared to use the hematite to instruct Jill.

Q: deceive
A: They had named the ranger Nightbird, and so the elf's dream had not deceived him.

Q: smoothness
A: He was amazed by its balance, by the smoothness of its long and comfortable draw.

Q: impression
A: That impression did little to calm Elbryan's fears.

Q: chain
A: Elbryan tugged again and the chained balls slipped off the staff's end, freeing both weapons.

Q: difficulty
A: He crossed with some difficulty, but had no trouble regaining the trail on the other side, for the rider was making no effort to conceal his tracks.

Q: evade
A: With a howl, it finally let go, scrambling about to evade the jabbing dagger.

Q: rent
A: Would Avelyn, who held the stones as most sacred, rent out their powers?

Q: effectively
A: A blizzard could effectively shut the folk in their homes for a week straight.

Q: access
A: That joining by means of the hematite when he had been sorely wounded had given her an understanding of accessing the powers on a level that other monks spent months, even years, trying to attain.

Q: feign
A: It is evident in every stride you take, in every smile you feign= yea, feign, I say, for have you really smiled, Jill?

Q: bounty
A: It was more than any bounty, the ranger knew.

Q: substance
A: This man had been-poisoned, no doubt about it, but the poison was not based in any substance, in any herb or plant or any animal venom.

Q: confidently
A: Maiyer Dek smiled confidently.

Q: leafless
A: All the trees that had been on Aida's slopes were laid out flat, leafless, most of their branches blown away.

Q: gust
A: After the gust, the heat remained.

Q: stirring
A: It didn't seem such a momentous thing, just a gradual stirring in a deep cave in a far, empty mountain.

Q: wandering
A: The tangible, corporeal body felt good to the wandering spirit.

Q: rend
A: Hooves of music rend the gloom

Q: grown
A: Obviously the man, or elf or whatever it might be, was important to the Touel'alfar; obviously they had graced this place, this cairn and the grove that had grown about it, with more than a small measure of their magic.

Q: reddish
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: humanlike
A: The demon spread wide its black wings and reached back with one humanlike arm, claws extended toward the flowing lava, grabbing the power and channeling it.

Q: hooked
A: The demon extended its fingernails, transformed them into hooked claws, and grew its teeth-two pointed canines extending down over its bottom lip.

Q: sickening
A: A sickening feeling washed over Elbryan.

Q: scurry
A: She scurried away, suddenly uncomfortable.

Q: muffle
A: Elbryan tried to muffle his snicker; the girl hated that nickname, Jilly, though nearly everyone in town called her that.

Q: nickname
A: He screwed up his face, the ridiculous nickname sounding foolish in his ears.

Q: illuminate
A: Candlelight spilled out onto the road, softly illuminating the girl.

Q: dismissively
A: Tol snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

Q: enchanting
A: So now here he was, in a land enchanting and terrifying, sharing the forest with these creatures that he could not understand and could not defeat.

Q: turmoil
A: Despite that turmoil, Elbryan found himself nodding.

Q: horrifying
A: And then suddenly, it was gone, destroyed by a horrified, and horrifying, scream.

Q: feverish
A: What struck Jill most about him was his almost feverish intensity, his brown eyes showing a luster, a life, beyond anything she had seen in many years.

Q: crunch
A: Elbryan froze as he heard the crusty snow crunch under his feet.

Q: relish
A: Pony had won that battle by accepting, even relishing, those private feelings, the warmth that washed over her whenever she looked upon Elbryan.

Q: barefoot
A: Every time he gazed upon the white carpet, he wanted to take off his shoes and pants and run through it barefoot and bare legged, to feel its softness between his toes and brushing against his shins.

Q: legged
A: Every time he gazed upon the white carpet, he wanted to take off his shoes and pants and run through it barefoot and bare legged, to feel its softness between his toes and brushing against his shins.

Q: deciduous
A: Autumn was well advanced, and all the leaves of the deciduous trees, particularly the sugar maples, were bright with colors, shining red and orange and yellow, painting the ridge.

Q: northeastern
A: The month had turned to Parvespers, the last month of the autumn, when the Windrunner swept around the northeastern reach of the Mantis Arm, past Pireth Tulme and into the Gulf of Corona.

Q: chatter
A: This was a place of natural noises: running streams, cackling birds, and chattering animals.

Q: prickly
A: Pony caught up to him, even passed him over that last expanse, leading the way through the tangle of two wide pines, pushing aside the prickly branches and bursting into a clearing right beside the returning party.

Q: crook
A: Elbryan walked a crooked path to the food and stubbornly salvaged what he could.

Q: credence
A: Avelyn's lack of initial response to the news that his mother had died had lent credence to Siherton's complaints.

Q: oft
A: This gloom that had come to Honce-the-Bear had come before in a definite shape and manner that was oft-told in the historical volumes at St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: derisive
A: Pony didn't miss her companion's derisive snort.

Q: snag
A: Earlier that year, at the beginning of summer, some of the younger children had snagged a badger in a noose.

Q: blazing
A: Avelyn undressed and wrapped a blanket about himself, then sat alone with his thoughts in front of a blazing fire.

Q: locked
A: Even as Cat started to turn back for the first, the drunk's arms came about her and locked about her chest, squeezing her tight.

Q: olive
A: Even from this distance, the elves could see the olive-green orbs sparkling with intensity, truly seeing the imagined foes.

Q: gesture
A: He looked at Pony and winked, and was surprised when she returned the gesture with a serious frown.

Q: voluminous
A: Twenty-five stood in a line, cloaked in thick brown robes with voluminous sleeves and large hoods that were pulled low to hide their faces.

Q: southeastern
A: No land came in sight for three days, the Windjammer making a direct run to the southeastern point of the Gulf of Corona, the northern tip of the region known as the Mantis Arm.

Q: solemn
A: The ceremony went off perfectly solemn yet joyous, ladies crying, men standing tall and handsome.

Q: toil
A: He got his reward for his morning's toils when he returned to the bog to collect the tenth loaded basket.

Q: grueling
A: The schedule was grueling, designed to find weakness and break those who were not fit for the daily rigors of the Order of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: testing
A: Eight years of formal study, eight years of grueling testing, had brought Avelyn to this point, one of twenty-five remaining of the two thousand twelve-year-olds who had begun the process, each desperately vying to gain admittance in this class of God's Year 816.

Q: eyelid
A: But weariness overtook him, caught him where he sat, and brought his eyelids low.

Q: mortality
A: Inevitably, though, that led Elbryan to thoughts of mortality and thus to the recent fate of his family and friends.

Q: momentary
A: None of the group was hurt; but the momentary distraction gave the drained dactyl the time to retreat.

Q: windblown
A: Thoughts of his parents could not hold Avelyn's attention as the group crossed the windblown courtyard and entered the grand entrance hall of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: dramatically
A: He resisted, and the hematite receded dramatically, almost forcing him from the trance.

Q: gruesome
A: Spurred by the gruesome sight, she attacked fiercely.

Q: wariness
A: For the adults, the specter of the goblins brought a sobering wariness and then a troublesome distraction.

Q: respectfully
A: Each of this group nodded respectfully at his younger counterparts as he passed them on the rim; some mentioned that Elbryan's patrols would serve as their vital liaison with the village proper.

Q: compliment
A: After that exchange of compliments, even the passing of endless uneventful hours could not dampen the thrill for the youngsters.

Q: uneventfully
A: Half an hour passed uneventfully, Elbryan walking and looking about, constantly awed by the beauty and the.

Q: sympathize
A: Brother Justice understood this, though he hardly sympathized.

Q: luster
A: Elbryan looked at her, little luster showing in his normally bright green eyes.

Q: bump
A: He dared to put his arms around Pony's back, dared to pull her closer, feeling the strangely interesting curves and bumps of her body against his own as they came together.

Q: urgency
A: The kiss shifted, from curiosity to urgency, then back to gentleness.

Q: wag
A: If that was the case, would he be justified in waging battle with these six?

Q: formerly
A: The creature flexed its great wings and settled back in the throne it had shaped from the obsidian that had formerly served as its tomb.

Q: unreal
A: It was too unreal, too beyond their experience and expectations.

Q: expectation
A: It was too unreal, too beyond their experience and expectations.

Q: rag
A: Avelyn thought his very skin would slip off his body, a great rag, and fall rumpled to the deck.

Q: loll
A: Elbryan looked over at Tol, the man's head lolling about on his shoulders.

Q: sag
A: The young man shifted to a sitting position and sagged on the wet ground.

Q: grotesque
A: As if in a grotesque mockery of that hope, a goblin marched around that corner, bearing down on the girl.

Q: pointy
A: The ugly goblin face, all twisted teeth and long pointy nose, was barely inches from Elbryan's face, and closer still when the creature began to butt the boy.

Q: butt
A: He pulled her hands out wide, and she used the opening to head-butt him again.

Q: overrule
A: Wisdom overruled his rage, though, and he stayed hidden and let them pass.

Q: choke
A: But before it could get anywhere near to the young man, the giant went down, choking in its own blood.

Q: impatient
A: The stunned man stammered, taking too long for the impatient monk's comfort.

Q: speck
A: He turned his fingers gently to flick a speck of mud from her cheek, though his gaze never left her shining blue eyes.

Q: squint
A: Master Siherton squinted ominously and leaned close over Avelyn, glaring openly.

Q: chore
A: In addition to their daily duties as first - and second - year students at the abbey, they were given the extra chores of preparation for their journey to Pimaninicuit.

Q: lust
A: And, because of that passion, because of worldly lusts, a man who could be controlled.

Q: commission
A: That thought shook Jojonah as he looked around at his decorated chamber, at the beautiful tapestry he had commissioned from the gallery of Porvon dan Guardinio, among the most respected artists in all the world.

Q: immaculates
A: Jojonah glanced around the room again, reminding himself that most of the other masters, even some of the tenth-year immaculates, had chambers more richly adorned.

Q: herald
A: Only the call to vespers, the ceremony heralding eventide, had interrupted Avelyn's frantic pace.

Q: disappointment
A: She wasn't, to Avelyn's ultimate disappointment.

Q: oval
A: The central stone of the broach was a hematite, as he had suspected, an oval of liquid gray, deep and smooth.

Q: portal
A: Beyond this portal, Avelyn saw a huge room, braced by columns and lit by the orange flow of molten stone.

Q: latch
A: Avelyn blinked; amid the wonders of the door, he hadn't even noticed the huge latch!

Q: hinge
A: Of course Avelyn would not protest aloud, and even his silent musings were washed away as the heavy door opened silently, on balanced and oiled hinges, to reveal the greatest splendor of all.

Q: crystalline
A: Avelyn studied the way the light worked off the many facets of the diamonds, how it seemed to delve within the stone itself, swirling down to crystalline depths.

Q: astronomical
A: They studied the Halo, the charts that determined the astronomical data which would indicate the time of the showers.

Q: girdle
A: Perhaps he would shine in the heavens above, a fifth light on the girdle of Progos-Behemoth!

Q: groove
A: Looking closer, Avelyn noted grooves in the wall.

Q: lever
A: Jill did see that a detachment of six soldiers was at the catapult, three working the levers, three desperately trying to hold a handful of powries at bay.

Q: effortlessly
A: He understood the command and willed himself off the ground, drifting effortlessly toward the ceiling.

Q: whispering
A: To the left came a titter, a tiny voice whispering softly.

Q: tenfold
A: The ominous growling increased tenfold, a hundredfold, deafening Avelyn, blocking the sounds of the dactyl's shrieks.

Q: hidden
A: When he was gone, Master Jojonah replaced the stones, closed the case, then went to the wall and moved the hidden switch to lock it fast.

Q: slanting
A: A slanting ray cut in through the smoke, a single shaft of light that beckoned the girl back to the land of the living.

Q: multitude
A: Elbryan took it and, ignoring the multitude of questions that again swirled in his thoughts, silently followed.

Q: stiffen
A: The elf straightened and stiffened, and leaned forward over the lunging boy's head and shoulders.

Q: uncertain
A: Torn and uncertain, the ranger fitted an arrow to Hawkwing.

Q: exhaustion
A: Mercifully, Elbryan's grief had brought with it exhaustion, and the boy had found some sleep.

Q: moist
A: It was warm; Elbryan felt that first, felt a soft, moist sensation gently touching all his skin.

Q: transfer
A: News that she would soon be transferred to Pireth Vanguard far to the north, did little to change Jill's sullen mood.

Q: lace
A: Now, seeing her adorned in a white gown of satin and lace, her long, thick blond mane pinned up on one side and hanging loose on the other, she seemed made for royalty.

Q: chief
A: Juraviel, Elbryan's chief sponsor with Lady Dasslerond, took it lightly.

Q: casting
A: The moon was above the easternmost boughs, casting slanted rays upon him, and he realized how foolish he had been and how vulnerable he now was.

Q: flustered
A: He looked at the flustered young monk, then across the deck at the other three.

Q: soothing
A: Soothing sounds, and that made defiant Elbryan panic even more.

Q: pirouette
A: Sometimes they held hands, and other times they let go long enough for every other elf to turn a graceful pirouette.

Q: navigate
A: Elbryan still could not navigate this area, but he was gaining some understanding.

Q: dread
A: As the year progressed, as Avelyn further separated himself from the other three candidate Preparers, he came to dread his daytime matches against any of them, particularly Quintall.

Q: mishap
A: Inside, Avelyn glimpsed Siherton and Jojonah with the Father Abbot, the old man livid about the mishap in the stone room.

Q: severe
A: Thagraine and Avelyn exchanged grave looks, given the man's uncharacteristic tone and the severe look on Quintall's face.

Q: procedure
A: Sometimes that work entailed exhaustive study, reading text after text and reciting procedures so many times in rapid succession that Avelyn would often continue reciting them after he had gone to sleep.

Q: distinguish
A: Their fear isolates them, and they often cannot distinguish friend from foe.

Q: rival
A: By the third year, Master Siherton also became invaluable as a mediator between the two rivals from the class of God's Year 816, coaxing Quintall into easing up on his jealousy of Avelyn.

Q: astonish
A: But in the weekly sparring contests, Jill released enough enemies from her memories to carry her through with a ferocity that had astonished her superiors.

Q: vigorously
A: The hard-headed powrie shook its head vigorously, lips flapping.

Q: accusing
A: Its head snapped about, an accusing glare falling over the trembling goblin.

Q: urgently
A: So they went on, even more urgently, accepting the grate as a sure sign that they were in an important area, probably the dactyl's own.

Q: onlooker
A: The bells of the abbey pealed repeatedly, drawing curious onlookers from the nearby village of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: surf
A: As he neared the pounding surf, Avelyn shifted the amber into the hand holding the malachite and brought forth its powers as well.

Q: horizontally
A: Elbryan presented his long pole horizontally in front of him; the elf responded by crossing his two smaller poles, replicas of slender elvish swords, in the air before him.

Q: wharf
A: A new wharf had been constructed, reaching far enough out into the bay so that the Windrunner could dock.

Q: drip
A: Avelyn's brown robes were tattered and dripping; he had the stench of burned hair about him.

Q: dunk
A: He put Elbryan's head under the liquid, brought him up, sputtering, then dunked him again.

Q: semiconscious
A: For the boy who had just witnessed such carnage and loss, the semiconscious state was preferable.

Q: mossy
A: He was on a mossy bank, a gentle slope that put his head comfortably above his feet.

Q: aroma
A: Elbryan's instincts - something about the air, perhaps, the aroma told him this was not the slope leading out of Dundalis up to the ridgeline, the slope where he had met the ...

Q: discomfort
A: The crew were blaming the monks for their discomfort, for this whole journey.

Q: perpetual
A: Each day seemed as the last, an existence of perpetual watch and work.

Q: proved
A: He started to run, first left, then up, then, when that course proved too difficult, back to the right, all the while calling out for his father or mother or for anyone.

Q: bony
A: Its limbs were incredibly slender, but they weren't bumpy and bony like Jilseponie's had been when she was much younger.

Q: solidity
A: Far from it; there was a sureness, a fluid solidity to the creature that warned Elbryan this tiny foe would be more difficult than any of the goblins he had battled, perhaps more difficult even than the giant.

Q: treetop
A: Elbryan had the distinct feeling the mist and the treetops were somehow connected.

Q: raw
A: The elf politely kept the question to himself, though, understanding the wounds were too raw in this young one.

Q: brook
A: This grove - every flower, every bush, every tree and stone, and the trickling brook that crossed it - was something more than the ordinary forests of the region.

Q: angrily
A: Cric started to respond, eagerly and angrily, it seemed to Elbryan, but the tall man went silent as Paulson stormed back over to the fire.

Q: godliness
A: It was the end, the end of hope, of any pretense of godliness.

Q: considerably
A: Juraviel's smile calmed Elbryan considerably.

Q: anxiety
A: For Juraviel's anxiety was clearly etched on his fine features - how could it have been otherwise when he had been speaking to his protégé Elbryan about this very subject not a week's time past?

Q: conduct
A: Had they heeded their own code of conduct, the powries would have been repulsed.

Q: stoically
A: Even when giant footsteps were noted mingled in with those of the wretched smaller humanoids, the village leaders only shrugged stoically and began sharpening their long broadswords and heavy axes.

Q: bobbing
A: Avelyn finally reached Pellimar and hooked his arm around the bobbing man's shoulder.

Q: beacon
A: They are sparkles of unanswerable wonder, and, too, the beacons of hope.

Q: ragged
A: Elbryan rolled his breeches up over his knees - not that the worn and ragged pants would stay that way for long!

Q: singsong
A: "Yes, mad brother Avelyn Desbris," she replied in the same singsong voice,

Q: solstice
A: By his reckoning, the winter solstice had passed, and he knew Dundalis, or what was left of the village, was likely under several feel of snow.

Q: hardship
A: And, again as befitted the race, they were undeniably hardy, tall and square shouldered, accustomed to hardship.

Q: chilly
A: Thus it went for the bulk of the morning, for the bulk of every morning: the boy moving carefully about the chilly bog, collecting ten baskets of milk-stones.

Q: leafy
A: With the aid of a slanting sunbeam poking down through a break in the leafy boughs, he then spotted a series of nearly translucent trip lines, of height ranging from ankle to knee, blocking one long straight section of the trail.

Q: zip
A: Something zipped by him, just under his chin.

Q: entangle
A: He twisted his staff around the man's arm, hooking him under the armpit, stepped with his left foot across his body behind the man's entangled side, then heaved with all his strength, launching the wretch into the air to land heavily on his back and the back of his head.

Q: coward
A: Only a coward would shoot from the boughs.

Q: tantalizing
A: He found, however, that as soon as his left arm extended, his fist flying so tantalizing near Tuntun's swaying head, that his moment of control had passed.

Q: isolated
A: He felt so alone and isolated, felt as if he would have been better off had these vile elves not come and rescued him from the fomorian.

Q: sip
A: She smiled at him again, pushed the wineglass, from which she had not sipped, back in front of him, and took her leave.

Q: rein
A: Elbryan slipped down from Symphony and handed his reins to Bradwarden.

Q: fluidity
A: Yet measured against the speed and agility of the elves, the fluidity of their movements, substituting perfect balance for lack of weight and strength, Elbryan truly felt a novice.

Q: recognizable
A: The monk's body was hardly recognizable, a charred, smoldering thing.

Q: frequent
A: The noble visitors to Palmaris mostly stayed at the more haughty establishments, those near or within the duke's castle, but for those who knew, for the lesser merchants and the frequent wanderers, there was no better place in the world than Fellowship Way.

Q: coo
A: hair aside, and gently kissed the nape of her neck, the soft kiss turning slowly more urgent, a harder kiss, a gentle bite, and when she cooed quietly, a harder bite still.

Q: smirk
A: The four crewmen of the Windrunner's boat, which was bouncing noisily against the wooden dock, sat through it all with smirking faces, thoroughly amused and certainly not impressed.

Q: tray
A: Pettibwa was forever laughing, dancing with her tray from one table to the next.

Q: buttock
A: One arm slipped down to the back of her bare leg, then up under the nightshirt, over the smooth skin of her buttocks, gently up her back, bracing her as Elbryan slowly shifted her down to the ground.

Q: unsuspecting
A: And it was all done in such good fun that neither Graevis nor any suitor of her unsuspecting dance partner ever seemed to care.

Q: unthreatening
A: The young woman closed her eyes and felt the gentle, unthreatening stroke on her hair.

Q: subtly
A: One of his senses subtly called out a warning to him.

Q: tow
A: Adjonas gave a curt nod, and Quintall paced by him, the other three monks in tow.

Q: inspired
A: The young woman made her way around the back of the inn, down a dark alley that inspired no fear, and up a gutter, to the one section of Fellowship Way's roof that was not slanted.

Q: slug
A: Jill changed tactics and began slugging the dwarf in the face instead, then poking for its eyes.

Q: gag
A: It was a dagger, small but nasty, and thrown perfectly to hit the gagged and bound woman right in the throat, just under her jawbone.

Q: salute
A: Elbryan gave a salute to that place on the forest's edge where the stallion had disappeared, a motion of respect and understanding that he and Symphony had their own separate lives but were joined now.

Q: rooftop
A: It was up on that rooftop, under a sky that was streaked by clouds and stars, that Connor first mentioned the prospect of marriage.

Q: civilize
A: Were the fifteen Holy Orders of God, the rules of righteousness, truly God inspired, or were they merely rules of keeping order within a civilized society?

Q: leverage
A: The man was impossibly strong, his stocky frame and low center of gravity giving him the leverage he needed to punish Avelyn endlessly.

Q: unsettling
A: To the small group whose very lives depended on absolute secrecy, there could have been no more unsettling possibility than that of a traitor in their midst.

Q: ferocious
A: When she wouldn't - couldn't - tell him anything about the staff-wielding stranger who had intervened in the inn, the ferocious monk had beaten her again, and now one of her eyes was swollen closed.

Q: isle
A: What Avelyn focused on, therefore, was the destination, the isle itself.

Q: stud
A: Then Avelyn saw the reason, saw clearly the powrie's studded bracers, glowing fiercely with enchantment.

Q: garment
A: His hand came up and unlaced her cloak; and she let the garment drop without protest, cool air on her skin.

Q: crop
A: The crack of the crop brought Jojonah's attention back to the scene at hand.

Q: glisten
A: The ceremony began before dawn, intensified as the sun glistened on the horizon across the waters, then went on and on, one prayer after another, each song louder than the previous.

Q: disturb
A: The pair slowed as they approached, knowing that to disturb Paulson usually meant a slap on the head.

Q: curt
A: Adjonas gave a curt nod, and Quintall paced by him, the other three monks in tow.

Q: skittish
A: And to a deer, perhaps the most skittish creature of all ...

Q: twitch
A: The deer's head came up, ears twitching, scanning; Elbryan's smile vanished.

Q: uneven
A: Elbryan was expected to bathe daily, to keep his clothing clean, and since his beard was splotchy and uneven, not yet that of a man, to keep his face clean shaven.

Q: elude
A: Elbryan held steady his breath, paying close attention, for though he could understand the melodic language, many individual words might elude him if he was not careful.

Q: stealth
A: Even though the trails seemed easy for at least a short distance, Tuntun decided that it would be better for her to use stealth.

Q: fury
A: The demon could smell the blood and taste the fury as surely as if it had been on the scene with its chieftains.

Q: clockwise
A: Over went his spinning pole, clockwise to his right, then it went over again, and then a third time, Elbryan sliding his foot further to the right with each spin.

Q: reasonable
A: The fellow had his huge axe out in front of him, and if Elbryan couldn't offer a reasonable answer, there was little doubt what he meant to do with it.

Q: diva
A: Something daring, even desperate, like the shadow dive Tallareyish had used to defeat him.

Q: timing
A: She collected ten of Pireth Tulme's Coastpoint Guards, using their hangovers as a tool for rejecting more of the others, then set out, double-timing the march down the dirt path.

Q: permanent
A: Elbryan had come to think of his life with the elves as a permanent arrangement, had figured that he would live in Andur'Blough Inninness for the rest of his mortal days.

Q: slyly
A: Cat-the-Stray tried to ignore the whispers and the sidelong glances, but even Pettibwa, cheery cheeked and grinning slyly, caught Cat's gaze and nodded her head in the man's direction more than once.

Q: contemptuously
A: He spat contemptuously.

Q: heartily
A: Cat could hardly believe she had spoken the words, but her horror vanished when Connor laughed heartily.

Q: meself
A: I'd been thinking o' killing them meself, when I seen an animal chewing off its leg in one o' their wicked catchers."

Q: bawdy
A: Why, ye act like no man's a good man!" The woman gave a bawdy wink.

Q: jiggle
A: Putting your maidenhead on a barbed hook and jiggling it before the baron's nephew."

Q: riotously
A: The older woman laughed riotously, and Cat took the welcomed break in the conversation to consider her words.

Q: nobility
A: Perhaps her ascension into local nobility would even raise their own station in life, and Jill would treasure that above all else.

Q: sensual
A: They represented another side of the girl, a womanly side, sensual, sexual - a part that Cat's free and girlish spirit was not yet ready to admit.

Q: avenue
A: Tuntun's only avenue of escape was straight down to the ground, and so she took it unceremoniously.

Q: lash
A: Before she could even consider the question or the implications, Cat found herself mesmerized by the way his lashes closed upon those beautiful brown eyes.

Q: crestfallen
A: Perhaps it was the slightly crestfallen look of his friend Juraviel that tipped him to the truth of his own thoughts.

Q: fathom
A: But the old sea dog couldn't fathom the level of physical training these four men had endured.

Q: scratch
A: Smealy squinted perhaps a dozen times in the next few seconds and lifted a hand to scratch hard at his gray hair - to kill a few lice, Avelyn figured.

Q: regal
A: The ranger sat quietly, cutting a regal figure, his bow and sword at rest.

Q: unintelligible
A: The fat man sputtered something unintelligible and turned away, waving his hand dismissively.

Q: potentially
A: The bond was immediate and secure, the four monks putting aside their personal squabbles in light of potentially more dangerous enemies.

Q: belowdecks
A: Quintall returned to them much later that evening, belowdecks in the closet-sized.

Q: weird
A: There was something weird about his smile, Avelyn noted, something misplaced..

Q: misplace
A: There was something weird about his smile, Avelyn noted, something misplaced..

Q: vainly
A: Avelyn narrowed his eyes, trying vainly to decipher the cryptic talk.

Q: accurate
A: Thagraine's perception of his sexual past was indeed accurate.

Q: viewpoint
A: Avelyn considered the sight from two widely disparate viewpoints.

Q: inhabitant
A: Even the vivid, bright colors of the clothing of Entel's inhabitants struck the four as unusual.

Q: oar
A: Finally came the welcome sound of oars and the boat, all three safely aboard.

Q: unfamiliar
A: Elbryan silently mouthed the unfamiliar name and noted how Toys ruddy face blanched at the mere mention.

Q: companionship
A: It wasn't that he craved human companionship; he continued to fear that thought greatly.

Q: marker
A: This moment, so many years in the waiting, was the marker of the end of that relationship with the girl, the beginning of the new and deeper relationship with the woman.

Q: upstart
A: He had not battled Tuntun in many weeks; he was determined now to give the upstart elf a bit of a surprise.

Q: overhand
A: The overhand parry deflected the stabbing blade, but the second attempt, the undersweeping slap designed to send the elf's sword flying up high, was far too slow to catch up to Tuntun's retracting movement.

Q: partly
A: His success was partly gained by surprise.

Q: rapidly
A: Chipmunk nodded so rapidly that he bit his tongue.

Q: tiring
A: Tuntun was tiring, too, Elbryan knew, and if he could land but one solid blow, the fight might be at its end.

Q: plop
A: So the monk, exhausted from fighting and then curing the stranger's magical poisoning, his mind heavy with drink, plopped down on his bed and was soon snoring loudly.

Q: etch
A: For Juraviel's anxiety was clearly etched on his fine features - how could it have been otherwise when he had been speaking to his protégé Elbryan about this very subject not a week's time past?

Q: virgin
A: Elbryan smiled wickedly as he considered those steep hillsides, all of varied angles and deep with virgin snow.

Q: wench
A: "You teasing little wench.

Q: blond
A: Jill shook her head, her short shock of blond hair bouncing about.

Q: gentlemen
A: After the carnage ride, the newlyweds came to a hall filled with music and drink, with ladies and gentlemen spinning about, twirling and laughing.

Q: nightgown
A: When the tittering pair finally left, Jill was sitting on the edge of the great cushiony bed, wearing only a simple silk nightgown that was too low cut, both front and back, and didn't go nearly far enough down her legs.

Q: glassy
A: Hour after endless hour, day after endless day, the Windrunner glided lazily across the sparkling glassy surface of the South Mirianic.

Q: emptiness
A: Elbryan closed his eyes, sympathetic to the tale, understanding completely the plight of these people, the horrible emptiness that some of them now felt, the complete hopelessness.

Q: intimacy
A: The issue of physical intimacy did not come up between them during those weeks, for both of them had found a more special intimacy, far more satisfying.

Q: starboard
A: Another ball of flaming pitch soared out from the monastery, skipping in along the starboard rail of the vessel, igniting the mainsail into one tremendous flame.

Q: damnation
A: Farther back along the deck, Avelyn was close enough to hear Captain Adjonas mutter, "Damnation."

Q: pedal
A: The dwarves can pedal all day, while most men tire within the hour - or after a couple of hours, at most."

Q: tarry
A: Avelyn blanched, so did Thagraine and Pellimar, but Quintall only let out a low growl and tarried his gaze back in the direction of the distant powrie ship.

Q: bound
A: Avelyn feared that Quintall, in issuing such a clear order, might have overstepped his bounds this time.

Q: tread
A: Once in the water, Avelyn found Quintall treading high not so far away, half his body clear of the sea.

Q: greasy
A: Bunkus Smealy turned his greasy grin on Avelyn, holding one hand up, his thumb and index finger about five inches apart.

Q: crazed
A: Half-crazed, his entire world shattered, Avelyn understood.

Q: leaning
A: He found Quintall standing with Adjonas, the captain, looking weary, leaning against the mainmast.

Q: uneasy
A: Perhaps it was the boredom, the heat, or the tasteless provisions, but the crew grew increasingly uneasy, even hostile.

Q: cough
A: Smealy pulled away, coughing and, predictably, turned to the crew for help.

Q: lagoon
A: So they circled, spotting one promising lagoon, and then sailed out to deeper waters for the longest five days of the trip, particularly for Avelyn and Thagraine.

Q: withstand
A: On board Quintall launched right away into lies about the dangers to the foolish seaman, about how the monks, and the monks alone, were trained to withstand the fury of the showers.

Q: purplish
A: The hundreds of purplish rings converged in the middle of the room.

Q: splatter
A: One fireball hit against the village's east wall, splattering the two men standing nearby with burning pitch.

Q: remnant
A: Many showed no magical power at all, and Avelyn soon realized that these were the remnants of previous showers, brought up to the surface by the battering of the storm.

Q: dramatic
A: Only then did Avelyn take the time to note that dramatic change that had come over Pimaninicuit.

Q: unyielding
A: Gofflaw growled at her, but under Jill's unyielding glare, he replaced his sword in its sheath.

Q: retain
A: But his orders concerning Pimaninicuit had been explicit and unyielding: only those stones treated to retain their magic could be brought from the island.

Q: overwhelmed
A: Thus, Avelyn simply sat staring outward, too overwhelmed even to eat, and waited for the Windrunner.

Q: grumbling
A: Aside from Paulson's typical grumbling, he caught no direction to their conversation.

Q: emerald
A: At the first town he entered, he happened upon a caravan of several merchant wagons, and there he sold the common emerald, giving him all the funds he would need for a long, long time.

Q: remorse
A: Elbryan nodded, glad that the man felt some remorse for his traitorous actions.

Q: recoil
A: Avelyn recoiled instinctively, out of shyness.

Q: surrounding
A: The one advantage on the ranger's side was his knowledge of the region surrounding Weedy Meadow.

Q: wager
A: Perhaps he hadn't really done it right, or perhaps Adjonas had ordered her to bed Avelyn, or even had made a wager with her that she could not bed the man.

Q: chapel
A: Avelyn ran from the chapel, skittering down the empty halls, his footsteps echoing noisily.

Q: creation
A: He knew the properties of diamonds, the creation of light, but had never used quartz.

Q: ebb
A: The strong ebb tide of All Saints Bay would collect the flotsam and jetsam and carry it out to the open sea.

Q: auction
A: They were talking about a private auction of the sacred stones!

Q: inanimate
A: Avelyn rolled out of the way; the inanimate stone crashed down and rolled from the dais.

Q: pursuing
A: With the malachite, he floated gently over cliffs that any pursuing monks would spend hours climbing down.

Q: cone
A: Spotting him, the great stallion reared and snorted, its breath coming out as a great cone of steam.

Q: interpretation
A: What was, in the horse's eyes, simply was with no interpretation, an efficient and perfect way of perception that sorted through emotion, that lived in the present without concern for the future or interference from the past.

Q: sliver
A: Again came the spinning slivers, two in rapid succession, this time angled higher to hit the monster about the head.

Q: dasada
A: Every morning he performed bi'nelle dasada and then his physical conditioning with the milk-stones.

Q: intricate
A: The young man continued for nearly an hour, his arms and weapon weaving ever more intricate patterns in the empty air.

Q: significance
A: "You do not even understand the significance," Tuntun replied distastefully.

Q: unending
A: Even Juraviel couldn't suppress a chuckle at his elven companion's unending games.

Q: hence
A: How will they judge me twenty years hence, a mere day by an elf's measure?.

Q: initially
A: Indeed she had thrived; initially, at least, in the military.

Q: fearsome
A: Elbryan smiled wryly at Bradwarden before the fearsome centaur could take offense.

Q: coastline
A: Luck was with her, though, for the coastline remained in sight, towering black mountains marking the southern horizon.

Q: resign
A: She gave a sigh, resigned to the reality about her.

Q: consistent
A: Silvery lines wove gracefully about the dark green stem; they seemed to Elbryan consistent with the fishing lines and the bowstrings the elves used.

Q: underworld
A: Into the spike, the demon sent its power, the strength of the underworld, the strength to burn.

Q: unprepared
A: The cries of the doomed pair had alerted Elbryan and the others to the danger, so they were not unprepared when the first of the giants crashed through the brush and charged over the rim of the bowl-shaped encampment.

Q: frond
A: all, one whose broad fronds were above Elbryan's head.

Q: implement
A: He recognized the implements of the trapping trade hanging all about the shack, along with dozens of drying pelts.

Q: pliable
A: Elbryan thought on that for a moment, particularly on Juraviel's last claim that the plants were pliable.

Q: praise
A: Juraviel praised him once, then started away, Elbryan in tow.

Q: stripe
A: The twirling elf tossed several puffs of powder upon the plant, then bent low and with some reddish gel painted a stripe around the base of the stem just an inch or two from the ground.

Q: scrub
A: Every time his concentration wavered even a bit, his arrow flew wide of the mark, disappearing into the forest scrub.

Q: demise
A: In so pointedly reminding Elbryan and the others of the higher goal, the centaur helped them to put Tuntun's demise in proper perspective.

Q: tilt
A: Elbryan tilted back his head, considering the stars, the few rushing clouds.

Q: tied
A: A quick tug showed Elbryan that it was tied off a short distance up the ledge.

Q: don
A: With a trusting nod, the woman donned the mask, as did Elbryan, the ranger eyeing Pony all the while, admiring her gumption.

Q: territory
A: However, Elbryan was not in any human settlement, not in any land claimed by his kind, and quite possibly was within the boundaries of goblin territory.

Q: justify
A: If that was the case, would he be justified in waging battle with these six?

Q: begrudge
A: Elbryan didn't really begrudge the man his excitement, though.

Q: swath
A: The beast had run off from the farmhouse, creating a swath of devastation through the brush, even knocking over small trees, venting a rage that the ranger had never before witnessed in an animal.

Q: muzzle
A: He waited a while to make sure that it would not stir, then moved to its muzzle, lifting its upper lip.

Q: swordsman
A: Avelyn, grasping at the opening, was quick to retrieve Tempest, but he was no swordsman.

Q: brew
A: What fool brewed such a magic as that?

Q: overbalanced
A: Now he launched his attack, dropping down to one knee, slapping his staff across to catch the inside of the overbalanced man's leg.

Q: cauldron
A: The ranger went around to the back and dumped out the cauldron of poison.

Q: shortage
A: Has no shortage of money, I can assure you!

Q: loin
A: He wore only a loincloth and stood defensively, shoulders hunched, arms crossed to cover his belly and loins.

Q: accustom
A: And Maiyer Dek, among the largest of his giant kind, was not accustomed to being dwarfed.

Q: emblem
A: The three went back to the trap first, Paulson unceremoniously cutting the goblin down, then slicing off its ears and putting them in a pouch, pausing only to note that the creature was surprisingly well armed for one of its kind and that it wore an insignia on its leather jerkin, a black emblem of a batlike creature on a light gray background.

Q: stolen
A: The only concern any in St.-Mere-Abelle's hierarchy held about the stolen stones was for the giant amethyst crystal, and that only because it was a stone whose magic they had not yet deciphered.

Q: ramble
A: Elbryan merely smiled and let the centaur ramble on and on, considering the creature's words carefully so that he could discover many hints about Bradwarden.

Q: brisk
A: By all reports, the weather was better on the northern side of the Gulf of Corona, more alive, with brisk winds and a greater change of the season.

Q: grapnel
A: Jill first tried to dislodge the grapnel, but found that it was too tightly secured, with too much weight on the heavy line.

Q: protrude
A: A long arrow protruded from its back, an arrow with fletchings familiar to the woman.

Q: outdistance
A: The powrie, apparently realizing that it could not possibly outdistance the long-legged human, skidded to a stop arid turned about, a gleaming, serrated sword in hand.

Q: struggling
A: Jill started to climb into the boat, but had to stop and turn to strike again at the struggling powrie.

Q: straggler
A: Jill found herself circumventing the town and approaching it from the west, not from the east the way any stragglers fleeing Pireth Tulme would.

Q: avenge
A: Few in Dundalis would have left even if they knew a goblin force was coming to avenge the goblin that had been killed by the hunting party.

Q: dire
A: Before she entered, a familiar voice, raised in dire warning, assaulted her.

Q: sift
A: Elbryan absorbed all their words, sifted through their suggestions.

Q: assistance
A: But it was too late; he had pushed past the fear and into the realm of anger, and when the barkeep called for assistance, the man found no shortage of volunteers.

Q: sourly
A: Jill regarded him sourly, then rose and offered an arm.

Q: lamb
A: Juicy lamb and thick cuts of venison buried in brown sauces and mushrooms, oranges that exploded in a shower of juice as soon as the integrity of their peels was breached, and large, round, yellow melons that the monk had never before seen but that were sweeter than anything he had ever tasted.

Q: mirth
A: They laughed again, all the louder, using the very sound of mirth as a shield against tears.

Q: joined
A: They were joined and the monk fed as a vampire would feed.

Q: mixed
A: It was with mixed feelings that Jill followed Brother Avelyn into Palmaris.

Q: ensure
A: Elbryan gathered up Paulson and Chipmunk and called to Juraviel, the four moving out from the gathering to ensure the goblins were not rallying for any counterattack.

Q: snore
A: As if on cue, the snoozing monk rolled over and snored loudly.

Q: detect
A: Only two short days later, Brother Justice used his Dragon Sight stone to detect the use of strong magic, coming from the northeastern quarter of the city, the high ground of rich houses overlooking the Masur Delaval.

Q: breadth
A: Its armies, led by Maiyer Dek and Kos-kosio Begulne were pressing fast for Palmaris, while Ubba Banrock's northern force had crossed the breadth of Alpinador, right to the coast, cutting the northern kingdom in half.

Q: instantly
A: The glow went away instantly, but the arm remained, extended.

Q: din
A: "But not until we have dined," Dosey said, falling back in his chair.

Q: captive
A: Elbryan looked down to his diminutive captive.

Q: plausible
A: But Brother Justice needed the merchant, as well, or at least it seemed plausible that the man might aid the monk in his all-important quest.

Q: wry
A: Elbryan turned a wry gaze on the centaur.

Q: appreciated
A: The huge man had never appreciated Belster's relationship with the strange Nightbird and had said so often and loudly.

Q: converse
A: Yes, Elbryan would like to converse with Pony, to see her again, to remember that innocent time when patrolling was play and nightmares were not real.

Q: herd
A: Who might this leader of the herd be to inspire such uncharacteristic respect from cocky Bradwarden?

Q: unerringly
A: The monk fell back, nearly toppling, as the stone suddenly zipped away, flying unerringly for the armored chest of the giant closest behind Bradwarden.

Q: tutor
A: Over the next couple of weeks, as they marched along the trails, Avelyn showed Jill just how much he had come to trust her, for he began formally tutoring her in the ways of the stones.

Q: evergreens
A: Elkenbrook was a village not unlike Dundalis or Weedy Meadow, except that, being on the western border of Alpinador, it was a colder place, with more hardy evergreens and fewer deciduous trees.

Q: whinny
A: The stallion pawed the ground, then reared and whinnied.

Q: muscled
A: Symphony had gone perfectly still, his head raised high, his magnificent, muscled chest presented openly to the two men.

Q: urgent
A: The kiss became more urgent, and gradually Pony's fears melted away, swept up in the sudden torrent of passion that overcame her.

Q: reclusive
A: It is likely that most of the giants, normally reclusive beasts, will turn back for their mountain homes, far from the villages of humans.

Q: resonate
A: Jill's deep breath resonated like a growl and she turned, pulling free of the monk, staring hard at the tavern, at its stone foundation.

Q: barricade
A: Normally the goblins would have come in as a mob, a rushing horde, barreling past the trees and scrub, throwing themselves wildly against the pickets and barricades.

Q: maraud
A: Often marauding goblins would send in a messenger before the attack to ask for surrender, to barter for a bribe, warning that battle would otherwise be joined.

Q: nook
A: More images came rushing to her as soon as she sat in the nook of those pines.

Q: rowdy
A: The dwarf was telling some rowdy story, the two goblins laughing riotously at every grotesque detail.

Q: contort
A: Tol bowed his head, his face contorting as he struggled, pragmatism against conscience.

Q: brawl
A: The ranger elbowed through the brawl, blocking punches whenever necessary, felling with three shortened blows yet another villager who tried to pounce upon him.

Q: adversary
A: Hardly thinking of the motion, knowing only that he could not lose this advantage against so deadly an adversary, Elbryan popped the feathered tip onto his Weapon and bent it low, quickly setting the bowstring.

Q: outcropping
A: Elbryan scrambled to get to the spot, saw the monk land heavily atop one rocky outcropping and then tumble right over it, a fifteen-foot plummet to bard stone.

Q: moonlit
A: Then he set off, riding hard through the moonlit woods.

Q: graze
A: They went off together into the night, finding Symphony in a moonlit field, grazing calmly.

Q: jerkin
A: Paulson didn't think too much of it, figuring that the jerkin was stolen anyway.

Q: scare
A: But a bloody cap tossed in their midst, proof that powries were in the region, might scare more than a few folk from their homes, might send them running down the road to the south.

Q: extended
A: The glow went away instantly, but the arm remained, extended.

Q: improvise
A: Always ready to improvise, Elbryan eased his muscles and ran straight ahead into the dwarf, turning his staff to smash its tip into the dwarf's face once more.

Q: unearthly
A: And given the unearthly strength of the dwarf, Elbryan wondered if the creature might actually do so!

Q: pitchfork
A: Pony grabbed a pitchfork from one of the men nearby and ran to the eastern gate, bravely throwing it open.

Q: hoofbeats
A: A moment later came the thunder of hoofbeats to the east, many hoofbeats accompanied by the screams of those unfortunate goblins caught in front of the wild horse stampede.

Q: avalanche
A: Though she didn't understand its source, Tuntun watched the growing spectacle of the fiery avalanche with satisfaction.

Q: stomp
A: The ranger found a giant coming hard his way, stomping across the village, outraged and already hurt by one of the monk's lightning blasts.

Q: shawno
A: The boy from End-o'-the-World, Shawno, had been of little help, but Elbryan remained convinced that it was indeed the Touel'alfar who had rescued that fleeing group from the monstrous hordes.

Q: unblinking
A: Paulson stared at him long and hard, finally relenting under the ranger's unblinking stare.

Q: rustle
A: Pony was honored, and she moved to kiss Elbryan again, but a rustle at the side caught her attention.

Q: dome
A: He moved slowly and carefully about the field, building domes of snow the size of his two cupped hands.

Q: extinguish
A: The fire on that particular dwarf was indeed extinguished as a huge booted foot crushed the diminutive creature flat.

Q: sanctuary
A: The three trappers were at a loss; Brother Avelyn could think of no sanctuary closer than St.

Q: slush
A: A drenching rain fell all about the region, turning the last of the snow to slush and softening the ground.

Q: invading
A: Tuntun and a couple of others had remained in the area, though, to continue their survey of the invading army.

Q: occupied
A: It was as they had feared the monsters using the occupied towns as base and supply camps while they sent their dark tendrils further south, first in probes, but soon, so Paulson believed, in great numbers.

Q: advancing
A: The remaining band would cease its hit-and-hide warfare and concentrate on getting all the folk to safer points in the south, trying to parallel the advancing army without engaging it.

Q: wedge
A: He was in a sitting position, wedged in tightly against the hard trunk.

Q: focused
A: It was not a difficult enchantment, actually; and one that powerful Avelyn could maintain with the focused sunstone for h very long time without severely taxing his energies for other magics.

Q: unsteady
A: Several humans had been injured, as had Bradwarden - though the tough centaur thought little of his cuts and bruises - and Avelyn returned to them shortly, on unsteady legs, carrying the worst headache the monk had ever known.

Q: cracking
A: Bestesbulzibar began a long, slow chant in a language the spirit did not understand, a guttural, cracking language of clicks and sounds that could only be equated with an old man clearing his phlegm-filled throat.

Q: devour
A: Not a sound came from about the beast as, clothing and all, the dactyl devoured the torn skin of Gothra.

Q: scour
A: Lower went the demon, and slower, turning tight circles, sharp eyes scouring the terrain, keen ears tuning to every sound.

Q: serenity
A: It was a cruel lie: the quiet, the serenity, the spring breeze.

Q: jutting
A: Elbryan scanned in that direction, but had to move out from his rock even to spot the jutting stone.

Q: crackling
A: Pony's graphite defeated that maneuver, though, sent a crackling bolt of energy along the monster's inner thighs that left it swaying, legs widespread, as the woman worked her way out the back.

Q: deafen
A: The ominous growling increased tenfold, a hundredfold, deafening Avelyn, blocking the sounds of the dactyl's shrieks.

Q: horn
A: Neither did that hair hide the creature's horns, thumb sized and curling in toward each other at the top of the demon's brow.

Q: devastate
A: Every part of the demon was a weapon, devastating and deadly.

Q: rally
A: It cursed aloud the name of Terranen Dinoniel, who had rallied the humans and the elves, chasing the dactyl's armies back to the base of this mountain, Aida.

Q: absence
A: Let the younger boys and girls see him then, and afford him the respect he deserved, and let the older men see that the village, under his watchful eye, had fared well in their absence.

Q: vibrant
A: How much younger and more vibrant Annalisa had seemed!

Q: fading
A: Tuntun turned in accord with the punch, her head fading back across to Elbryan's right, her right hand catching the boy's wrist and pushing outward, her left hand coming back in and catching the outside of his elbow, driving in.

Q: somber
A: Squat towers anchored every turn in the wall; narrow windows showed that the place was built for somber reflection and defense.

Q: denial
A: Images assaulted them, mingling with imagined scenes even more horrifying, and amid all of it welled utter denial, the hope against obvious reality that this simply could not be happening.

Q: intriguing
A: Most intriguing of all was the giant purple amethyst, with so many different crystal shafts.

Q: accomplishment
A: And, in the end, it is a sense of accomplishment, of purpose, and not the wealth attained by such accomplishment, that equates to fulfillment and happiness.

Q: realm
A: Even Elbryan, who would be entering the realm of adults that coming spring, had spent almost all the previous week with his head up a dirty chimney.

Q: fatal
A: In the hollow of the twin pines, he had lost sight of his enemy - the first, and often fatal, mistake.

Q: lad
A: The call brought the sprinting lad to a skidding halt.

Q: brutally
A: Then suddenly, brutally, he leaped ahead, fell low in a spinning crouch, and kicked up hard at Jill's extended sword.

Q: rotation
A: Brother Avelyn turned hard on the crank, both wood and man groaning with each rotation.

Q: declaration
A: The smaller man, Burgis, shied away at the declaration.

Q: interior
A: They were far below ground in one of the abbey's interior chambers, so there could be no window.

Q: offering
A: Whatever the man's reasons for offering a different title were not important, Avelyn decided, and so he accepted the name without further question.

Q: somberly
A: Bradwarden nodded somberly, and Elbryan scooped up Hawkwing and ran off into the night, behind the departing powrie, though the ranger held faith that Avelyn would know how to deal with the dwarf.

Q: partially
A: Pettibwa left Fellowship Way to her, even partially, Grady would not be pleased.

Q: revenge
A: Despite very real fears, Elbryan wanted revenge.

Q: rationally
A: And now he was here, the best scenario he could rationally have hoped to find.

Q: drain
A: Gradually, though, his resolve drained away and so did his strength.

Q: feat
A: Brother Justice's first thought was that Avelyn had hired on with this obviously wealthy merchant, perhaps to perform some necessary feat with the stones, perhaps merely as a court jester.

Q: homeland
A: He knew that he was nowhere near Dundalis; this mountain was nothing like the gentle, tree-covered hills of his homeland.

Q: utterly
A: Then he realized that he was alone again, and utterly lost.

Q: raiding
A: If this boy knew of the evil races, then why was his village so utterly ill equipped to deal with a simple raiding party?

Q: resignation
A: Elbryan shifted to one knee, fitted a heavy arrow, and, with a sigh of complete resignation, let fly.

Q: widening
A: The sharks would feed on the dead, and the frantic actions of those still alive combined with the widening blood spill would likely bring more in, he knew.

Q: soaring
A: He had to know, and then, when he did know, he couldn't help but imagine the wonder of soaring through the air.

Q: devilish
A: He found Bradwarden, at work crafting some devilish arrows, and the centaur's face immediately brightened.

Q: layout
A: Avelyn had described the general layout to them all, had told of the valley and of the lone mountain that maps named Aida.

Q: opt
A: The fire burned low - it had never been truly high, for Juraviel opted for caution, though he was fairly certain there were no monsters in the area, no organized groups anyway.

Q: caution
A: The fire burned low - it had never been truly high, for Juraviel opted for caution, though he was fairly certain there were no monsters in the area, no organized groups anyway.

Q: overturn
A: It struck the bowl of stew, overturning it and making a mess of the meal.

Q: distress
A: Recognizing the boy's ultimate distress and embarrassment, Juraviel generously let the insult pass.

Q: twisting
A: Juraviel took full advantage, put Elbryan off balance and kept on twisting, angling the boy over the trough.

Q: charter
A: Avelyn and Thagraine had been formally named as the Preparers, the two monks who would leave the chartered ship and go onto the island of Pimaninicuit to collect and prepare the stones, while Quintall and Pellimar would remain aboard, going onto the island only should one of the chosen pair falter.

Q: cease
A: Even after the showers ceased, the pair would have to wait some time before handling the heated stones, and then the work would be too furious and desperate to pause and contemplate God.

Q: execute
A: Adjonas watched it all anxiously, moving along the rail as his ship executed a turn.

Q: vanish
A: Cat could hardly believe she had spoken the words, but her horror vanished when Connor laughed heartily.

Q: virtue
A: The man was obviously out of his mind, or at least he appeared so, but to Jill, who had spent a year and a half in the Coastpoint Guards, a cry for preparedness and virtue did not seem like such a bad thing.

Q: dispute
A: This was Adjonas' ship, that Quintall did not dispute, but the abbey had paid well for this transport and the brothers had not been put aboard as slaves.

Q: raider
A: "But the southern kingdom has little control over its raiders," Adjonas explained.

Q: wistful
A: Of alb the places in the area, only Elbryan's private grove was more beautiful than the pine vale and the caribou moss, and none elicited more wistful memories from the young woman.

Q: sanction
A: Avelyn remembered the speech Master Jojonah had given him when first they had talked about the island, the stern warning that to utter even its name to any without sanction of Father Abbot Markwart was punishable by death, and he agreed with Quintall's logic.

Q: dumb
A: His words, the sincerity of his tone, struck her dumb.

Q: occurrence
A: Gradually, as he came to see the light in Jill's eyes every time he entered the Way - a more and more common occurrence - the proud young man began to understand and accept that her problem was within the mysteries of her past and not with him.

Q: carriage
A: It was a ceremony that had all of Palmaris talking; the women swooning, the men standing tall, feigning importance, wishing they were in the carriage in Connor Bildeborough's place as it made its winding way, through the streets.

Q: peasant
A: Any reservations that the nobleman's family had held toward the peasant orphan girl had been washed away when they met Jill, truly beautiful both inside and out.

Q: attendance
A: It was bad enough that the carriage would roll through every part of the large city, bad enough that more than five hundred people would be in attendance at the church when she and Connor were wed, but the thought of what would come later, after the grand ball ...

Q: cargo
A: He did not wake up until long after the dawn, his precious cargo intact in his pack.

Q: provision
A: Perhaps it was the boredom, the heat, or the tasteless provisions, but the crew grew increasingly uneasy, even hostile.

Q: ensue
A: A long moment of silence ensued, all five - the three humans, Juraviel, and Tuntun - feeling the weight of confirmation.

Q: plea
A: "We're too far out," he said to his captain, his plea sounding as a whine.

Q: accusation
A: The accusation hit.

Q: seal
A: To his relief, they did not, but rather they fell against the metal, using their bulk to seal off any chance of entry.

Q: supposedly
A: He saw reflected in the mirror those images that had been peripheral to him at that time: a supposedly ill man standing at the side of the camp and, more important, the expression on that man's face, hardly noticed at the time, but clear now to Elbryan.

Q: suspicious
A: Suspicious, but wise enough to keep his mouth shut, Avelyn bid farewell to Adjonas and the others - though not a man aboard the Windrunner regretted the departure of the three monks - and went ashore.

Q: trepidation
A: The ranger felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, felt a tingling of trepidation.

Q: spy
A: He didn't really know what he would do, other than spy on the masters and confirm his fears of his approaching fate.

Q: rod
A: Then Avelyn and the remaining guard began selecting and collecting stones: the giant crystal amethyst, a rod of graphite, a small but potent ruby, and several others, including turquoise and amber, celestine and a tiger's paw, a chrysoberyl, or cat's eye, some gypsum and malachite, a sheet of chrysotile, and a piece of heavy magnetite.

Q: sullen
A: News that she would soon be transferred to Pireth Vanguard far to the north, did little to change Jill's sullen mood.

Q: disastrous
A: Jill, whose only experience with a man had been so very disastrous, did not like the odds.

Q: irony
A: Again, Elbryan sat back, smiling at the irony of it all.

Q: encompass
A: The song came louder, faster, and Juraviel began to dance delicate, spinning circles wrapped in a larger circle that encompassed the plants.

Q: inspection
A: Elbryan continued his inspection of the stream to make sure that nothing ominous was swimming along its course, then hooked his pack on the stiff branch of a prickly shrub and gingerly removed his boots.

Q: intent
A: The first thing Jill noticed was a huge, fat man standing atop a table, waving an empty mug, sometimes in a threatening manner to keep at bay the closer patrons, all obviously intent on knocking him from his perch.

Q: mill
A: Across the wide meadow, past the flowers and the grass, he saw perfection of form, a huge stallion, milling about the shadows of the distant trees.

Q: regain
A: Over the next giant she went, trying to regain her footing.

Q: swinging
A: Elbryan grabbed up Tempest in both hands and surged ahead, swinging an.

Q: landmark
A: She didn't recognize any landmarks but figured she must be somewhere west of Pireth Tulme on the north coast of the Mantis Arm.

Q: thereafter
A: Pony awakened shortly thereafter, the dulled dawn just beginning, but still the glow from atop the mountain was faintly visible.

Q: glancing
A: A deft twist by the woman turned the sword out of harm's way, allowing Brother Justice merely a glancing hit that forced Jill back a step.

Q: scrutinize
A: Avelyn scrutinized the broach carefully.

Q: tempt
A: Elbryan, too, was tempted, would have loved to see Andur'Blough Inninness again, especially now, to bolster his resolve before he completed this all-important, perilous journey.

Q: readily
A: Pony looked at Avelyn, suddenly very appreciative of the training he had given her with the magical stones but somewhat surprised that she could call forth the magic of this cat's eye so readily.

Q: sorrow
A: To untwist hearts from grasping sorrow,

Q: repair
A: That meant gathering wood and tending the fires, repairing the cabins-which always seemed to need repair!

Q: male
A: One time Elbryan had made the mistake of catching Jilseponie without his male companions nearby, and of tugging too hard on her yellow mane to prove the point of his capture.

Q: shapely
A: She was in her mid-teens, but had the shapely body of a woman five years older.

Q: formal
A: The four monks were on deck when Bunkus Smealy informed them that they would have no formal duties that day, that they might go about their business.

Q: illness
A: The last few years had been hard on her, one illness after another.

Q: arrangement
A: There were several complaints about this arrangement at first, mostly from the older boys who thought that they

Q: tomb
A: Thus, Elbryan and Pony walked away from Avelyn's chosen grave, from Tuntun's last breath, from Bradwarden's tomb.

Q: everywhere
A: Goblins swarmed everywhere, and Pony spotted at least two other giants, fifteen feet tall and perhaps a thousand pounds of chiseled muscle.

Q: vest
A: He tore off his overcoat and pulled open his leather vest, quickly unbuttoning the sleeves of his white shirt.

Q: aching
A: Avelyn sighed deeply and put his aching arms into motion.

Q: figuring
A: So Elbryan stood back from it all, figuring it to be one of those dangers for the villagers to work out on their own.

Q: favorite
A: Master Jojonah talked constantly, though he said nothing of interest - slight remarks about the weather, a storm that had hit twenty years before, the passing of his favorite baker in the town of St.-Mere-Abelle, a surprisingly off-color remark about the man's "lusty" wife.

Q: brilliantly
A: It filled every corner, every crack in every stone, and reflected brilliantly off the glass covers of the many cases set about the room, and off their contents, as well, hundreds and hundreds of polished stones.

Q: unlock
A: Jill had never even heard of the magic stones before, let alone used one, but now she felt as if she could handle them fairly well, as if their secrets had been unlocked to her in the blink of an eye.

Q: instructor
A: For the first time since they had entered the room, there was no reverence in Master Jojonah's voice, just the dry lecturing tone of an instructor.

Q: thickly
A: Pony only saw a couple from this angle, a goblin and an older woman, but the stench of death hung as thickly in the air as the smoke from the fires.

Q: circling
A: Only the vultures, dozens and dozens, some circling overhead, most on the ground feasting, tearing at skin that had been warm to Pony's touch just the day before, pecking at eyes that had locked with her own, shared gaze and shared thought.

Q: spoon
A: In her hand she clutched her heavy wooden spoon.

Q: variety
A: They learned how to tie ropes in a variety of ways, knots necessary for the many uses aboard a sailing vessel.

Q: knot
A: They learned how to tie ropes in a variety of ways, knots necessary for the many uses aboard a sailing vessel.

Q: brightness
A: Pony and Avelyn had underestimated the distance and camped outside Weedy Meadow that night, the monk reasoning that it would be better for them to go into town with such grim warnings during the brightness of day.

Q: sunrise
A: He noted that the sky had turned a funny color, a purplish, rosy hue the likes of which Avelyn had only seen at sunrise or sunset, and then only on the appropriate horizon.

Q: pet
A: He was to watch the night sky, to learn every twinkle of light, to become so familiar with the visible stars that he would not only know their given names but also might create pet names of his own for them.

Q: factor
A: Was their mission the overriding factor here, for if they attacked and were beaten back, killed, or captured, then who would go on to the smoking mountain to stand against the demon dactyl?

Q: gleam
A: Father Abbot Markwart appeared wickedly intense, the gleam in his eyes seeming almost maniacal, and certainly frightening.

Q: destroying
A: Elbryan nodded; he had heard of the fierce powries and their reputation for destroying human ships.

Q: tidy
A: There could be only one answer, for no living creature, not even one of the great dragons of the north, could so tear this amount of ground in such an even, tidy manner.

Q: character
A: Tuntun was wrong, Juraviel knew without any doubt at all; this one had character.

Q: oak
A: Juraviel found him at dawn, curled in a hollow at the base of a wide oak.

Q: symbol
A: They are to me the shining symbol of all the unanswered questions of human existence, of our place in this vast sky, of our purpose, of death itself.

Q: impossible
A: Here, high stones lined both sides of the trail, making passage off the path nearly impossible unless Elbryan took a circuitous route quite deep into the underbrush.

Q: joke
A: Avelyn saw nothing at all humorous in the ridiculous joke, nor did the few crewmen close enough at hand to hear the insults.

Q: lovely
A: She went for the walk, and truly had a lovely time, for she found that Connor was as easy to talk to as he was to look, at.

Q: ideal
A: For in the Ring Stones, the young man found his ideals satisfied.

Q: identify
A: He had learned to identify the various plants and their properties, often medicinal.

Q: chat
A: Such were Juraviel's methods, his enchanting and engrossing conversation techniques, that Elbryan hardly realized this to be perhaps the most important part of his training, these daily chats, anecdotal and enjoyable.

Q: worried
A: Adjonas turned a worried glance at Quintall.

Q: introduction
A: He stopped as Elbryan came out from behind the tree, the ranger rightly sensing that this introduction could go on for some time.

Q: attend
A: She would dress in the finest gowns and attend the highest social events in Palmaris, even in Ursal!

Q: fitful
A: His sleep every night was fitful, tossing and turning even more than did the Windrunner on the rough swells.

Q: dealing
A: His actions now carried serious consequences concerning his future dealings with his three companions.

Q: safely
A: Finally came the welcome sound of oars and the boat, all three safely aboard.

Q: weakened
A: She couldn't even talk, and her dirk, like her sword before it, slipped uselessly from her weakened hand.

Q: considering
A: The implications were clear, considering the man's lewd manner, and Grady and Connor shared a laugh.

Q: helplessness
A: The centaur understood what the man was feeling, the sense of his own loss those years before and the helplessness now in the face of a repeat of that disaster.

Q: including
A: Even if he beat these two, others were coming fast, including the one with the glowing spike!

Q: crimson
A: Soft blues and purples, vivid oranges and sometimes a deep crimson lined the night sky, lifting hearts and spirits.

Q: mister
A: "Fill our sails, Mister Smealy," he instructed.

Q: haze
A: All the crew rushed to the forward rails, and soon enough the gray haze became more substantial, became the undeniable outline of an island, conical in shape.

Q: worthless
A: Not even with me worthless husband - might that be why he threw me out!"

Q: review
A: Avelyn knew that he could say nothing about that time until he had reviewed his words with the Father Abbot.

Q: pattern
A: The young man continued for nearly an hour, his arms and weapon weaving ever more intricate patterns in the empty air.

Q: unit
A: One by one, her sparring partners had been dispatched, usually painfully, until clot a man or woman in the unit desired to go against her.

Q: uniform
A: Soon, goblin scouts were about him, walking through the trees, talking in their whining voices, complaining about this or that, about the fit of their uniforms or some particularly nasty commander who talked more with his whip than his voice.

Q: personality
A: He had no idea what title he would give the bow; that would come to him as the weapon took on its own personality, its own nuances.

Q: hawk
A: "They'll come down like a mass o' swooping hawks," Bradwarden protested.

Q: shrub
A: The land was relatively flat and brown, with sparse low shrubs poking here and there.

Q: purposeful
A: This was no accident but a purposeful attack on the bear.

Q: passenger
A: The demon dactyl had been awake for several years, watching, feeling every slaughter of humans in the Wilderlands, tasting the blood of every corpse into which a powrie dipped its infamous cap, hearing the screams of sailors and passengers as each scuttled ship went under the swells of the merciless Mirianic.

Q: lair
A: The passages forked many times, and they had to choose, without any guidance other than their own perceptions of where they might be and where the demon's lair was likely situated.

Q: scoring
A: Another shot came thundering in, this one scoring a hit on Pireth Tulme's front wall, taking down some stones.

Q: deserting
A: Soon Jill's hands were flapping inconsequentially at the powrie's barrel-like torso, her strength fast deserting her.

Q: user
A: With practice, and more joinings, she could quickly rival all but the most powerful stone users of St.-Mere-Abelle

Q: deserter
A: All of that was, of course, tempered by her realization that she was, in effect, a deserter.

Q: lazy
A: The sky brightened to a dull gray shortly before the dawn, another lazy snowstorm dropping scattered flakes that floated to and fro during their descent.

Q: staggering
A: The man fell away a couple of staggering steps, grabbed the back of a chair for support, and then fell over anyway, the chair tumbling down about him.

Q: belonging
A: They gathered together their arrows and their belongings and set off at once, the centaur leading Elbryan deep into the forest, past the pine and the caribou moss, down a deep valley, then up its other side.

Q: achieve
A: The greatest gift of the elves was this harmony the man had achieved, this joining of two philosophies, of two ways of looking at the world, of two ways to do battle.

Q: platform
A: Mounted sidelong on a platform, the thing would have passed for a fair-sized ballista!

Q: killer
A: She was sorry that Avelyn had been forced to act as thief and killer, sorry that this gentle man - and despite the barroom brawls, Pony knew Avelyn to be a gentle man - had been put into such an uncompromising position.

Q: arguing
A: In mere hours, Bestesbulzibar covered the hundreds of miles to the base at Dundalis, where it found a rattled Gothra of the goblins and Maiyer Dek of the fomorian giants arguing fiercely.

Q: protecting
A: Ye're smart enough to see that Pony needs little protecting."

Q: vine
A: Elbryan took the torch with him as he pushed aside the vines and entered the inner chamber.

Q: device
A: Perhaps the stones served as a warning device to the masters back in St.-Mere-Abelle, a signal that Quintall was dead, that Quintall had failed.

Q: shaken
A: His only lament was that Pony seemed truly shaken by her return to this area.

Q: bearish
A: Elbryan let the boy down to Paulson's waiting grasp, and the ranger was touched by how gently the bearish man handled the youngster.

Q: depend
A: To the small group whose very lives depended on absolute secrecy, there could have been no more unsettling possibility than that of a traitor in their midst.

Q: lucky
A: Avelyn could do nothing except pray that Elbryan and his riders were swift enough and lucky enough to get away.

Q: growling
A: The ominous growling increased tenfold, a hundredfold, deafening Avelyn, blocking the sounds of the dactyl's shrieks.

Q: electricity
A: The demon's arms shot forward, fingers extended, and black tendrils of crackling electricity spouted from them, biting against the wall and running the length of the straight passage, nipping and snapping at Elbryan and Avelyn, at Pony and Bradwarden as they followed their friends around the bend.

Q: shiny
A: The texture of its skin was rough and thick, an armored hide, reddish in hue and shiny, as if lit by its own inner glow.

Q: examine
A: Just a week before, Avelyn had melted a leg of one table while examining a ruby sprinkled with carnallite!

Q: expedition
A: This would be the last time he remained behind when the hunters went off on the season's last and most important expedition.

Q: sighting
A: The raid on Dundalis, the sightings of goblins and even giants, the evidence of many, earthquakes to the north of Andur'Blough Inninness - all pointed to the resurgence of the dactyl.

Q: qualification
A: Elbryan's surprise at her qualification of the remark reflected clearly on his face.

Q: mix
A: Piled in the emotional jumble were Elbryan's mixed feelings concerning the elves.

Q: tunic
A: The shorter of the pair wore a light leather tunic and arm shields, metal sleeves hooked over the figure's thumbs and running from wrists to elbow.

Q: primary
A: On the ridge and in the vale beyond, the primary enemy became boredom.

Q: gentleness
A: The kiss shifted, from curiosity to urgency, then back to gentleness.

Q: falter
A: Without hesitation, for if he paused, he knew his courage surely would falter, Elbryan slipped out from behind the protection of the tree: Half walking, half crawling, he moved closer to the goblin, quickly covering a third of the distance.

Q: ashen
A: Carley dan Aubrey, one of the younger scouts, staggered toward him, his face ashen, both hands clenched firmly to his right side at his waist.

Q: previously
A: Pony remembered the building of the place, only two years previously.

Q: divide
A: The class had been divided by birth dates; Avelyn and Quintall had been put, together solely because they had been born in the same week, and not for compatibility, either physical or emotional.

Q: peacefully
A: That is the vision that allowed Annalisa Desbris to pass on peacefully from this world."

Q: generous
A: The bartender nodded, smiling, and gave his precious Cat - he still called her that - a generous and warm hug.

Q: humor
A: He came to know aspects of Dansally that his companions would never think to look former witty sense of humor, tenderness, and her regrettable resignation for her station in life.

Q: soil
A: The upheaval was recent, that much was perfectly clear, for the soil on the torn side of the ridge was loose and deep brown, pocked here and there by a root, but with no fresh, aboveground growth.

Q: due
A: Avelyn was outnumbered five to one - and those odds were only due to the fact that three other men were fighting on his side, or at least, against the mob that was moving against the monk.

Q: pretend
A: Tuntun pretended not to notice.

Q: defiant
A: Soothing sounds, and that made defiant Elbryan panic even more.

Q: candidate
A: For the four chosen Preparers candidates, Avelyn and Quintall, Thagraine and Pellimar - two students from the class of God's Year 815 - life was even more difficult.

Q: supple
A: This creature's limbs didn't look skinny, any more than did the supple branches of a bending willow.

Q: bending
A: This creature's limbs didn't look skinny, any more than did the supple branches of a bending willow.

Q: relative
A: Juraviel had a response for that, a remark concerning the relative unpreparedness of Dundalis in the face of such knowledge.

Q: strode
A: Before the startled young man could even ask how Belli'mar Juraviel might have come by his name, the creature turned and strode into the mist, disappearing from sight.

Q: impulse
A: But the dactyl was not a stupid creature and could control its impulses, even those bent upon destruction, which the demon loved above all else.

Q: unpleasant
A: The ranger quickly removed his clothes, the grass feeling scratchy but not unpleasant to his feet.

Q: gusting
A: The weather was rough over the next few days - mercifully so, in Avelyn's estimation, because he and his companions were kept very busy, attending rigging, a dangerous yet thrilling exercise in the gusting winds, and crawling in the dark belowdecks, checking for leaks in the hull.

Q: mess
A: It struck the bowl of stew, overturning it and making a mess of the meal.

Q: behavior
A: For whatever had happened, today and in the days and weeks before, this stubborn behavior could only lead to disaster.

Q: atmosphere
A: But she knew, too, the atmosphere of the Way, and the last thing in the world the young woman wanted was to make things difficult for Graevis and Pettibwa, her saviors.

Q: champion
A: One in particular, handsomely dressed and well groomed, with light brown eyes that sparkled with intelligence and a calm demeanor that hinted at good breeding, nodded the young woman's way and smiled slightly, an invitation for Cat to name him as her champion.

Q: contrast
A: His proper speech rang in sharp contrast to the street dialect of his parents.

Q: reservation
A: Even skeptical Master Siherton, whatever reservations he continued to hold about Avelyn as a fellow human being, had to admit that the man was the obvious choice, the God-given choice, for Pimaninicuit.

Q: bell
A: The bells of the abbey pealed repeatedly, drawing curious onlookers from the nearby village of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: clicking
A: Elbryan uttered a soft clicking sound, and Symphony responded by lifting his ears and nickering.

Q: represent
A: They represented another side of the girl, a womanly side, sensual, sexual - a part that Cat's free and girlish spirit was not yet ready to admit.

Q: vaguely
A: Strange emotions swirled in Cat as he lightly touched her arm, vaguely familiar feelings but ones she had not felt in several years.

Q: happiness
A: And so it was with a true jumble of emotions, a purely teenage churning of confusion, fear and warmth, happiness and the verge of terror, that the young woman, no longer Cat-the-Stray, drifted off to a sleep of the sweetest dreams and the starkest nightmares.

Q: define
A: He was naked, at least from the belly up, with a powerful upper body, muscles clearly defined, and an arched back.

Q: cheat
A: When the ways of merchants turn cheating,

Q: awakening
A: Then he turned his attention to the awakening world about him.

Q: occur
A: And so they fought, evenly matched, for a long while, poles sometimes slapping together so rapidly that it occurred to Elbryan that, if they had some kindling, they might light a fire from friction alone!

Q: growth
A: With the elves, I felt a sense of personal growth, learning and training, perfecting my skills, always moving toward something better.

Q: earthquake
A: The raid on Dundalis, the sightings of goblins and even giants, the evidence of many, earthquakes to the north of Andur'Blough Inninness - all pointed to the resurgence of the dactyl.

Q: feigning
A: The monk leaped ahead, feigning a punch and kicking straight out for Elbryan's knee.

Q: kissing
A: Elbryan sighed again, and Pony took his face in her hands, turned him to her, and pulled him close, kissing him gently.

Q: romantic
A: All romantic notions Avelyn had held concerning sea voyages were long gone, washed away by the slow, creaking, rolling reality.

Q: trader
A: "Yach, trader, give her up!

Q: operation
A: Adjonas motioned to Bunkus Smealy; this was Quintall's operation now, and the Windrunner captain, with no other apparent options, was more than willing to give the sturdy monk his chance.

Q: smoothly
A: The barrelboat closed - fifty yards, forty, twenty - cutting the water smoothly.

Q: luxury
A: To keep them out now, with land so close and inviting - land likely covered with fruit trees and other luxuries they had not known on the open sea - was foolhardy indeed.

Q: mentally
A: Finally, Elbryan found that crease between breastplate and girdle, mentally marking the spot.

Q: tumbling
A: - a tiger's paw, it was called - from the tumbling box.

Q: hire
A: Brother Justice's first thought was that Avelyn had hired on with this obviously wealthy merchant, perhaps to perform some necessary feat with the stones, perhaps merely as a court jester.

Q: brooding
A: The brooding demon that forever haunted the race of man had come back to the world.

Q: basis
A: In elven philosophy, the first truth, the basis of reality was that the entire material, physical world was no more than the collection of perceptions by the observer.

Q: typically
A: "The Waylaid Traveler," Barmine added in his typically curt manner.

Q: outpost
A: A short while later one haggard-looking soldier - a man of forty years by the name of Gofflaw, who had spent more than half his wretched life in the Kingsmen, including a dozen years in the Coastpoint Guards shuffling from one lonely outpost to another came staggering out to the wall, making his way toward Jill.

Q: drunken
A: She wasn't particularly afraid; she didn't think the drunken slob would even get to her before he fell off the narrow walkway, dropping the eight feet to the fortress's small courtyard.

Q: medium
A: The tracks were surely those of a medium-sized bear, but Elbryan felt as if he were tracking a fomorian giant or some other evil, reasoning creature, some creature purposefully bent on destruction.

Q: arrival
A: On the very first night after her arrival, one of the men had tried to get too familiar with the fiery woman.

Q: waver
A: Every time his concentration wavered even a bit, his arrow flew wide of the mark, disappearing into the forest scrub.

Q: taper
A: A subtle shift, still too quick for the creature to dodge, and Elbryan stabbed the tapered end out straight, striking the goblin on its sloping forehead right above and between the eyes, laying it out straight in the stream.

Q: hut
A: Elbryan's voice trailed off as the image in the mirror shifted, as though the lens that was the mirror was drawing back from that single shielded candle, widening to include many others, little burning huts of snow, they seemed, set in a familiar field.

Q: reject
A: She collected ten of Pireth Tulme's Coastpoint Guards, using their hangovers as a tool for rejecting more of the others, then set out, double-timing the march down the dirt path.

Q: omen
A: Jill sighed deeply every time she considered the man who had called himself the hound of ill omen.

Q: merciless
A: The villages had been captured, that was true, but too few humans had been killed, and this mysterious Nightbird and his friends were wreaking havoc on every supply group that came down from the north, something the merciless dactyl had certainly noticed - the arrival of the spirit who called himself Brother Justice confirmed that fact.

Q: necessarily
A: The folk of the Wilderlands frontier necessarily huddle together.

Q: piper
A: "Bradwarden the Piper," the man answered proudly.

Q: skirmish
A: They ran all the morning, fighting often, but only quick skirmishes.

Q: naturally
A: Jill was naturally strong, but surely not as strong as he had been.

Q: silly
A: "If we missed them, I'll beat ye silly," the large man huffed at Chipmunk, who wisely shifted to the side, out of arm's reach.

Q: groaning
A: It went down hard, groaning, trying to shake the dizziness, growling against the searing pain.

Q: dimly
A: Elbryan waited for a long while in the dimly lit cave, the day outside gray and hinting again of snow.

Q: powerfully
A: Elbryan jammed one end of Hawkwing into the dirt and swept the staff powerfully across in front of him, left to right, deflecting the blow.

Q: complex
A: Elbryan gave a smile and shook his head, entertained, as usual by the complex man.

Q: pierce
A: Elbryan's next shot pierced its heart and drove deep into the tree behind it, and the goblin slumped, quite dead, but standing, pegged to the tree.

Q: ghostly
A: Elbryan first noticed the ghostly figures moving through the mist as twilight descended.

Q: admiring
A: He put a hand on Elbryan's shoulder and gave the man a sincere, admiring look.

Q: attach
A: As if some wire were attached to its back, the zombie stood suddenly, moving straight up without use of its hands, without bending its legs.

Q: galloping
A: Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the galloping charge of Bradwarden, the centaur singing at the top of his considerable voice, waving a huge cudgel as easily as if it were a tiny baton.

Q: faintly
A: Pony awakened shortly thereafter, the dulled dawn just beginning, but still the glow from atop the mountain was faintly visible.

Q: prophecy
A: Pony looked at Avelyn, thinking of his prophecies of doom all those weeks together on the road, thinking of the weakness of the world the monk constantly berated and of the name he gave to it.

Q: sober
A: But now the sobered monk remained silent and uncomplaining.

Q: forcing
A: Pursuit was close and fast, forcing the tired companions to stay at full speed.

Q: gradual
A: It didn't seem such a momentous thing, just a gradual stirring in a deep cave in a far, empty mountain.

Q: twitching
A: The dactyl could feel its blood, hot blood, coursing through its wings and mighty legs, could feel the twitching of its mighty muscles.

Q: stasis
A: It is settled, Uncle Mather, a new stasis, a level of play.

Q: encase
A: The spirit had come back to Corona encased in obsidian!

Q: batlike
A: Its torso resembled that of a tall, slender man, shaped and lined by corded strands of taut muscle and sporting a pair of tremendous batlike wings, twenty feet across when fully extended and with strength enough to lift a full-grown bull in swift flight.

Q: orb
A: Shining, too, were the demon's eyes, pools of liquid black at most times, but shifting to fiery red orbs, living flames, when the demon was agitated, a glow of absolute hatred.

Q: canine
A: The demon extended its fingernails, transformed them into hooked claws, and grew its teeth-two pointed canines extending down over its bottom lip.

Q: skewer
A: Dinoniel himself had come into this cave after the beast, had skewered the dactyl...

Q: throe
A: Yet even in its death throes, the dactyl had won the day, using its willpower to bring up the magma from the bowels of Aida.

Q: bowel
A: Yet even in its death throes, the dactyl had won the day, using its willpower to bring up the magma from the bowels of Aida.

Q: resonating
A: "What man, what elf, will take Dinoniel's place?" the demon asked aloud in its hollow, resonating voice, always seeming on the edge of a thunderous roar.

Q: greed
A: The wicked goblins certainly, so full of anger and greed, so delighting in murder and war.

Q: warlike
A: And the powries, yes, the powries, the cunning, warlike dwarves of the Julianthes, the Weathered Isles, who hated the humans above all others.

Q: drool
A: But he was a letch, a drooling, grabby slob, who took it personally when Jill refused his advances.

Q: twilight
A: Elbryan first noticed the ghostly figures moving through the mist as twilight descended.

Q: morrow
A: To offer the promise of the morrow?

Q: waft
A: Hot blood waft steam in night air cold.

Q: eerily
A: The small frontier village of Dundalis was quiet and eerily still about him, sleeping off the well-earned weariness that followed every day's hard labor.

Q: teen
A: She was in her mid-teens, but had the shapely body of a woman five years older.

Q: merry
A: He felt as though he could say anything to her, and she wouldn't judge him or make merry of his feelings.

Q: outfight
A: She stood straight but not stiff, and could outrun and outfight any of the boys in Dundalis, Elbryan included.

Q: involuntarily
A: When Pony's eyes showed sadness, Elbryan felt it in his heart; when they soared with sparkling joy, Elbryan's feet moved involuntarily in dance.

Q: reflexively
A: She reflexively cocked a fist, and Elbryan wisely jumped back.

Q: excite
A: Finally, Chipmunk caught up to his friend, but he was too excited to explain in words.

Q: rainbow
A: She remembered that long-ago morning on the tree-covered slope, looking at the sky, at the shining Halo, with its rainbow of colors, its heavenly allure.

Q: perceptible
A: It floated through-the chill air, barely perceptible.

Q: dell
A: Juraviel let him lead often and corrected him whenever he went wrong - which was not often any longer - and soon the pair came into the low dell called Caer'alfar: Elvenhome.

Q: exhilarating
A: It was loud and rushing, exhilarating.

Q: spirituality
A: There is more to spirituality than piety, my friend.

Q: assessment
A: Elbryan shook his head determinedly, somehow sure his companion's assessment was not correct.

Q: elk
A: The hunters would return with carcasses - elk, caribou, or white-tailed deer - slung on shoulder poles, and it seemed to the watching pair as if this hunt had been successful indeed!

Q: disintegrate
A: It is likely that all the invasion will disintegrate into separate groups, fighting one another as much as the folk of the kingdom.

Q: stock
A: Expressions ran from excitement to awkward fear to blank amazement as the villagers took stock of the kills, especially the last carcass on the shoulder poles, a smallish humanoid form.

Q: flapping
A: The creature's ears, pointed at the top and with a loose flapping, fat lobe at the bottom, stuck out several inches from its head.

Q: inward
A: The woman shuddered when she considered the mouth, a tangle of greenish-yellow fangs, all crooked but each angled inward.

Q: jowl
A: The chin was narrow, but the jowls wide with muscle.

Q: wrinkled
A: The dwarf's expression did not change, its pale, wrinkled face staring openmouthed as Pellimar hit it with a solid right cross.

Q: myth
A: Goblins were little seen creatures; many considered them more myth than truth.

Q: supper
A: That discipline lasted only until the four took their supper, a bowl of lumpy, lukewarm porridge in the tight quarters of their small room, when Quintall talked of taking "first watch."

Q: disperse
A: 0lwan nodded and the crowd gradually dispersed, one person taking a last, long look at the goblin, which was indeed fast turning gray.

Q: goblinkind
A: Next came a discussion, led by Brody Gentle, of goblinkind in general, from the numerous small goblins to the rare and dangerous disfigured fomorian giants.

Q: doubtfully
A: "How do you know that?" Elbryan asked doubtfully, and his tone seemed to hurt the girl.

Q: intone
A: He prayed with all his heart, wrapping the words around images of his mother, often intoning her name between lines of verse.

Q: intertwine
A: The horse angled near a second elm, its branches intertwined with the one near the giant, and Elbryan leaped away, running, surefooted, along one rain-slicked limb.

Q: majority
A: The majority of Tinson's residents slept the day through, preferring the revelry of the night.

Q: conquest
A: Images of conquest flooded Quintall's every thought.

Q: certainty
A: Avelyn knew with near certainty that this would be the last time he saw her, and likely the last time he'd see his father, as well.

Q: sibling
A: His next youngest sibling was seven years his senior, and so he wasn't really close to any of them.

Q: senior
A: There were several monks, men a few years Avelyn's senior, in the chamber above.

Q: selfish
A: The folk of Elkenbrook had never known such a huge gathering of goblins, could not conceive of the notion that the hateful, selfish creatures could ever band together in such numbers.

Q: unified
A: Now the creature saw the time to organize its forces fully; to begin its unified attacks.

Q: unintentional
A: Avelyn heard the slaps of wood, the unintentional groans, even an occasional cry from the younger students near the front.

Q: frail
A: Now he knew how the elvish bows, so small and frail, could launch an arrow a hundred yards on a straight line.

Q: rack
A: But his words hardly seemed to calm Thagraine; quite the opposite, the man, obviously racked with guilt paced all the more furiously, slapping his hands together repeatedly.

Q: overlapping
A: At first he thought them the borders of the known spheres, for he had heard theories of the universe as a series of overlapping, interlocking heavenly spheres, the invisible bubbles that held the layers of stars in place.

Q: interlock
A: Its limbs were slender and long and its armor a silver shining coat of fine interlocking links.

Q: brotherhood
A: I knew the purest contemplation, the release of physical boundaries, the brotherhood with all the universe.

Q: idealistic
A: All that the gentle and idealistic young man wanted was to serve God, to foster peace, to heal, and to comfort.

Q: hoard
A: To Avelyn Desbris, nothing in all the world, not the treasures of a dragon's hoard, nor the powers of a king, could outweigh that accomplishment.

Q: outweigh
A: To Avelyn Desbris, nothing in all the world, not the treasures of a dragon's hoard, nor the powers of a king, could outweigh that accomplishment.

Q: troublesome
A: For the adults, the specter of the goblins brought a sobering wariness and then a troublesome distraction.

Q: lively
A: The moment ended all too soon, Cat-the-Stray tuning back to the bustle of the lively room about her.

Q: rust
A: Pony left Avelyn's side then, rusting to join with Elbryan.

Q: retaliation
A: Elbryan was over him in an instant, more to protect him from the angry crowd than in any fear of retaliation.

Q: scenario
A: Pony sympathized with the young man, but logically, this was the best scenario they could have hoped for.

Q: salvage
A: Elbryan walked a crooked path to the food and stubbornly salvaged what he could.

Q: disgustedly
A: Jojonah looked to Siherton, who was shaking his head disgustedly.

Q: vain
A: If he won now, then his friends, all of them, would not have died in vain.

Q: curve
A: He dared to put his arms around Pony's back, dared to pull her closer, feeling the strangely interesting curves and bumps of her body against his own as they came together.

Q: genuine
A: Again, the fears passed, lost in a swirl of warmth as he looked at Pony's shining blue eyes, at her smile, as genuine and joyful as anything Elbryan had ever seen.

Q: joyful
A: Again, the fears passed, lost in a swirl of warmth as he looked at Pony's shining blue eyes, at her smile, as genuine and joyful as anything Elbryan had ever seen.

Q: ruffle
A: Elbryan growled softly and brought both his hands up to ruffle his light brown hair.

Q: horrified
A: And then suddenly, it was gone, destroyed by a horrified, and horrifying, scream.

Q: swarming
A: The couple jumped apart and to their feet, staring wide-eyed down the long slope to the village, at the swarming forms, at the large plume of smoke -

Q: initiative
A: This was an action of a rogue goblin chieftain, perhaps, or one of the many powrie raiding parties, acting on their own initiative, bringing misery to the wretched humans.

Q: formation
A: He would gather together his scouts, perhaps even call in the older scouts from the vale, and charge down into Dundalis in tight formation, anchoring the defense.

Q: bedsheets
A: That logical, adult part of Pony - the part that knew that the time of fending off nightmares with bedsheets was long past - told her without doubt that Dundalis could not survive.

Q: catastrophe
A: I may die soon following this course before me, but out here, at one with my spirit and my nature, on the edges of catastrophe, I have lived many times more than most will ever know.

Q: clobber
A: The man's mind whirled through the possibilities, all jumbled with the horror that he had erred, that he was about to get clobbered.

Q: valiant
A: And then Olwan came flying back into sight, falling in a broken heap on the road right in the midst of the valiant fighters.

Q: getting
A: Paulson drew out his large sword and motioned for Cric to go in at his side, while Chipmunk was to go to the higher ground around to the right, getting an angle for his dagger throws.

Q: mockery
A: As if in a grotesque mockery of that hope, a goblin marched around that corner, bearing down on the girl.

Q: skidding
A: The call brought the sprinting lad to a skidding halt.

Q: jut
A: Elbryan grimaced, and Carley whimpered and nearly vomited, when Elbryan's hand brushed against the broken tip of a spear jutting from Carley's side.

Q: overcoat
A: He tore off his overcoat and pulled open his leather vest, quickly unbuttoning the sleeves of his white shirt.

Q: flop
A: The creature went berserk, kicking and thrashing, flopping like a landed fish.

Q: temperament
A: Physically, by all accounts, he was the image of his father in Graevis' younger days, but by Cat's estimation, Grady could not have been more different than Graevis in temperament.

Q: firework
A: They were opposites in temperament, as well: Avelyn calm and reverent, always in control, and Quintall a "firework," as Master Siherton, the class overseer, often appropriately referred to him.

Q: disgust
A: Elbryan shook his head in disgust, but he reminded himself to keep a measure of respect.

Q: gauge
A: Dosey interrupted, his tales only for an occasional belch; so lost was he in his own sense of importance that he hardly bothered to gauge the monk's reaction.

Q: noncommittally
A: The man with the broken arm shrugged noncommittally, then turned to the bartender, who likewise had no answers.

Q: overt
A: It was no secret that Siherton favored Quintall among this most important class, but the man's overt insult of Avelyn, the choice of every other master - and reportedly of Father Abbot Markwart as well - surprised him.

Q: amiss
A: Jojonah looked back at the courtyard, to Avelyn at work as always as though nothing was amiss.

Q: macabre
A: He tried to keep a mental note of his macabre collection, tried to match it against the people of Dundalis by sorting their names house by house.

Q: despise
A: "I despise his inhumanity," replied Siherton.

Q: inhumanity
A: Was it, as Siherton insisted, the young man's apparent inhumanity?

Q: smug
A: That smug look by the ranger spurred the proud Quintall into a charge.

Q: stairwell
A: Jill looked straight ahead as she made for the door to the stairwell that would get her down to her room.

Q: guarantee
A: His reentry would be guaranteed, but his position as a Preparer - though he had no idea that he would be offered such a position or even that there was such a thing - would be lost.

Q: syllable
A: The syllables came clear to him, though they joined into words he could not understand, distant melodic sounds he somehow recognized as part of the earth itself.

Q: offense
A: Elbryan smiled wryly at Bradwarden before the fearsome centaur could take offense.

Q: testament
A: Was Avelyn, perhaps, a higher standard, a shadowy mirror, held up before all the monks of St.-Mere-Abelle, a testament of true faith that seemed so rare in these times, even in the holy abbey?

Q: cushiony
A: When the tittering pair finally left, Jill was sitting on the edge of the great cushiony bed, wearing only a simple silk nightgown that was too low cut, both front and back, and didn't go nearly far enough down her legs.

Q: trinket
A: The sailors cared nothing for this all-important mission, Avelyn realized, beyond their payment of gold - and whatever other trinkets Father Abbot Markwart had included in the bargain.

Q: adorn
A: Jojonah glanced around the room again, reminding himself that most of the other masters, even some of the tenth-year immaculates, had chambers more richly adorned.

Q: pragmatism
A: Tol bowed his head, his face contorting as he struggled, pragmatism against conscience.

Q: altogether
A: Elbryan dismissed the notion altogether; he was on the eastern edge of the Moorlands by now, not so far from human settlements.

Q: stool
A: chamber, a five-foot-square cubicle with a single stool, which doubled as a table for Avelyn's candle, and a cot - little more than a flat board and a blanket - that folded down from one wall.

Q: farewell
A: Suspicious, but wise enough to keep his mouth shut, Avelyn bid farewell to Adjonas and the others - though not a man aboard the Windrunner regretted the departure of the three monks - and went ashore.

Q: deserving
A: The Abellican Church, the ancient scriptures, promised heaven to those deserving, and who could be more deserving than gentle and generous Annalisa Desbris?

Q: sniffle
A: Still the tears came; every so often his even tone was broken by a sniffle or a sob.

Q: compose
A: Finally, after more than an hour, Avelyn composed himself and sat back on the cot, taking several deep breaths to fight away the last of the sobs.

Q: splendor
A: Avelyn tried to keep his head bowed, his eyes to the floor, as befitted his lowly station, but he couldn't help notice some of the splendors that surrounded him as he followed Master Jojonah through the winding corridors of the Abbot's Maze, the most private and revered place in all of St.-Mere-Abelle, and one that a first-year novice would certainly not expect to visit.

Q: enwrap
A: Scenes of the Halo, the heavenly gift, enwrapping all the others, an oval because of the angle at which it was portrayed.

Q: unfold
A: Elbryan's brow furrowed as he considered the words, as their implications began to unfold before him.

Q: blasphemous
A: For Avelyn, this was a most sacred mission, the most important duty of the Abellican Church, and to profane it so by indulging in a shipboard orgy, was surely blasphemous.

Q: odor
A: The room inside was well lit, though Avelyn saw no torches and didn't smell the usual odor of burning wood.

Q: pretense
A: It was the end, the end of hope, of any pretense of godliness.

Q: ecstasy
A: There was something most sacred, yet particularly unmysterious, and thus unholy, in all of this, a tingling of ecstasy combined with a slightly foul taste that Avelyn Desbris could not ignore.

Q: arcing
A: Elbryan let fly a wide-arcing left hook as he spun back toward the elf.

Q: tile
A: Elbryan tried hard to get past his monk friend, then, to take up the lead and close tile distance to the monster.

Q: alien
A: He talked of the humours of the body joining together with the alien humours of the stones to create the seemingly magical reaction.

Q: carrion
A: She heard the cawing of the birds - carrion birds, she knew.

Q: lumber
A: The monsters' take of lumber would not have been useful; the spruce and pines were too short for catapults, too wet and sappy for wood fires, and too pliable for any construction.

Q: survivor
A: Into the night, the four survivors went, stumbling blindly, separated, two and two, with a third of their party dead.

Q: guttural
A: But nothing else came to her - not the whimper of a survivor, not the whining, grating voice of a goblin, not the guttural grunts of the fomorian giants.

Q: decidedly
A: The beam lifted an inch and shifted to the side, but Pony could not maintain its weight and it came down heavily, with a decidedly final thud.

Q: sunlight
A: He found that he believed her, and he walked back out into the sunlight truly relieved, but not in the way that the others, particularly Quintall, could ever have guessed.

Q: preferable
A: For the boy who had just witnessed such carnage and loss, the semiconscious state was preferable.

Q: tearing
A: Elbryan jerked fiercely, once and then again, the tearing jolts straightening the agonized fomorian.

Q: crushed
A: Goblins and powries scattered or were crushed beneath the charge, a hundred wild horses stampeding along the ravine.

Q: vulture
A: Surely all the world had fallen to ruin; surely all the people were dead, were being pecked and torn by vultures.

Q: feast
A: Only the vultures, dozens and dozens, some circling overhead, most on the ground feasting, tearing at skin that had been warm to Pony's touch just the day before, pecking at eyes that had locked with her own, shared gaze and shared thought.

Q: peck
A: Surely all the world had fallen to ruin; surely all the people were dead, were being pecked and torn by vultures.

Q: bedraggle
A: Jill was too bedraggled to blush or even to care.

Q: unbelievable
A: In the span of a few unbelievable minutes, Elbryan's entire world had been thrown down.

Q: northernmost
A: Finally they got behind the back wall of the northernmost house in the village, just beneath the forested slope.

Q: slack
A: - but offering no energy to arms that hung slack at his side or to legs that seemed suddenly as if they each weighed a hundred pounds - the young man, feeling very much a little lost boy, walked home.

Q: carralee
A: Carralee Ault, Pony's cousin, Elbryan realized, for she was the only baby in town.

Q: fondness
A: Tuntun had little fondness for the big, bumbling humans.

Q: bumbling
A: Tuntun had little fondness for the big, bumbling humans.

Q: spade
A: He put his sword in his belt, found a spade; and began to dig.

Q: suffice
A: That would have to suffice.

Q: underneath
A: So he ran on, hauling bodies, peeking under rubble, kicking aside piles of dead goblins to see who might be underneath.

Q: stamen
A: Even Tuntun was impressed by his stamina.

Q: adept
A: He remembered Mather at the start of the legendary ranger's career, a bumbling boy no more adept and probably not even as resourceful as this Elbryan.

Q: nag
A: Then another thought nagged at the young man, a notion that he had heard this song before, though he could not place it..

Q: fairy
A: The teasing fairy song, remaining at the very edge of his consciousness, led Elbryan on for many minutes.

Q: circular
A: It was fairly circular, perhaps eight feet in diameter.

Q: distaste
A: Avelyn scrunched his face with distaste and disbelief.

Q: coarse
A: The coarse image burned in Avelyn's mind.

Q: seamanship
A: Avelyn could not keep up with his three companions in the matters of fighting or seamanship; and in the religious training, the young brother grew more and more frustrated.

Q: latitude
A: Elbryan didn't know exactly where Andur'Blough Inninness was located, but he suspected they were somewhere in the northern latitudes of Corona, beyond the Wilderlands border of Honce-the-Bear.

Q: reputed
A: He knew its reputed properties, of course, but he had never attempted to use them.

Q: protege
A: For Juraviel's anxiety was clearly etched on his fine features - how could it have been otherwise when he had been speaking to his protégé Elbryan about this very subject not a week's time past?

Q: core
A: To see such human frailty in the masters of St.-Mere-Abelle touched the very core of Avelyn's faith.

Q: retrieval
A: All that should have mattered was the retrieval of the stones.

Q: daytime
A: The daytime training was not as easy or as inspiring for Avelyn.

Q: frigid
A: In addition, all four were taught the ways of the sea, spending many hours on a small boat rocking in the waves on the rough, frigid waters of All Saints Bay.

Q: barehanded
A: For the first year, they would study barehanded techniques, punching and grappling.

Q: superiority
A: He could not beat Avelyn at the Ring Stone studies, but he gained a measure of superiority during the day.

Q: serpent
A: In most of the maneuvers, the monks were supposed to pull their punches, but Quintall often blasted the breath from Avelyn; there was no striking above the shoulders allowed, but more than once, Quintall knifed a "serpent hand" across Avelyn's throat, dropping him to his knees, gasping for breath.

Q: eliminate
A: The slips had become too common; Avelyn honestly believed Quintall meant to eliminate the competition.

Q: goose
A: Quintall's grin was certainly as far from Godlike as anything Avelyn had ever seen, and the fact that their training with weapons, where wounds could easily become more severe, was not far away, brought goose bumps to the scholarly young man.

Q: removed
A: Perhaps this training was not so far removed from the nighttime training, which Avelyn considered more important.

Q: cocky
A: Who might this leader of the herd be to inspire such uncharacteristic respect from cocky Bradwarden?

Q: twinkle
A: Soon the sky was clear above him, the first stars twinkling into view.

Q: awe
A: Half an hour passed uneventfully, Elbryan walking and looking about, constantly awed by the beauty and the.

Q: ascension
A: There were in the abbey no more than four other monks, three of them masters and one Father Abbot Markwart himself, who could so distinguish magical intensity, and that fact had been the determining factor in Dalebert Markwart's ascension to the highest rank, for his chief rival could not determine magical intensity in individual stones.

Q: dreary
A: He set out from the abbey one dark and dreary morning, riding an ash-gray mare, not swift of hoof but long in heart.

Q: staircase
A: "Finished already?" Grady called as he descended the wide, sweeping staircase of House Battlebrow, the most renowned brothel in all of Palmaris.

Q: eavesdrop
A: Avelyn tried hard not to eavesdrop, but he did catch snatches of the conversation, mostly Siherton complaining vigorously that this was against strict procedure.

Q: unintentionally
A: She dropped the sword - unintentionally, Elbryan knew, for it fell harmlessly to the side - so the young man graciously pulled the pole out straight so Tuntun wouldn't fall off balance to either side.

Q: upraise
A: Finally, Father Abbot Markwart halted the conversation with an upraised hand.

Q: awestruck
A: From the trees behind Elbryan, Pony and Avelyn watched awestruck.

Q: chrysotile
A: He held out his left hand and opened it to show Avelyn three stones: malachite, ringed with various shades of green; shining, polished amber; and a silvery piece of chrysotile, the largest of the three resembling a sheet of straight bars, long and narrow lying side by side.

Q: disparate
A: Avelyn considered the sight from two widely disparate viewpoints.

Q: thrum
A: The ruby was thrumming in his hand, its magic intense and straining for release.

Q: heartfelt
A: Father Abbot Markwart burst out into the most heartfelt laughter Avelyn had ever heard.

Q: ridgeline
A: Elbryan's instincts - something about the air, perhaps, the aroma told him this was not the slope leading out of Dundalis up to the ridgeline, the slope where he had met the ...

Q: internal
A: He swung about, some score of yards from the tavern entrance, and launched into a diatribe on the coming dark days, about a world unprepared to face the forces of evil, about a darkness being fed by the internal rot of the land.

Q: buffet
A: At the same moment that the air grew clear about him, strong winds buffeted him - not gusts but a continual blow.

Q: unmoving
A: Elbryan looked down the slope curiously, just the few feet to the unmoving mist.

Q: chime
A: Somehow he knew the speaker was not human, that no human voice could chime so sweetly, so perfectly.

Q: plainly
A: The way the words were spoken, however plainly and without any apparent deception allowed Elbryan to relax somewhat.

Q: deception
A: The way the words were spoken, however plainly and without any apparent deception allowed Elbryan to relax somewhat.

Q: shimmer
A: It was as if the being shone of its own accord, an inner light making the flowing hair glow and shimmer.

Q: equip
A: Thus was Brother Justice equipped to find and destroy Avelyn.

Q: croak
A: Elbryan knew that, could hear it in the shriek of every bird, in the movements of squirrels, agitated by the presence of such numbers, by the thunder of a giant's step or the rolling war machines, by the croaks of powrie generals, the eager whines of bloodthirsty goblins.

Q: shallow
A: The creature wasn't following a trail, Elbryan believed, but was making one, walking as easily and openly through the underbrush as a man might wade through a shallow pond.

Q: arrogance
A: Elbryan realized the arrogance of that notion, an almost sinful pride,.

Q: exaggerated
A: Might be the animals, might be the plants." Bradwarden stopped and offered an exaggerated wink that Elbryan, still a fair distance down the hill, saw clearly.

Q: peril
A: The journey was too treacherous, and if the crew had been well paid, as promised, they would have had no reason to dare the perils of the South Mirianic again.

Q: bloodline
A: But after speaking with the boy, Juraviel was even more convinced that this was indeed the true bloodline of Mather, and an appropriate ranger-in-training.

Q: going
A: Elbryan had stopped at the top of the hillock, but he felt as if he were still going up, still ascending to those brilliant, twinkling dots.

Q: ascend
A: Elbryan had stopped at the top of the hillock, but he felt as if he were still going up, still ascending to those brilliant, twinkling dots.

Q: unanswered
A: They are to me the shining symbol of all the unanswered questions of human existence, of our place in this vast sky, of our purpose, of death itself.

Q: temporary
A: I had ascended from this temporary existence, from a place of constant change to a place of eternity.

Q: breech
A: Elbryan rolled his breeches up over his knees - not that the worn and ragged pants would stay that way for long!

Q: reckon
A: By his reckoning, the winter solstice had passed, and he knew Dundalis, or what was left of the village, was likely under several feel of snow.

Q: reed
A: Parting one patch of reeds, the boy found his first stone of the day, bobbing low in the water.

Q: flavored
A: When he squeezed them, extracting the now-flavored liquid, the elves would inevitably complain about how little he had collected.

Q: sticky
A: those silken elven strands, which, Elbryan found out soon enough, could be made as sticky and clingy as a spiderweb.

Q: loaded
A: He got his reward for his morning's toils when he returned to the bog to collect the tenth loaded basket.

Q: circuitous
A: Here, high stones lined both sides of the trail, making passage off the path nearly impossible unless Elbryan took a circuitous route quite deep into the underbrush.

Q: trellis
A: - and had cleverly covered it with a layer of dirt and fallen leaves, supported by a trellis of woven sticks.

Q: woven
A: Into the spike, the beast sent its vision, the telltale tracings of human-woven magic.

Q: phony
A: He would have leaped clear of the phony, only to drop heavily into the real one.

Q: fletchings
A: A long arrow protruded from its back, an arrow with fletchings familiar to the woman.

Q: clothe
A: Not a sound came from about the beast as, clothing and all, the dactyl devoured the torn skin of Gothra.

Q: cowards
A: Are you cowards, then?

Q: miserably
A: Surely Tuntun would have to come to him, if for no other reason than to tell him how miserably he had failed in protecting the three towns!

Q: veritable
A: He wheeled, but Tuntun turned with him, staying behind him and punching out a veritable drum roll on his upper back.

Q: porous
A: His spirit walked free of his body, passed through the porous wood of the door and past the pair of oblivious guards.

Q: bard
A: Elbryan scrambled to get to the spot, saw the monk land heavily atop one rocky outcropping and then tumble right over it, a fifteen-foot plummet to bard stone.

Q: defiance
A: The monk snarled in defiance and kicked at the heavy door.

Q: finality
A: of holding it over the trough, hurled it into the brush nearby, an act of defiance and of finality.

Q: angling
A: Juraviel took full advantage, put Elbryan off balance and kept on twisting, angling the boy over the trough.

Q: illogic
A: Elbryan's thoughts shifted to the illogic of it all.

Q: inhuman
A: Jojonah closed his eyes and remembered all the times Siherton had warned him about Avelyn's almost inhuman dedication.

Q: astounding
A: Juraviel, lighter and smaller, had put him down with astounding ease, a simple movement for which Elbryan had no counter.

Q: gangly
A: As the weeks became months, and they became a year, and then two, Elbryan was hardly recognizable as the short gangly boy that Jilseponie had once beat up.

Q: proprietor
A: of the tavern's proprietor, a jolly-looking man, and without a word - I suppose that was the moment the folk of the village began to suspect that l was a bit unusual - headed back the way I had come.

Q: reputedly
A: Palmaris was second in size in all the Kingdom of Honce-the-Bear only to Ursal, the throne seat, further upriver, though neither were reputedly as populous as the great, crowded cities of the southern kingdom of Behren.

Q: commonly
A: The attack was fairly strongthough he would have expected more from powerful Brother Avelyn - but the sunstone was among the most potent of all the stones of St.-Mere-Abelle, its defenses even more complete than the chrysoberyl more commonly used, and its power was more tightly focused than any other, a simple shield against magic.

Q: ample
A: They were about the same height, but Tol, with his barrel-like torso and ample belly, was heavier.

Q: suitor
A: And it was all done in such good fun that neither Graevis nor any suitor of her unsuspecting dance partner ever seemed to care.

Q: unrivaled
A: Pettibwa just had an unrivaled love of life and of other people.

Q: accent
A: Elbryan couldn't make out every word; the goblins were using the language spoken by the common folk of Corona, but the creatures' accents were so thick, their slang so heavy, that the ranger could only get a general impression of their conversation.

Q: sarcasm
A: Connor glared at him, hardly appreciating the sarcasm.

Q: meek
A: She offered a meek smile and a nod to Pettibwa, who returned them with a wink.

Q: savior
A: But she knew, too, the atmosphere of the Way, and the last thing in the world the young woman wanted was to make things difficult for Graevis and Pettibwa, her saviors.

Q: barmaid
A: Suddenly he was off balance, and then he was sitting on the floor, the pretty barmaid gliding out of reach.

Q: precisely
A: their goal through honor, Cat knew; was precisely the same as the drunk had attempted through offered gold.

Q: graciously
A: She worked for another hour, and when her smile did not return, Graevis graciously bade her to take an early night.

Q: toast
A: Cat looked back appreciatively, and over Pettibwa's large round shoulder, she saw again the handsome well-dressed young man, watching her go, lifting his glass of wine in apparent toast to her.

Q: solitude
A: Her rage bubbled away, and she turned from the alley, walking back into the solitude of the darkened rooftop.

Q: inheritance
A: Stiff even, and as the young woman had grown wiser to the ways of the world, she came to understand that Grady saw her as a threat to what he considered his rightful inheritance.

Q: apron
A: Sometime later, Pettibwa came out of the inn, rubbing her hands on her apron, wiping the sweat from her brow, smiling, always smiling, as she went about the business of her life.

Q: brine
A: Even now, after nearly four years in Palmaris, when she knew every street, where to go, where to avoid, and when the dark image of the great Masur Delaval and the smell of brine and the wind filled with crisp wetness had become very familiar to her, she could not consider the place her home.

Q: affectionately
A: It had been given to her affectionately, she knew, and with all sympathy for her pitiful predicament, and so she had not argued.

Q: soot
A: There lay Avelyn, motionless and soot covered.

Q: tag
A: Then came the long journey, tagging along with a merchant caravan that had swapped crafted items to the people of the small frontier village in exchange for pelts and great trees that would be used as masts for the sailing ships built in Palmaris.

Q: phenomenon
A: Perhaps, but Juraviel knew, too, that such events might accompany a larger and darker phenomenon, that earthquakes that could tear the earth as here, that goblin raids upon villages, like the one that had orphaned Elbryan not five years before, might signal something evil indeed.

Q: metallic
A: She considered going back into the Way and inquiring about this Halo right then, but her concentration was broken by a sharp, metallic sound.

Q: namesake
A: Quick as her namesake, the young woman leaped across and put her knee heavily into the drunk's chest, knocking him flat to the roof.

Q: nibble
A: But the young monk could not pull his mind far from the horrors he had witnessed, the encroaching evil that nibbled at the very heart of all that young Avelyn Desbris had held dear.

Q: squirming
A: He pushed down hard to secure the squirming youngster and swung about, Hawkwing in his free hand, ready to fend off an attack.

Q: ashamed
A: And she was not ashamed, not embarrassed, and no black wings of horrors past swept up about her.

Q: bosom
A: The woman desperately wanted to seek out Graevis and Pettibwa, to tell them she was all right, to hug them and fall comfortably onto Pettibwa's soft bosom.

Q: ingrained
A: It seemed that as every ceremony became ingrained within him, it lost a bit of its mystery, and thus, its holiness.

Q: considered
A: Even the children of the Alpinadoran frontier - and most of the still - wild kingdom was considered frontier!

Q: mediator
A: By the third year, Master Siherton also became invaluable as a mediator between the two rivals from the class of God's Year 816, coaxing Quintall into easing up on his jealousy of Avelyn.

Q: watery
A: But for all the harsh reality, for all the possibilities that he would not survive, Avelyn watched the watery horizon for hint of those square sails most intently of all.

Q: pinnacle
A: To his thinking, this was the pinnacle of his existence, the greatest joy that a monk of St.-Mere-Abelle might know, the closest, before death, that he could ever get to his God.

Q: mustache
A: By all appearances, the man was impressive - tall and straight, mustache and goatee neatly trimmed, his red-trimmed blue overcoat tailored straight and proper, black leather baldric crossing right shoulder to left hip and sporting an impressive sword, a family heirloom.

Q: ornamental
A: That garment held Avelyn's attention acutely, for he sensed that at least one of those jewels, a small ruby, was more than ornamental.

Q: trimmed
A: He was dirty and gray, his hair cropped short and badly trimmed, and his beard untended.

Q: untended
A: Except for that hardened face with its wild, untended beard, this man could have passed as a brother of Tol Yuganick, Elbryan noted distastefully.

Q: seamen
A: He had heard the term before, and he knew Quintall and the others used it for the common seamen, but he had no idea what it meant.

Q: proximity
A: - and yet, fighting in such proximity had him on the defensive for her sake.

Q: commanding
A: The four young monks exchanged glances; Avelyn was sympathetic to the captain's wishes and actually took some comfort in the man's commanding, if cold, demeanor.

Q: pecking
A: The pecking order for the voyage had indeed been determined in just that manner.

Q: peal
A: The bells of the abbey pealed repeatedly, drawing curious onlookers from the nearby village of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: noisily
A: The four crewmen of the Windrunner's boat, which was bouncing noisily against the wooden dock, sat through it all with smirking faces, thoroughly amused and certainly not impressed.

Q: crusty
A: Elbryan froze as he heard the crusty snow crunch under his feet.

Q: jealous
A: Avelyn watched that stare, and the return look Quintall offered to the master, and he understood that, while Quintall hated him and was jealous of him, the man would indeed protect him at all costs on the journey to and from the island.

Q: joyous
A: The ceremony went off perfectly solemn yet joyous, ladies crying, men standing tall and handsome.

Q: extent
A: The young man paused then to consider the extent of his progress.

Q: misstep
A: Only the previous autumn, he would not even have noticed his last slight misstep.

Q: clumsy
A: Elbryan had learned to walk nearly silently - though he still thought himself clumsy when measured against the graceful elves!

Q: moot
A: The point was moot, anyway, for Elbryan never got close to touching the elusive deer.

Q: fumbling
A: Even the pursuit seemed left behind, the fumbling giants not keeping pace.

Q: session
A: Not that Juraviel and the others weren't strong; it constantly amazed Elbryan how much power an elf packed into its tiny frame, power he felt all too often in the sting of a practice sword's strike during his sparring sessions!

Q: dice
A: But perhaps he'd have time for a few drinks and a dice game before.

Q: lodging
A: Elbryan moved grudgingly to his lodging, a low, wide house on the bottom boughs of a thick-limbed elm.

Q: sneakily
A: Elbryan smiled sneakily and went into a crouch.

Q: shave
A: Even his head was bare, for his superiors had shaved it.

Q: feint
A: He was too fast for most humans, dizzying them with winding, sweeping feints before the lightning strike killed them.

Q: counterclockwise
A: As soon as he started around, then, Elbryan turned his right foot out and went around counterclockwise, pulling in his hip to avoid a swipe of that axe.

Q: twirling
A: He hardly saw the elf's attacks, but he took comfort in the clicking sounds as the twirling pole picked off each one.

Q: accusingly
A: "The dactyl grows strong," she said, not accusingly.

Q: gaily
A: The man left early, tipping his floppy beret to Cat as he exited, his light brown eyes sparkling gaily, and the young woman was both relieved and upset that this second meeting had ended so abruptly.

Q: memories
A: Cat-the-Stray shook her head violently, as if trying to launch the disturbing half memories right out of her ear.

Q: conniving
A: Grady silently applauded his conniving little sister, though his perception of her actions almost scared him; he had never thought her capable of such a beautifully treacherous play.

Q: acquaint
A: Belli'mar Juraviel, easily the friendliest of the elven band, and the one most acquainted with humans, had even refused to be seen among the encampments, explaining that his presence would probably only frighten those too foolish to know friend from foe.

Q: proportion
A: Everything about her seemed to fit perfectly - her nose, eyes, and mouth in perfect proportion, her legs and arms long and slender but certainly not skinny.

Q: gait
A: Her gait enhanced that perception as well, for she walked with ease and fluidity, always balanced.

Q: enhance
A: Her gait enhanced that perception as well, for she walked with ease and fluidity, always balanced.

Q: impressed
A: The centaur, for the very first time, seemed honestly impressed.

Q: reflex
A: She was no novice to battle, this one, with finely honed reflexes.

Q: sarcastic
A: "Am I to swoon, then?" Cat asked, growing bolder and more sarcastic.

Q: spirited
A: The man got his answer as grim-faced Pony, sitting tall atop Symphony, came out of the trees across the way, flanked on each side by a score of angry villagers and their spirited mounts.

Q: toothy
A: The older woman clapped her pudgy hands before her, her toothy smile nearly taking in her ears.

Q: enthusiasm
A: So Grady's enthusiasm for this alliance held little weight with Cat, but Pettibwa's exuberance was a bit harder to dismiss.

Q: reserve
A: The monk did get in close enough to one wounded goblin to finish it with a flurry of deadly punches, but he kept his magical energy in reserve.

Q: crewman
A: Ships had been found, so the stories went, intact and seaworthy, but with not a crewman aboard.

Q: slave
A: This was Adjonas' ship, that Quintall did not dispute, but the abbey had paid well for this transport and the brothers had not been put aboard as slaves.

Q: unknowing
A: Only unknowing blackness.

Q: rejoin
A: Avelyn wasn't sure the man had ever rejoined them the previous night, and indeed he looked haggard but certainly not displeased.

Q: approval
A: Quintall nodded his approval and Thagraine led the eager Pellimar away.

Q: expense
A: The other three townsfolk joined in the laughter, more than willing to do so at Elbryan's expense.

Q: diversion
A: All his adult life had been devoted to his studies; there had been no time for such diversions.

Q: bien
A: Those wicked stories of Bien deLouisa flitted through his memory.

Q: delouisa
A: Those wicked stories of Bien deLouisa flitted through his memory.

Q: stateroom
A: Every time he passed that cabin door, a small stateroom just behind the quarters of Captain Adjonas, he trembled.

Q: meld
A: All his dreams melded into that singular, mounting fear.

Q: caricature
A: The cave seemed a gigantic caricature of a king's throne room.

Q: amble
A: The old man ambled away on bowed legs.

Q: aft
A: He rubbed his hands together and started aft.

Q: shipboard
A: For Avelyn, this was a most sacred mission, the most important duty of the Abellican Church, and to profane it so by indulging in a shipboard orgy, was surely blasphemous.

Q: orgy
A: For Avelyn, this was a most sacred mission, the most important duty of the Abellican Church, and to profane it so by indulging in a shipboard orgy, was surely blasphemous.

Q: framed
A: Her face seemed tiny, framed by the voluminous hair, but cute, if not beautiful, and her frame, too, was small and thin.

Q: cute
A: Her face seemed tiny, framed by the voluminous hair, but cute, if not beautiful, and her frame, too, was small and thin.

Q: hem
A: "Well, are ye ready then, Avelyn Desbris?" Dansally asked, pulling up the hem a bit more and striking a teasing pose.

Q: mankind
A: The weakness of mankind, the impiety of.

Q: undertow
A: So she shed her red Coastpoint jacket and her heavy boots and went over the side, fighting the undertow every inch of the way through the icy water.

Q: uncharacteristic
A: Who might this leader of the herd be to inspire such uncharacteristic respect from cocky Bradwarden?

Q: landscape
A: The wind rushed past his ears, the landscape flying along beneath, such a thrill of the run, such a smoothness of stride, that Elbryan would have sworn he was flying across a cushion of air.

Q: bulging
A: One of the goblins brought out a bulging waterskin, and as soon as the creature poured some of the foaming liquid into a mug, Elbryan knew that it held some potent drink indeed.

Q: stance
A: The attack flurry played itself out, Elbryan coming to a crouched stance, Hawkwing horizontal in front of him.

Q: tragic
A: All the world, save Avelyn and the perpetrators, would think this a tragic accident.

Q: trench
A: There are reports of a trench, a great upheaval, not twenty miles beyond our valley."

Q: upheaval
A: There are reports of a trench, a great upheaval, not twenty miles beyond our valley."

Q: stickler
A: At first, Jill thought the new warder more her style, a stickler for detail and duty.

Q: attune
A: The glade was strangely quiet this night, with no elves in the area - or at least none showing themselves, for Elbryan had been around the Touel'alfar long enough to realize that a host of sprites could be within a dozen paces and even he, now so attuned to the forest, would not suspect it unless they chose to make their presence known.

Q: uncanny
A: Around and around the weapons went, reminding Elbryan of her uncanny dexterity.

Q: underhand
A: Perfect height for an underhand swing.

Q: vertical
A: The elf squealed and threw her sword out to the side, blade vertical, its tip nearly touching the ground.

Q: err
A: I feared that I had erred in my course, that I had returned home by memory, not by vision.

Q: unpredictable
A: He thought himself foolish as he neared the unpredictable Tuntun, expecting that she would find the strength to drive her dirk into his face, thus claiming a draw.

Q: altered
A: What, then, had so altered this one?

Q: earthquakes
A: Earthquakes and thunderstorms, swirling tornadoes, even exploding volcanoes, were more often than not natural events.

Q: thunderstorm
A: Earthquakes and thunderstorms, swirling tornadoes, even exploding volcanoes, were more often than not natural events.

Q: volcano
A: Earthquakes and thunderstorms, swirling tornadoes, even exploding volcanoes, were more often than not natural events.

Q: brothel
A: His other needs could be taken care of in the many brothels that openly offered their wares in the city, but of course he didn't need to tell Jill, his Jilly, about that.

Q: ware
A: His other needs could be taken care of in the many brothels that openly offered their wares in the city, but of course he didn't need to tell Jill, his Jilly, about that.

Q: proposal
A: Her first instinct told her to refuse the proposal.

Q: hopping
A: Pettibwa was distinctly more animated, hopping up and down, breasts and belly bouncing wildly, and clapping her hands together, her cheeks fast streaking with an outburst of tears.

Q: plush
A: Connor, sitting back on one of the plush chairs in the lobby, turned an absent gaze his companion's way.

Q: royalty
A: Now, seeing her adorned in a white gown of satin and lace, her long, thick blond mane pinned up on one side and hanging loose on the other, she seemed made for royalty.

Q: inhibition
A: He was trying to loosen up her inhibitions, and she was, too.

Q: mansion
A: When the guests were excused, Connor took Jill across the town to the mansion of his uncle, the Baron Bildeborough.

Q: obscene
A: For Jill, who had spent her life so simply, it seemed somehow obscene; a dozen people could sleep comfortably on that bed, and she needed a stepping stool to even get onto it!

Q: approve
A: Now there was no mistaking the somber, accusing tone of the normally jovial centaur; Bradwarden did not approve of the monk's little flask.

Q: hesitance
A: Her hesitance incited his rage once more.

Q: incite
A: Her hesitance incited his rage once more.

Q: pleadingly
A: He looked pleadingly at the boughs, at the rarely seen guide who had led him and his companions through a trackless region, heading south and with towering mountains now in sight.

Q: blister
A: He burned and blistered, then browned, darker and darker, taking on the leathery appearance of those seasoned sailors around him.

Q: leathery
A: He burned and blistered, then browned, darker and darker, taking on the leathery appearance of those seasoned sailors around him.

Q: scraggly
A: That fear came to fruition when Elbryan and Pony entered one long narrow pass, a jumble of boulders and scraggly trees sheltered from the strong winds, but, the pair both silently noted, without any obvious escape routes.

Q: forbid
A: Even to utter the, name of the island without Father Abbot's permission was forbidden.

Q: unrelenting
A: Adjonas' voice was grim and unrelenting.

Q: waylay
A: "If they waylay ships, what goods do they extract and where, then, do they drop off their newfound cargo?"

Q: newfound
A: A light snow had begun to fall all across the forest, but it seemed to shy from the ranger's camp, from the heat of the ranger's fire, from the warmth of Brother Avelyn's newfound home.

Q: pillage
A: They attack only to pillage enough stores to get them to the next ship and for the simple thrill of the hunt and torture."

Q: diagonal
A: Elbryan rested back against the diagonal tree root in this impromptu room of Oracle, digesting his own words.

Q: ladder
A: The dwarf caught the gem securely, but surrendered his hold on the ladder.

Q: hatchway
A: The barrelboat, rolling from the contact with the Windrunner, with water rushing in the open hatchway, soon disappeared under the waves.

Q: evilly
A: The dwarf lifted its sword, grinning evilly, and let out a wail that shook Avelyn to the marrow of his bones :as he lay prone not far away.

Q: spindly
A: With their heavy bodies and spindly limbs, powries were not strong swimmers, and Quintall easily overtook the dazed creature, pushing it under the water and gaining a seat atop its shoulders.

Q: temporarily
A: The barrelboat was disabled temporarily, but the fight was hardly over.

Q: untangle
A: No powrie would dare go into the water to try and untangle the netted fan with frenzied sharks so close.

Q: roundhouse
A: Quintall nodded, then suddenly exploded into action, his roundhouse punch catching Avelyn square on the jaw, dropping the man in a heap to the deck.

Q: spittle
A: "We had no choice in the matter," Quintall retorted, so angry that his spittle sprayed forth with every word.

Q: arise
A: A dispute had arisen between one or more of the prisoners and their goblin captors, and now the humans were being punished once more.

Q: conical
A: And beyond the masses loomed a single dark silhouette, a conical mountain tipped by a steady stream of dark smoke.

Q: vegetation
A: Gray became green as they closed, lush vegetation thick on the slopes.

Q: unbearable
A: All the world was blackness, was searing heat and unbearable agony, and Quintall knew no more.

Q: agitation
A: The stallion showed no sign of pain or even agitation other than a sudden elation.

Q: splashing
A: Everything seemed to stop, all movement, all splashing.

Q: deluge
A: And through the deluge, Avelyn heard his name.

Q: foliage
A: He peered out, stunned, as a torn and battered Thagraine came into view beyond the thinned foliage, the man bleeding in so many places that he seemed one great wound.

Q: pitifully
A: He stumbled forward pitifully, holding out his arms toward the cave.

Q: befall
A: How many times had the ranger told himself that he would not allow such a tragedy to befall Dundalis again?

Q: pulp
A: Where trees and thick brush had grown was now only battered pulp and blasted stone.

Q: strew
A: On another note, Avelyn could not help but laugh at the absurd, useless treasure that lay strewn all about him.

Q: permanently
A: Others had to be treated with oils for many days, that their magic be locked permanently within them.

Q: acceptable
A: Lady Dasslerond turned to Juraviel, her expression showing that his answer was not acceptable.

Q: appendage
A: The surprised, confused creature stumbled backward, its other, normal appendage grabbing at its torn face.

Q: putting
A: Anticipating the following moves, Elbryan snapped his left hand down, taking the power from a right cross, then stepped in closer, putting his right leg inside the monk's left, defeating an attempted kick.

Q: inexperienced
A: Though he was completely inexperienced in physical lovemaking, he understood what she was saying.

Q: cinnamon
A: The last bite, of a cinnamon roll turned over in Avelyn's stomach, a sinking feeling.

Q: festivity
A: With the tides, the ship could not put out Until after midnight, so why hadn't the thirty, or at least the captain, been included in the much deserved festivities?

Q: suspected
A: He didn't know the hour but suspected that midnight was near or that it had come and gone.

Q: reef
A: Soon the Windrunner was adrift, the strong currents of All Saints Bay taking her toward a dangerous reef.

Q: freely
A: Tears ran freely down his cheeks; he mumbled the name "Dansally," over and over.

Q: bombardment
A: Those folk who had survived the bombardment soon envied their dead companions.

Q: assign
A: Return now to the room that Master Siherton assigned to you.

Q: idealism
A: He did not believe that Avelyn, so full of idealism and ridiculous faith, could be corralled.

Q: fond
A: He would try, though, for he was fond of young Brother Avelyn and he knew the alternative.

Q: completion
A: The horse could go for many hours, and Brother Justice, so focused on the completion of his vital task, pushed her to her limits.

Q: damaged
A: Elbryan hopped down from the centaur and pulled the sword blade near his face, sighing with relief when he noted it was not damaged, not even nicked.

Q: theft
A: How does one justify murder and theft, after all?

Q: cell
A: Back in his cell, Avelyn fell into the powers of the stone.

Q: purchase
A: The next morning, they purchased some supplies, including a short sword, boots, and a warm cloak for Jill, and then they walked out of Macomber together, down the road to the west, ignoring the stares and whispers, feeling somehow as if they shared a secret and a wisdom the rest of the world, fools all, could never comprehend.

Q: sinister
A: The thought of unbelieving merchants plying the gift of the stones, to amuse guests, perhaps, or even for sinister purposes, wounded Avelyn deeply.

Q: lurch
A: The dais lurched; a great crack opened in the floor and a gout of steam hissed through.

Q: carnallite
A: Just a week before, Avelyn had melted a leg of one table while examining a ruby sprinkled with carnallite!

Q: wagon
A: At the first town he entered, he happened upon a caravan of several merchant wagons, and there he sold the common emerald, giving him all the funds he would need for a long, long time.

Q: encroach
A: But the young monk could not pull his mind far from the horrors he had witnessed, the encroaching evil that nibbled at the very heart of all that young Avelyn Desbris had held dear.

Q: cancer
A: All of it: the cancer that had grown in his world, the unpreparedness, the ungodliness of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: prelude
A: Finally, convinced that this was but a prelude to his lesson, and nothing dramatic, the young man looked up and did a quick count of the stars, noting four.

Q: furrow
A: Elbryan's brow furrowed as he considered the words, as their implications began to unfold before him.

Q: meditative
A: Even Elbryan's sleeping habits changed, shifting to a more controlled, meditative process than a lumped time of uncontrollable unconsciousness.

Q: unconsciousness
A: The heat of battle had left her body and unconsciousness had descended over her like some great hunting bird, wings out wide to block the light of day.

Q: fanciful
A: "And the memories of fanciful musing," Juraviel added.

Q: tickle
A: He was naked, every hair, every nerve feeling the tickle of the chill breeze.

Q: swordsmen
A: Both swordsmen came in fast; the goblin swished the spear back and forth, the weapon's sharp tip scratching Cries arm and holding him at bay.

Q: counterattack
A: On those occasions when he did spar, he not only understood how to defeat any attack, deflect, dodge, or block, but also knew which tactic would offer appropriate counterattacks or would keep his defensive posture strong against subsequent attacks from that foe, or even from others.

Q: purposefully
A: The three left Caer'alfar, moving purposefully into the deep woods.

Q: drape
A: Then he went about draping the blanket over the cave entrance, darkening the room so that he could barely make out his hand if he held it in front of his face.

Q: invade
A: He lost all sense of the passing of time; soon nothing invaded his focus.

Q: gulp
A: The image nodded; Elbryan fought for a gulp of air.

Q: indenture
A: Short of that, there was the very real possibility that Abbot Dobrinion would bind Jill into indenture to Connor, perhaps for the remainder of her life.

Q: sympathetically
A: Elbryan groaned sympathetically, running to get in view of the man once more.

Q: welfare
A: To Jill, their mission seemed paramount, a stoic existence protecting the welfare of all the kingdom.

Q: slob
A: But he was a letch, a drooling, grabby slob, who took it personally when Jill refused his advances.

Q: walkway
A: She wasn't particularly afraid; she didn't think the drunken slob would even get to her before he fell off the narrow walkway, dropping the eight feet to the fortress's small courtyard.

Q: outwardly
A: If she accepted his outwardly gracious offer and went inside, Gofflaw would soon follow, leaving the walls empty.

Q: conspiracy
A: Even worse, for him to be out here fetching her, there was likely a conspiracy inside.

Q: grabby
A: But he was a letch, a drooling, grabby slob, who took it personally when Jill refused his advances.

Q: lass
A: "Calm, lass," Presso said, patting his hand in the air.

Q: motto
A: she finished, the motto of the once proud Coastpoint Guards.

Q: decent
A: Also, it had surprised Jill how much she missed Constantine Presso, a decent man - by Pireth Tulme's standards, at least.

Q: swollen
A: He had limped for a week, one foot swollen, one ankle and both his knees bruised, one eye closed and a lip too fat for him to drink anything without it dribbling down the front of his shirt.

Q: solitary
A: There were even reports of a smoke cloud rising lazily over the Barbacan, streaming from a solitary mountain known as Aida.

Q: crisscross
A: One had many daggers within easy grasp, hanging on a bandolier that crisscrossed his chest.

Q: neat
A: Elbryan understood immediately that this was their destination, that there was something unusual about these plants; they were growing in neat rows, evenly spaced, and the ground around them was bare.

Q: gracefully
A: Silvery lines wove gracefully about the dark green stem; they seemed to Elbryan consistent with the fishing lines and the bowstrings the elves used.

Q: cure
A: So the monk, exhausted from fighting and then curing the stranger's magical poisoning, his mind heavy with drink, plopped down on his bed and was soon snoring loudly.

Q: resilient
A: Elbryan knew how strong find resilient his bow was, and so he figured that if the softening gel would work on darkfern, it might even defeat the metal.

Q: berry
A: But fruits and berries are naught but ticklings.

Q: slit
A: The old elf took up a curious-looking knife, bent upward on both sides and with its cutting edge on one side of a slit running down its middle.

Q: peel
A: A tiny strip peeled away, so thin as to be nearly translucent.

Q: crafting
A: The name would have to be correct, for this bow would be the epitome of his crafting, Joycenevial determined, the highest achievement in a career so often marked by perfection.

Q: hone
A: She was no novice to battle, this one, with finely honed reflexes.

Q: notch
A: He would spend the better part of half a year on this one, he knew, scraping and treating, notching and weaving spells of strength.

Q: callus
A: The fingers of the young man's right hand were soon laced with calluses, and the leather on the inside of his black arm guard had been worn down to half its original thickness.

Q: upside
A: He looked up to see that last giant upside down, flailing wildly, futilely, floating even farther away.

Q: exploit
A: Y4 how can they know of me, more than the name of Nightbird, which I have not hidden, and of my exploits against them?

Q: broadsword
A: Of the six, only one was still accounted for, a huge broadsword named Icebreaker, wielded by a rarely seen ranger, Andacanavar, in the far northland of Alpinador.

Q: northland
A: Of the six, only one was still accounted for, a huge broadsword named Icebreaker, wielded by a rarely seen ranger, Andacanavar, in the far northland of Alpinador.

Q: perceive
A: And it went deeper than that; the ranger came to perceive the world about Symphony through the eyes of the magnificent horse.

Q: modesty
A: Modesty caused Elbryan to hesitate, but Tuntun wasn't in the mood for a debate.

Q: dump
A: The ranger went around to the back and dumped out the cauldron of poison.

Q: trusting
A: Elbryan's first instinct was to ask where, but he held the thought private, trusting that the elves would tell him if he needed to know.

Q: settler
A: There were the Moorlands - the Soupy Bogs, they had been affectionately called by the settlers on the edge of the Wilderlands.

Q: guardian
A: Except that now, he ran through the Moorlands, and recalling those tales of howling beasts and horrid guardians wasn't very comforting.

Q: basin
A: Rivulets of runoff had been crystalline all through the Moorlands, except in those low basins where the water collected and remained, where the ground and water seemed to blend, to melt together into a thick muddy stew.

Q: upstream
A: He noted a splash, not so far in the distance upstream.

Q: eeyan
A: "Eeyan kos?" one of them called.

Q: whoop
A: With a whoop of delight, the other goblins, predictably, came on.

Q: flanking
A: Elbryan caught the staff firmly in his left hand and extended that arm out in similar fashion so that the other flanking goblin was poked away.

Q: hitting
A: Seeing that creature in full flight, Elbryan stabbed the staff back out hard to his left, hitting the dazed and battered goblin right in the face.

Q: backtracking
A: Now I wonder if it wasn't merely a memory returned, a backtracking of the same course the elves.

Q: resident
A: I have no new friends among the current residents of Dundalis, and in truth, I expect none.

Q: outskirt
A: Jill considered the offer for a long moment, then moved away with the man to a room he had rented in a small inn on the outskirts of Macomber.

Q: deceptive
A: His face' was clean shaven, seeming almost babyish, but anyone looking at powerful Tol knew that to be a deceptive façade.

Q: stooping
A: Tol moved closer to the stooping ranger as he spoke.

Q: farmhouse
A: A black bear had attacked a farmhouse and that alone was enough of a mystery to force the ranger to investigate.

Q: vent
A: The beast had run off from the farmhouse, creating a swath of devastation through the brush, even knocking over small trees, venting a rage that the ranger had never before witnessed in an animal.

Q: foamy
A: Three men lay about on piled skins, black bear mostly, drinking foamy beer from old mugs.

Q: raccoon
A: If that was the case, then Elbryan would have his work cut out from him indeed, hunting almost day and night for other infected animals, everything from raccoons and weasels to bats.

Q: foam
A: No foam; the ranger breathed a sigh of relief.

Q: sappy
A: Elbryan recognized the black, sappy poison, a pain - inducing product of a rare black birch tree.

Q: camouflage
A: Slowly Brother Justice closed, using bodies as camouflage.

Q: stealthily
A: Then, fearful that they would be too late, the pair split, left and right, and moved quickly and stealthily right up to the edge of the cavern entrance.

Q: vat
A: In a vat not far from the back wall of the shack, the ranger found a thick concoction of black liquid, and quickly surmised it to be the same irritant poison that had been used on the bear.

Q: concoction
A: In a vat not far from the back wall of the shack, the ranger found a thick concoction of black liquid, and quickly surmised it to be the same irritant poison that had been used on the bear.

Q: restrain
A: Again the monk restrained his feeling of outrage that this man - this simple, pitiful, wretched merchant could speak of Father Abbot Markwart as if he were the man's equal.

Q: stout
A: Jill regarded the short, stout man curiously.

Q: letch
A: But he was a letch, a drooling, grabby slob, who took it personally when Jill refused his advances.

Q: revert
A: Even his strict rules for duty had relaxed within the week, Pireth Tulme reverting to its typical partying ways.

Q: hangover
A: She collected ten of Pireth Tulme's Coastpoint Guards, using their hangovers as a tool for rejecting more of the others, then set out, double-timing the march down the dirt path.

Q: foothold
A: He ran hard to the side, then leaped up atop a rounded boulder, gaining a foothold and turning back in a quick charge to meet the rushing monster.

Q: barter
A: Often marauding goblins would send in a messenger before the attack to ask for surrender, to barter for a bribe, warning that battle would otherwise be joined.

Q: hah
A: "Hah!" the huge man bellowed.

Q: foolhardiness
A: But sheer terror, sheer instinct, and an unselfishness that bordered on foolhardiness, allowed for nothing less.

Q: fete
A: Jill watched him for a fete moments, honestly intrigued.

Q: encroachment
A: But then, in perhaps the worst torture of all' to the valiant Touel'alfar, Juraviel felt the encroachment, felt the dark and cold presence of Bestesbulzibar creeping into his thoughts, scouring his mind.

Q: sheath
A: He slid Tempest into its sheath, looped Hawkwing over his back, then climbed up, offering his hand to Pony.

Q: hound
A: Jill sighed deeply every time she considered the man who had called himself the hound of ill omen.

Q: weep
A: She moved to the door to see the friar shuffling down the muddy lane, weeping and crying out for the "sins of men" and the woeful state of preparation.

Q: diatribe
A: Jill did go out one night, while Avelyn went down into the common room of the inn they had chosen, spouting his diatribes.

Q: inconspicuous
A: Master Jojonah looked down from an inconspicuous balcony at the large chamber, bare of any furnishing but for a few practice riggings sitting against the far wall.

Q: occasionally
A: He uttered a chant repeatedly, using it to bolster his failing strength, and De'Unnero, the new master who had taken Siherton's place, stalked about him, occasionally stinging him with a riding crop.

Q: immaculate
A: Behind Quintall stood a tenth-year immaculate.

Q: plat
A: Bradwarden's heavy bow, swung as a club, rang off the plated armor, splintering as it hit.

Q: underling
A: Among the three evil races, none had earned any reputation of loyalty or honor, but now, with the bracers, the dactyl could hold faith that its four chosen generals would survive the not unexpected treachery of their underlings.

Q: rightfully
A: "One whose title as Brother Justice is fair and true, and who carries the punishment rightfully earned by the outlaw monk you name as your companion?"

Q: renegade
A: And he did not desire to leave behind any legacy of failure=including the existence of the renegade Avelyn.

Q: isolate
A: Their fear isolates them, and they often cannot distinguish friend from foe.

Q: equate
A: And, in the end, it is a sense of accomplishment, of purpose, and not the wealth attained by such accomplishment, that equates to fulfillment and happiness.

Q: seeking
A: He used all his training, all his tools, focusing his senses one at a time in each direction, on every plant and every animal, seeking some hint of the source.

Q: dumbfoundedly
A: The demon stared dumbfoundedly at the dusty cloud, at Avelyn, as if to ask what the man had done, and again, Avelyn had no answers.

Q: ears
A: "Two more ears!" Cric laughed, but Paulson wasn't thinking along those lines just then.

Q: disarming
A: "Ah, me little human laddie," Bradwarden said with that disarming smile, though it surely seemed condescending coming from so far on high, "Ye'd not be wanting me to give up me secrets, now would ye?

Q: rousing
A: On they charged, Bradwarden singing a rousing song and Chipmunk forcing away his tears, locking them behind a wall of sheer anger.

Q: naught
A: But fruits and berries are naught but ticklings.

Q: droppings
A: A hoofprint or me droppings?

Q: bearded
A: Bradwarden laughed riotously, then hoisted a huge skin and poured an amber-colored liquid - Elbryan recognized it as boggle - into his mouth, a considerable amount splashing over his bearded face.

Q: sly
A: And," he paused and offered a sly wink, "don't ye fear, for I'm not overly fond o' human flesh."

Q: differ
A: In Pireth Tulme, even the winter was one long gray sheet of clouds and cold rain, differing from the summer only in terms of temperature.

Q: kinship
A: Pony went to him, loving him all the more, feeling a true kinship with the man, feeling a great deal of pity, as well.

Q: parapet
A: Jill dodged easily, then kicked out behind the flying weapon, just nicking the powrie on the back but solidly enough so the overbalanced dwarf fell from the parapet eight feet to the ground below.

Q: crotch
A: Gothra stared down at the line of blood running from forehead to crotch, then looked back at the demon.

Q: sheathed
A: Jill sheathed her sword instead, pulled her belt off, and leaped out from the wall, beyond the climbing dwarf.

Q: havoc
A: If she could get across the deck to the stern catapult or more particularly, to the cauldrons of pitch and the firepit near the catapult, then she might be able to cause more than a little havoc.

Q: jabbing
A: With a howl, it finally let go, scrambling about to evade the jabbing dagger.

Q: mischief
A: She turned to the catapult, its arm low and ready to fire, then looked at the vats of burning pitch, wondering what mischief she might cause.

Q: capstan
A: She kicked over the pitch barrels, spilling one onto the capstan that held the anchor line and knocking another down the stairs to the lower main deck.

Q: conspicuous
A: She tried to straighten her still-damp clothes, but realized that she would be conspicuous indeed to any, walking as she was without boots, and without the dirtied, calloused feet of a peasant woman.

Q: stories
A: The man rambled on and on, telling mostly stories of his dealings with the various monasteries of Honce-the-Bear, even with St.

Q: precede
A: Perhaps word of the disaster had preceded her.

Q: foaming
A: One of the goblins brought out a bulging waterskin, and as soon as the creature poured some of the foaming liquid into a mug, Elbryan knew that it held some potent drink indeed.

Q: estimate
A: Estimates of the enemy force ranged from a thousand warriors to a thousand ships full of warriors.

Q: swig
A: He reached into a pocket of his robe and produced a small flask, popping the top and sucking a huge swig.

Q: confide
A: He told Jill much - more than he would have ever believed he could confide - holding back only the specifics of the Ring Stones, the secret island, the method and fatal result of his escape, and the fact that he carried with him a stolen cache of powerful magic.

Q: oppose
A: In these general rows, as opposed to the occasions when all in the bar teamed up against the monk, Avelyn more than held his ground.

Q: holler
A: The huge bear of a man tossed his attackers with ease, punched and twisted deftly, hollering "Ho, ho, what!" every time he felled another.

Q: wheeze
A: The giant was indeed closing for the kill, lifting its deadly weapon, when an arrow thudded hard into its back, turning its evil laughter into a sudden wheeze.

Q: sheepishly
A: He was sitting upright now, smiling sheepishly, the cloud of pain and death gone from his plump features.

Q: complicate
A: Up here, Jill was Cat-the-Stray again, a younger girl in a world less complicated, with feelings less confusing.

Q: garnet
A: They gave him but two stones: a smooth yellow-hued sunstone and a cabochon garnet, a carbuncle, the deepest shade of red.

Q: mare
A: Pony came riding in then on a roan mare, one of several wild horses that would allow themselves to be ridden.

Q: efficiently
A: Paulson stepped inside the range and caught the spear by the shaft and rushed up its length, quickly and efficiently embedding his sword deep in the creature's chest.

Q: pitfall
A: Brother Justice knew the pitfalls, though.

Q: gwendolyn
A: Gwendolyn of the Sea since the fight," the bartender of the tavern added.

Q: assortment
A: If the demon sets its army to block us, then so we shall be blocked, and not my sword, nor Avelyn's magic, not Bradwarden's strength, nor your own assortment of weapons, will possibly get us through so many swarming monsters.

Q: jester
A: Brother Justice's first thought was that Avelyn had hired on with this obviously wealthy merchant, perhaps to perform some necessary feat with the stones, perhaps merely as a court jester.

Q: yelp
A: The dog's legs splayed wide; it gave one yelp, then lay still, its back broken, its lungs collapsing.

Q: foyer
A: The man pointed toward a door across the foyer.

Q: corn
A: He had crossed the Moorlands, corning from the west.

Q: jamb
A: He kicked again and again, repeatedly slamming the lock, until finally, the wood of the jamb gave way, the door flying wide to reveal a portly man, richly dressed, standing behind a large oaken desk, a loaded crossbow in hand.

Q: fugitive
A: Likely, the man was in no way connected to Avelyn, but still the fugitive monk remained concerned.

Q: familiarity
A: That air alone brought to the young woman familiarity, a crispness that she had not known in the city of Palmaris nor in Pireth Tulme, where the dull and damp fog seemed eternal.

Q: garner
A: Obviously he had dealt with Markwart - where else would he have garnered so powerful a stone?

Q: accomplish
A: Many things could be accomplished with such a stone.

Q: infinite
A: It seemed as if an hour went by, but then as if only a second had passed; what appeared as an infinite plain was crossed by a single step.

Q: collide
A: So many times he thought he would collide with jags of stone only to watch them rush under him at the last possible second.

Q: ant
A: Below him, massed like ants, were the campsites of armies.

Q: monstrosity
A: But that spectacle couldn't hold Brother Justice's attention for any length of time, not with this huge monstrosity leering at him from on high.

Q: redemption
A: The man had passed the point of redemption and had perhaps awakened a dangerous curiosity in the demon.

Q: feeble
A: The monk drove the feeble merchant to his knees and held fast long after the struggling stopped, long after the merchant's arms fell slack at his sides.

Q: grant
A: Normally in a test of archery, each contestant would be granted a specified number of shots, with the best total score serving as the measure.

Q: victorious
A: Elbryan clenched a fist, thinking himself victorious as he marked the flight.

Q: roam
A: His eyes betrayed his idea, roaming to the centaur's strong back.

Q: arse
A: Ye should be more to looking past yer arse, though yer target's past yer nose."

Q: converge
A: Elbryan glanced both ways, then, figuring that the paths converged just the other side of the boulder, went right.

Q: homage
A: Elbryan went right to the heart of the grove, paying homage to whoever was buried there, then came back to the edge, wanting to feel the breeze in his face.

Q: downwind
A: It was taking his measure, Elbryan knew, though he was not downwind and too far for most horses even to notice him.

Q: steed
A: Or, when either of them was too close for such weapons, they merely spurred their powerful steeds on, running down the helpless powries or goblins that ventured into their path.

Q: swear
A: The wind rushed past his ears, the landscape flying along beneath, such a thrill of the run, such a smoothness of stride, that Elbryan would have sworn he was flying across a cushion of air.

Q: aimlessly
A: had, in fact, lost ground, wandering aimlessly about the large city.

Q: deter
A: The brave woman was not easily deterred.

Q: nip
A: The demon's arms shot forward, fingers extended, and black tendrils of crackling electricity spouted from them, biting against the wall and running the length of the straight passage, nipping and snapping at Elbryan and Avelyn, at Pony and Bradwarden as they followed their friends around the bend.

Q: bet
A: "We would climb up to the top rail and bet on how long we could walk it."

Q: suffocate
A: Though she was outside, she felt as if she were suffocating, closed within a space that was too tight.

Q: astride
A: Out from the gaps in the line came the next surprise, a goblin cavalry, the diminutive creatures astride shaggy ponies.

Q: disciplined
A: And working in concert," he added, sweeping his arm across the panorama of the encampment, indicating the disciplined manner in which the creatures were organizing their camp.

Q: masse
A: And beyond the masses loomed a single dark silhouette, a conical mountain tipped by a steady stream of dark smoke.

Q: misshapen
A: On the ground beside the body lay the ruined broach, its hematite core melted and misshapen, an elongated black egg.

Q: unwanted
A: Might the mad friar's increasing reputation have brought unwanted recognition from the strict order?

Q: deft
A: A deft twist by the woman turned the sword out of harm's way, allowing Brother Justice merely a glancing hit that forced Jill back a step.

Q: ruse
A: Elbryan put his staff up high to block the expected punch, but even though he seemed to fall for the ruse, the ranger was not caught.

Q: enthusiastically
A: Avelyn nodded enthusiastically, but the ranger's words only heightened his fear that this was indeed no coincidental attack, that the fighting monks of the Abellican Church were after him.

Q: lately
A: Lately, though, Belster had begun changing that.

Q: lord
A: He studied the man in the distant corner, the one Tol had referred to sarcastically as "our lord protector," with new interest.

Q: vertically
A: Elbryan casually put Hawkwing out vertically in front of him, picking off the punch with the hard wood.

Q: skilled
A: Then the ranger began his scan again, seeking the newcomer, this skilled fighter, this assassin.

Q: hustle
A: The ranger shrugged it away and hustled to the side of the fat monk.

Q: herb
A: This man had been-poisoned, no doubt about it, but the poison was not based in any substance, in any herb or plant or any animal venom.

Q: swerved
A: Elbryan watched him go, taking some comfort in the fact that the man swerved for the inn's side door and was apparently going to his room, not back to the common room.

Q: affair
A: Elbryan didn't know exactly where he might fit in to such a private affair, but he expected that he and the fat monk - and likely the deadly stranger, as well - had not seen the last of one another.

Q: forewarn
A: Now Avelyn was indeed growing fearful; it wasn't like Jill to disappear for so long without forewarning him or without finding some way to contact him.

Q: defined
A: To Avelyn, who had lived all of his life in the more populous and defined central region of Honce-the-Bear, and who had lately.

Q: uncompromising
A: She was sorry that Avelyn had been forced to act as thief and killer, sorry that this gentle man - and despite the barroom brawls, Pony knew Avelyn to be a gentle man - had been put into such an uncompromising position.

Q: wearily
A: Elbryan sighed wearily.

Q: foolishly
A: And then they were buried beneath the subsequent memories: the death of Thagraine, of the boy who had foolishly gone onto Pimaninicuit, of all the crew of the Windrunner, of Dansally, of Siherton.

Q: illusion
A: I hold no comforting illusions; that group is in danger as great as my own.

Q: wraith
A: Quintall, Brother Justice, fell to his wraith knees before the dactyl, bowed his head, and spoke.

Q: magnificence
A: - in all its horrible beauty, in all its magnificence.

Q: observation
A: I cannot know, can only guess, and I fear that any guess I make will be tainted by the observations of my current life.

Q: mournful
A: Bradwarden took up his pipes then, following the meal with a mournful, soulful tune that conjured in Avelyn images of the rolling hills, the wheatfields, and grapevines of Youmaneff.

Q: beneficial
A: "Beneficial," Avelyn said with all confidence and without hesitation.

Q: jostle
A: Symphony snorted again and jostled about, but gradually came to accept the woman.

Q: culmination
A: For Elbryan, it was the culmination of his youth, where every waking thought had led him to this point with this woman, his soulmate, his Pony.

Q: insignia
A: Thankfully, there were no giants or even powries to be seen, but there were at least fifty goblins down there, with several, Elbryan noted, wearing the black-and-gray insignia of the dactyl's army.

Q: reconcile
A: The large man's knowledge of goblins simply didn't reconcile with this sight before him.

Q: wooded
A: Tall Cric was by far the fastest of the three and he forged ahead, gaining steadily on the goblin as it scrambled down the back side of the hill, then over the wooded floor of the next valley.

Q: corkscrew
A: Even more surprising to the three men were the war engines, a dozen at least, great catapults and spear-throwing ballistae, and huge corkscrew devices, obviously for burrowing through fortified walls.

Q: concoct
A: One of the giants continued to stammer on about bad luck and other such nonsense, trying hard to concoct some excuse that might keep its skin attached to its body.

Q: crest
A: True to her word, Pony was riding hard to the south as the sun crested the eastern horizon.

Q: thievery
A: Stealthy thievery seemed the order of the day.

Q: diving
A: Hawkwing's bowstring hummed, the arrow flying true, diving into the back of the peeing goblin's head.

Q: hatchet
A: The ranger dropped Hawkwing, reached behind him to his pack, and tore free his hatchet.

Q: ineffective
A: Elbryan looked at his weapons, so ineffective against the sturdy powrie.

Q: peg
A: Chipmunk popped out the last fastening peg, and, with the strength of a giant, the centaur lifted free the huge beam.

Q: strung
A: A second puzzle faced the ranger when he noticed a cord, thin but strong, strung to his left, along the wall, going past him and past Quintall.

Q: undetected
A: He left Symphony in the forest and moved tree to tree, crossing past goblin sentries undetected, at last finding a good vantage point on the edge of the village.

Q: threateningly
A: Elbryan didn't flinch nor did he look back threateningly when a mug shattered against the wall beside the exit, a missile obviously aimed at the back of his head.

Q: unleash
A: The stone; as if it were something sentient, had called to the monk on that day when he had presented it to Elbryan and Symphony, and Avelyn, who had floated down the face of a cliff, who had walked on water and unleashed tremendous fireballs, who had held the power of a thunderstorm in his puny, mortal hands, would not discount any possibilities of its God-given power.

Q: abandoned
A: Pony and Elbryan spent a long and quiet moment together, ending it wordlessly with a kiss that passed as a promise from Elbryan to the woman that she would not be abandoned, and as a promise from Pony that she and those who would leave would be ready when the moment of opportunity was upon them.

Q: fro
A: The sky brightened to a dull gray shortly before the dawn, another lazy snowstorm dropping scattered flakes that floated to and fro during their descent.

Q: smother
A: It slammed into a young tree, snapping branches and stumbling, but held its balance - stupidly, for the ground offered its only chance of smothering the flames - and ran on.

Q: southwestern
A: Every so often a cloud would rush overhead, pushed by southwestern breezes, but for the most part the stars shone crisp and clear, and die smell of spring was everywhere, the smell of new life.

Q: spotted
A: Pony looked back and spotted Elbryan sitting on a low branch of a tree on the northern side of the ravine.

Q: bittersweet
A: The encampment that night, closer to Dundalis than to Weedy Meadow, was filled with a bittersweet atmosphere.

Q: disagreeable
A: And they were indeed a ragtag band; the best among them, other than Pony, Bradwarden, and Avelyn, was probably unreliable Paulson or the always irritating, disagreeable Tol Yuganick.

Q: circlet
A: He took the circlet back from her and set it about her forehead.

Q: droplet
A: Elbryan knew not how long the candles would last, how long it would take their heat to melt the snow domes above them, the droplets falling to extinguish the flames.

Q: undead
A: But then the undead thing was there, right before him, propelled by something other than its legs - was there, barely a foot away, its bony fingers clasped about the ranger's throat!

Q: rotted
A: Now his hit did indeed sting the zombie, the sword tearing a deep gash in the rotted flesh, smacking hard against a rib.

Q: shear
A: Mighty Tempest sheared right through the crystal, and the whole of it blew into dust, shattered a thousand times.

Q: pommel
A: He held it up before his admiring gaze, studying the craftsmanship, the gleaming silverel, the magnificent gemstone pommel, the blue, the storm clouds.

Q: tendril
A: It was as they had feared the monsters using the occupied towns as base and supply camps while they sent their dark tendrils further south, first in probes, but soon, so Paulson believed, in great numbers.

Q: perk
A: Elbryan perked his ears up considerably at that bit of news.

Q: firewood
A: Elbryan, Bradwarden, and Avelyn came upon a group of a dozen goblins chopping firewood, and summarily destroyed them.

Q: playfully
A: "Ho, ho, what?" Pony said to him playfully, drawing a smile from the monk.

Q: wryly
A: Elbryan smiled wryly at Bradwarden before the fearsome centaur could take offense.

Q: endanger
A: The monk understood the situation up front, understood that Elbryan could not buy him very much more time without endangering many lives.

Q: blindly
A: The burning giant continued on with hardly a thought for the dwarf, running blindly, swatting futilely at the flames.

Q: bedside
A: Pony, who hadn't been involved in the previous discussion at Avelyn's bedside, seemed not to understand.

Q: cohesive
A: That realization struck the big man profoundly; for the first time in many years; he felt like a part of something larger, than himself, a cohesive circle of comrades, of friends.

Q: whining
A: The powrie had little love of goblins and found Gothra a pitiful whining creature.

Q: readied
A: He wished that he had Hawkwing readied, that he could lead the way with a stinging arrow.

Q: inexorably
A: Yet another caravan of monsters, laden with engines of war and moving inexorably south, washed those peaceful thoughts from Avelyn's mind.

Q: amusement
A: Avelyn sensed the spirit's amusement.

Q: victor
A: break of dawn, south along the wild trails, the weary and grieving victors, the new protectors of the holy stones.

Q: inconvenience
A: The dactyl howled, more in rage than pain, for' Elbryan's arrows were but a minor inconvenience to the mighty creature.

Q: slamming
A: The monster's other arm shot out hard, slamming the wall in front of Elbryan, preventing him from running past.

Q: dissuade
A: The question was not meant to dissuade any attack, Elbryan knew in looking at his determined companion, but to logically guide the group in the best possible direction.

Q: riderless
A: The ranger noted, too, that Paulson's riderless mount was close behind them, and while he was glad that the horse had escaped, he was not pleased by the sight.

Q: receding
A: But those shouts were fast receding, Symphony's great strides outdistancing the pursuit, and sheer luck saw the ranger through the shower of giant-thrown stones.

Q: spurt
A: The left-hand wall of the throne room crumbled; the twin lava flows intensified, spurting molten stone across the room.

Q: overbalance
A: Reaching, reaching, the giant overbalanced and fell to the ground.

Q: traitor
A: At that moment, the ranger had more immediate problems than some mythical monster hundreds of miles away, for if there was indeed a traitor in their midst, then the threat would increase.

Q: impiety
A: The weakness of mankind, the impiety of.

Q: cowardice
A: Elbryan knew well that the man had not been ill, and he considered the sudden cowardice truly out of character.

Q: precaution
A: And now that we are known, our enemies take precautions, moving about in larger, better-prepared bands.

Q: thump
A: Less than ten steps into the woods, he heard a single thump, a centaur's kick against a head propped by a tree trunk, and he knew that it was finished.

Q: unarmored
A: Why hadn't he just put Hawkwing to use, shooting arrow after arrow at the spike wielder's unarmored head until the thing fell over dead?

Q: significant
A: But neither will we deliver any significant blows.

Q: unasked
A: It is the life that fate has thrust upon us, and I am proud indeed that few, so very few, have shrunk before their sudden, unasked for responsibilities.

Q: budding
A: Just out of sight of the encampment, the small group came upon a party of elves - there might have been five - or there might have been twenty, so fleeting were their glimpses of the ever-elusive sprites - dancing amid the budding branches of several trees.

Q: unhindered
A: The goblins did indeed send out another pair of scouts, and these two moved unhindered through the woods, then went back to the main group reporting no sign of their missing eight companions.

Q: plod
A: Satisfied as End-o'-the-World was left behind, the beast turned northward, thinking to swoop low over the newest caravan plodding south, to encourage its minions and to strike fear in their hearts all at once.

Q: idly
A: Elbryan could not watch idly, of course, and as soon as Hawkwing came up, the others realized that the time for action was upon them.

Q: clump
A: He settled for a clump of birch trees, throwing his body into their midst as he threw his mind into the hematite he tightly clutched.

Q: stooge
A: "You will grow accustomed to your new body, my stooge, my general," the dactyl teased, "my assassin.

Q: stony
A: The closest two columns stretched out their stony arms, broke through the inanimate stone holding fast their legs, and started the monk's way.

Q: foolishness
A: The giant stumbled and went down, the centaur in fast pursuit, cursing his foolishness in using the bow and reaching for his cudgel.

Q: diminished
A: For Tuntun, the sting of being left out of that all-important journey had not diminished, and no logical arguments could change the way the elf felt about it.

Q: illumination
A: Now the fire was no more than embers, their orange glow casting faint illumination over the resting forms of the humans, the light seeming appropriate for the rhythmic breathing of the sleeping folk.

Q: afterlife
A: There is no afterlife for a miserable wretch such as thee!

Q: overmatched
A: Juraviel fought valiantly, but he was overmatched.

Q: impromptu
A: Elbryan rested back against the diagonal tree root in this impromptu room of Oracle, digesting his own words.

Q: otherworldly
A: What he did know was that the, demon dactyl was searching for him; for them, sending its otherworldly vision out far and wide.

Q: diabolical
A: He ordered her to the left, toward the giant without the glowing spike, for he sensed that the spike held some diabolical power.

Q: trudge
A: Toward it they went, trudging on, plowing through the heavy ash.

Q: charged
A: Elbryan scrambled to untangle himself from Pony, and charged off behind the monk, the woman coming next, and bulky Bradwarden bringing up the rear.

Q: dent
A: The arrow hit solidly, denting the armor plate and driving through, but not so deep as to cause any serious wound.

Q: ramming
A: Three quick strides later, the centaur was upon the giant, ramming hard into the behemoth's back.

Q: gully
A: Halfway along the trail through the gully, an ominous and familiar orange glow appeared

Q: menacingly
A: The rockman looked at Pony, then turned back fully upon Elbryan, red-striped fingers clenching the air menacingly.

Q: teem
A: The dactyl hesitated at the sight, at the stone aglow with teeming magic.

Q: wrath
A: The rockman moved closer and Bestesbulzibar lifted from the ground, hooking its powerful legs about Quintall, and then speeding the instrument of its wrath across the valley, above the heads of the cowering minions, and back to Aida.

Q: sulfuric
A: Even from this great height, Elbryan and Pony could feel the intense heat, and the sulfuric stench was nearly overwhelming.

Q: armband
A: He took the green armband from his right arm, the one the elves said would defeat any poison, and tore it in two, handing one strip to Pony.

Q: dripping
A: Tuntun flew away, back up toward the combatants, her slender daggers in hand, both dripping magma from Quintall's eyes.

Q: whack
A: Avelyn tried to whack with Tempest, but the demon understood the power of the ranger sword and would not allow the monk to bring it to bear.

Q: grate
A: The others followed without delay, and their hopes mounted when they came to a heavy grate, bars set floor to ceiling, blocking the passage.

Q: swishing
A: Then, even worse for the fomorian, it got a swishing torch across the face as its partner tried to catch up to the scrambling ranger.

Q: spew
A: It came up fast through the hole in the floor at the side of the dais, rushed past the flowing lava quickly, spewing the red stone all about.

Q: repertoire
A: Avelyn desperately searched his magical repertoire, but it was Pony who struck next, thrusting forth the graphite rod and letting loose a bolt of streaking lightning, bouncing it off the, wall, angled perfectly to skip around the bend and bear down on the demon.

Q: archway
A: Up ahead, the corridor widened, like the top half of an hourglass, and then ended in a wall, broken only by a large archway, through which the demon dactyl scrambled.

Q: budge
A: He did see Bradwarden, slamming repeatedly, stubbornly, at the doors, not budging them in the least.

Q: stalagmite
A: - a hundred feet, at least, two hundred-toward a floor of jagged stalagmites.

Q: conduit
A: Avelyn growled low and called to God, begging for more energy, channeling it, as pure a conduit of godly might as ever had stood upon Corona.

Q: rotate
A: With a sickening crackle of bone, the creature's head rotated completely around and bowed, examining the second imperfection of its form, a scarred lump under its lower left shoulder blade.

Q: starkness
A: The starkness of the scene from this vantage point, in this mounting light, amazed the companions.

Q: buck
A: Elbryan hardly heard the sharp scolding his father offered, the boy's eyes basking in the sight, moving from the carcass of a caribou buck, to a deer, to a line of coneys, to ...

Q: impetuous
A: Their fathers, who had come forward to meet the impetuous children, to scold them again for being so far away from Dundalis, let the opportunity pass.

Q: contradiction
A: That seeming contradiction had left Elbryan in a quandary.

Q: intervene
A: When she wouldn't - couldn't - tell him anything about the staff-wielding stranger who had intervened in the inn, the ferocious monk had beaten her again, and now one of her eyes was swollen closed.

Q: sustain
A: Pony couldn't sustain her smile as she watched him go, wondering if she had pushed him a little too hard.

Q: simultaneously
A: The staff connected simultaneously on the sword and the goblin's hand, knocking the weapon from the creature's grasp and launching it a dozen feet away.

Q: grinding
A: A grinding sound, the great gates sliding open, brought the young man from his contemplations.

Q: ranking
A: Precious and thus the third ranking priest in the entire Abellican Church, had performed the ceremony himself!

Q: cautious
A: But even the great wound in the monster's belly fast closed, while Quintall's movements became more cautious, more dangerous.

Q: counterpart
A: Each of this group nodded respectfully at his younger counterparts as he passed them on the rim; some mentioned that Elbryan's patrols would serve as their vital liaison with the village proper.

Q: overseer
A: Siherton's features befit his rank of class overseer, the disciplinarian of the newest brothers.

Q: dedication
A: It was true enough; Avelyn's incredible dedication was fast becoming the talk of St.-Mere-Abelle.

Q: leak
A: He felt the first tears leaking from his eyes and tried to deny them.

Q: divert
A: None of it diverted Avelyn's attention from the wonders of the place, though he did listen somewhat, fearing to miss any questions directed his way.

Q: distinction
A: Smealy as he had drowned the powrie, without distinction of the fact that the victim this time was not an evil dwarf but a human being.

Q: explicit
A: But his orders concerning Pimaninicuit had been explicit and unyielding: only those stones treated to retain their magic could be brought from the island.

Q: sphere
A: At first he thought them the borders of the known spheres, for he had heard theories of the universe as a series of overlapping, interlocking heavenly spheres, the invisible bubbles that held the layers of stars in place.

Q: dense
A: It was heavier than Avelyn had expected, quite solid and dense.

Q: seemingly
A: Pony and Chipmunk continued their wild ride, weaving about the pines, cutting sharp corners, Pony's sword flashing, Chipmurk's seemingly endless stream of daggers spinning out.

Q: induce
A: Elbryan recognized the black, sappy poison, a pain - inducing product of a rare black birch tree.

Q: span
A: In the span of a few unbelievable minutes, Elbryan's entire world had been thrown down.

Q: threshold
A: On the charred threshold of one ruin, he saw a tiny corpse, a blackened ball.

Q: empathy
A: But Elbryan felt that soft feeling - that sympathy, that empathy - and he knew then that he was not alone.

Q: timber
A: He pushed aside a timber gingerly, when he heard the remaining roof groan in protest and went down to his knees, peering in.

Q: scope
A: He found Thomas Ault and several other men next, and only then did the already weary youngster realize the scope of his task.

Q: revelation
A: He found the many prayer rituals boring, even trite, in light of the revelations he was finding every night.

Q: noon
A: The boy believed the sun to be in the west, halfway from noon to sunset.

Q: mutual
A: There was supposed to be no anger toward an opponent, only respect and mutual learning, but Quintall growled whenever the masters paired him against Avelyn.

Q: vague
A: Master Jojonah's instructions were vague at best, but Avelyn came to understand them in his heart.

Q: nonetheless
A: Nonetheless, Jojonah began to protest again, but Markwart cut him short.

Q: remainder
A: He spent the remainder of the afternoon caught up in the sights and smells.

Q: ironically
A: The monk had found peace within himself, ironically, in the midst of a war, a battle that Avelyn knew justified the actions that had weighed so heavily on him these last years.

Q: dimension
A: Now it was Elbryan's turn to laugh, as he discerned the dimensions of the true trap, then easily leaped it, leaving the last few feet of the path, the last expanse to the food, open to him.

Q: indignantly
A: "He fights like a human," Tuntun answered indignantly.

Q: substitute
A: Yet measured against the speed and agility of the elves, the fluidity of their movements, substituting perfect balance for lack of weight and strength, Elbryan truly felt a novice.

Q: devil
A: She sensed that her hair had been much shorter then, back when she was young and all the world seemed a great adventure, back when the devils were just fireside stories to make, your skin tingle or imagined demons upon whom children could wage war.

Q: thrive
A: Brothers Avelyn, Quintall, Pellimar, and Thagraine learned to survive, even thrive, on no more than four hours of sleep.

Q: ironic
A: The thought was more than a little unsettling to gentle Avelyn Desbris, and he thought it ironic that Quintall's anger was no more than proof that he, and not the stocky, ferocious man, was the better choice for Pimaninicuit.

Q: skeptical
A: Elbryan's expression was skeptical.

Q: lobby
A: Connor, sitting back on one of the plush chairs in the lobby, turned an absent gaze his companion's way.

Q: acutely
A: That garment held Avelyn's attention acutely, for he sensed that at least one of those jewels, a small ruby, was more than ornamental.

Q: bouncing
A: The four crewmen of the Windrunner's boat, which was bouncing noisily against the wooden dock, sat through it all with smirking faces, thoroughly amused and certainly not impressed.

Q: despondently
A: "I lost control," Elbryan said despondently.

Q: yelling
A: The elf went into a headlong roll, right between the young man's widespread legs, came up to his feet behind the yelling and turning Elbryan, and reversed his momentum, stabbing both his poles back.

Q: kidney
A: Elbryan was already into his responding turn but not far enough; and the elf's blades poked him hard in the kidneys.

Q: frustrated
A: To frustrated Jill's thinking, Gofflaw could use a throw or two across a room.

Q: endure
A: But the old sea dog couldn't fathom the level of physical training these four men had endured.

Q: pirate
A: "To be in sight of land would mean to be in sight of pirates." He snorted and walked away, but paused, looked back, and motioned to them.

Q: tossing
A: His sleep every night was fitful, tossing and turning even more than did the Windrunner on the rough swells.

Q: gravely
A: Avelyn nodded gravely, not liking where this was going.

Q: elevate
A: This fifth target, some hundred yards away, was the first for which Elbryan had to elevate his shot.

Q: precision
A: But that quickness and precision would not be enough, Elbryan told himself.

Q: magnetic
A: Lodestone was highly magnetic; its enchantment would send it fast to a metal surface.

Q: refuge
A: She couldn't look at the man but kept her eyes locked on the stars, as if seeking refuge high above.

Q: absent
A: Connor, sitting back on one of the plush chairs in the lobby, turned an absent gaze his companion's way.

Q: discard
A: Grady knew too much about Connor's nighttime pursuits for the nobleman to discard him, and though Grady had never even hinted at blackmail, Connor understood him well enough to fear him.

Q: applaud
A: Grady silently applauded his conniving little sister, though his perception of her actions almost scared him; he had never thought her capable of such a beautifully treacherous play.

Q: nonsense
A: It was all nonsense, all pretension, but in Honce-the-Bear in God's Year 821, that was the way things were done.

Q: tenderness
A: Even worse, there was no love, no tenderness in his face as he stalked back to her, just heated desire, an almost angry passion.

Q: magistrate
A: "We shall let the magistrate, Abbot Dobrinion, determine her fate in the morning.

Q: vow
A: His solace came in duty, in his vow that this Dundalis and the two neighboring villages would not share the fate that had befallen his own village.

Q: hostile
A: Perhaps it was the boredom, the heat, or the tasteless provisions, but the crew grew increasingly uneasy, even hostile.

Q: rational
A: Gothra, no fool - at least by goblin standards - wanted to argue his point in logical, rational terms, but all that came from the goblin's mouth was an agonized scream as Bestesbulzibar reached out with one hand, clamping the goblin's held and pulling Gothra in.

Q: privilege
A: Even the extra privileges did little to improve the mood of the increasingly surly crew.

Q: hail
A: The rocky hail was light for some time, gradually increasing to the point where it punished the very ground of Pimaninicuit.

Q: callous
A: The cool and callous, way Quintall had dispatched the man, had murdered a human being, shook gentle Avelyn to his very bones.

Q: efficiency
A: This was not the way of the Abellican Church, at least not in Avelyn's mind, and yet the efficiency of the executions of Taddy Sway and now of Bunkus Smealy made Avelyn suspect that Quintall was acting as he had been instructed by the masters before they had left port.

Q: catalogue
A: And so he worked, as he was instructed, penning the tale of his adventures in great detail, studying and cataloguing the newest stones, their type, their magic, their strength.

Q: justification
A: There had to be a better way, he believed, and despite the potential for disaster, there could be no justification for murder.

Q: precedent
A: Avelyn understood then - all of it - for it was not without precedent.

Q: elevation
A: It was a difficult concept for Elbryan, because he had been brought up with the idea of community, and within that concept, such elevation of self was considered the worst of sins: pride.

Q: varied
A: Elbryan smiled wickedly as he considered those steep hillsides, all of varied angles and deep with virgin snow.

Q: acceptance
A: Despite his acceptance of the behavior within Pireth Tulme, Jill recognized that he was a man of some honor.

Q: fluidly
A: It had come so fluidly, so fast, that Elbryan was still staring at the elf when he heard the third arrow hit.

Q: embed
A: Paulson stepped inside the range and caught the spear by the shaft and rushed up its length, quickly and efficiently embedding his sword deep in the creature's chest.

Q: absently
A: "I hear the birds," he answered absently.

Q: consistency
A: The noise increased - by the volume and consistency of the splashing, Elbryan figured there must be about a half dozen bipedal creatures approaching.

Q: thankfully
A: The others held clubs and crude swords, but thankfully, no bows.

Q: inflict
A: He had to find some way to hurt this thing, and though his sword might inflict some sting, it seemed that the wound could only be so deep.

Q: insulting
A: Bradwarden snorted as if the very question were insulting.

Q: infamous
A: The demon dactyl had been awake for several years, watching, feeling every slaughter of humans in the Wilderlands, tasting the blood of every corpse into which a powrie dipped its infamous cap, hearing the screams of sailors and passengers as each scuttled ship went under the swells of the merciless Mirianic.

Q: relinquish
A: This man was tough, admirably so, and Jojonah feared he would die from the beatings before he would relinquish his identity.

Q: executioner
A: He was judge, jury, and executioner, assigned by the Father Abbot.

Q: conceal
A: There were no signs to be found - Brother Justice had made certain of that - and oblivious Avelyn passed by within thirty feet of the concealed entrance to the cave that now served as Jill's prison.

Q: overly
A: Brother Avelyn was not overly concerned when he returned to his room to find that Jill was not about.

Q: raging
A: It wasn't until they had exited the tavern, the fight raging still, that Avelyn suddenly stopped and looked at his beautiful companion a most curious expression on his face.

Q: intimate
A: Juraviel's tone intimated something more profound to the ranger, that not only was there a mere place for shelter, but a very special place indeed.

Q: integrity
A: Juicy lamb and thick cuts of venison buried in brown sauces and mushrooms, oranges that exploded in a shower of juice as soon as the integrity of their peels was breached, and large, round, yellow melons that the monk had never before seen but that were sweeter than anything he had ever tasted.

Q: sheerest
A: The elf sensed the presence of the demon dactyl as surely as the dactyl sensed him, felt the awfulness, the sheerest of evil, the coldest of deathly chill.

Q: philosophical
A: That was the way it always happened, the needs of the day dispatching the spirit soon before the dawn, turning Elbryan's thoughts from philosophical to pragmatic.

Q: shrink
A: It is the life that fate has thrust upon us, and I am proud indeed that few, so very few, have shrunk before their sudden, unasked for responsibilities.

Q: toll
A: The folk recognized the dramatic movement as a signal and braced for the charge, determined to take their toll, whatever the final outcome.

Q: massacre
A: So fast and complete was the massacre that Avelyn never used his magic.

Q: abuse
A: You stole the stones because you rightly judged that they were being abused."

Q: interference
A: The horse knew things simply, without the interference of reason that was the domain of men, elves, and the higher races.

Q: forthcoming
A: "Ye did!" Bradwarden roared, ending any forthcoming lies from the man and his two companions.

Q: compassion
A: Whatever complaints Cric and Chipmunk might offer, they had remained in the area because of the refugees, out of simple compassion.

Q: reassure
A: Elbryan kept them down, tried to reassure them all by patting the other two children softly, by showing them his weapons and that he was ready should they be discovered.

Q: ignorance
A: ignorance saved the creatures' lives that night, for death was barely an arm's length away; more important, the goblins' ignorance also saved Elbryan's plan.

Q: probe
A: It was as they had feared the monsters using the occupied towns as base and supply camps while they sent their dark tendrils further south, first in probes, but soon, so Paulson believed, in great numbers.

Q: disposal
A: Indeed, more than two thirds of the human group had gone further to the east, leaving less than forty warriors at Elbryan's disposal, not counting the secretive elves, whose number even the ranger didn't know.

Q: violate
A: When Pony met Elbryan more than an hour later, she had to work hard to hide her feelings of guilt, her feelings that she had somehow violated him.

Q: trio
A: By the ranger's calculations, the trailing trio would soon be well within the goblin's view.

Q: compromise
A: The goblins came at them in a semicircular formation, but the integrity of the monstrous line was compromised quickly, for Belli'mar Juraviel, perched on a branch some distance away, plucked at them with his tiny but deadly bow.

Q: decisive
A: So we will survive for the time, I believe, but we will do nothing decisive, not here, halfway between the fighting front and the source of the invasion.

Q: warfare
A: The remaining band would cease its hit-and-hide warfare and concentrate on getting all the folk to safer points in the south, trying to parallel the advancing army without engaging it.

Q: stoicism
A: The question caught Jojonah off guard, and as he considered it, he came to realize that Avelyn's stoicism was, perhaps, not so deeply rooted.

Q: insidious
A: Then the dactyl began a more insidious attack, a mental barrage of images of torture and agony, and Maiyer Dek, the proud and strong leader, the strongest mortal creature in all the Barbacan, whimpered pitifully and squirmed about on the floor, begging for mercy.