The Woodward Academy, Year 6

Chapter 12: May

The soldier at the gate saluted David as he drove through.  David grumbled, but saluted back.  He drove over to the barracks, as he had the week before to pick up Vivian.  This time he was there to pick up Joe, who had miraculously passed his physical exam with time to spare.

David stepped out of the glidetruck just as Liderra Carter was coming out of the barracks.  Seeing David, the liderra snapped to attention and saluted.

"Sir!" the liderra barked.

David saluted properly, then said, "Cut that shit, Liderra.  We both know which one of us is a real soldier, and which one of us isn't.  Is Garibaldi ready to leave yet?"

"He's packing now, sir," the liderra said.  "Kind of surprised he managed it two weeks early, frankly."

David snorted.  "He loves his donuts."

The liderra chuckled.  "Yes, sir.  If you don't mind, sir, I have an inspection to make."

"Of course.  You are dismissed."

The liderra saluted again, and David returned it.  He was beginning to understand the king's irritation with the kneeling.  Stepping into the barracks, he walked through the foyer and into the sleeping quarters area.

"Yo, Joe, you got your shit together yet?"

"Not according to Liderra Carter," Joe grumbled.  "He told me if it was up to him, I'd be here another three weeks."

David chuckled.  The Rimohr recruits were scheduled to complete their training no more than two weeks from this point.

"Cheer up.  You're leaving before Dickless over there."

"Fuck you, Stroud," Dikko said.

"Aw, whatsa matter, Dikky?  Can't you cwimb da widdle fucking wall?"  Dikko's big problem in the physical exam was the six foot wall, which he had not yet managed to climb over.

Dikko slammed his locker, glared at David, and left the room.

"You got everything?" David asked after enjoying Dikko's departure for a moment.

"Yeah," Joe said.

David looked at him for a second and said, "Well, not quite.  You're out of uniform."

"Huh?"

David pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Joe.  "You've been given the tentative rank of Capadra.  They asked me to tell you."

As he was putting on his rank insignia, which looked like two overlapping leaves, and was in fact two-thirds of a triquetra, he said, "Fuck, they think I can command a squad?  Are they crazy?"

"Count your blessings," David said.  He motioned to his collar, where his insignia - a slanted bar that was one-third silver and two-thirds green - was attached.  "The bastards went and made me a goddamned officer."

Joe did a double-take, then, both because he was supposed to, and to needle his friend, he snapped to attention and said, "Sir!"

"Knock it the fuck off," David said.  "No, you know what?  Drop and give me twenty, Garibaldi!"

Joe looked at him aghast for a moment, then, realizing that David was just paying him back, dropped to the floor and pounded out twenty push-ups.  He was winded by the time he got back to his feet.

"Now are we done being stupid?" David said.  "Let's go.  Zyla told me to have you home by dinner time, and we're pushing our luck."

"Have you been by to see the family?" Joe asked.

"Joe, really?  Zyla's very nervous with all this shit going on.  I've been spending a lot of time with her and Grace, to try to keep them calm."

"Thanks, man," Joe said seriously.  David nodded, but nothing else needed to be said about the subject.  They went out and got into David's glidetruck and headed out for Bolmont.

"Bandador Stroud and Capadra Garibaldi, reporting as ordered, sir!" David said, standing tall before his commanding officer.

Vocator Chuck Schultz looked up at the two.  "I have a mission for you two."

"Sir?  I thought we weren't supposed to go into operation until the other Rimohrs were through with training," David objected gently.

"We can't wait for that.  The Vrudenans are making life difficult for the folks along the border, and it's high time we gave them a little relief."

"Yes, sir."

The vocator picked up a map from his desk, then he held it against the wall.  He said, "Amplio."  Suddenly, the map grew from its normal parchment size to encompass half the wall.  The map showed northern Callamandia and eastern Vrudena.

"This is Hurmich.  It's a medium-sized town on the shore of Lake Tyrex.  The weres aren't yet attacking this far west, though they seem to slowly be moving that way.  What we want you to do is to go into Hurmich and let them know that the Ark North's Second Command will be arriving there within the week."

"Sir... won't the Vrudenans find out if we start telling people?" David asked.

"Absolutely.  And we want them to.  This is a disinformation campaign.  We're trying to pull the weres onto the peninsula.  Stuck between Lake Tyrex and Lake Stikkendon, they'll have a lot less room to maneuver."

"Yes, sir.  Do we have any budget we can use for this operation?"

"What for?" the vocator asked.

"Well, sir, one of the best ways to make them believe we're coming, is to buy, or at least order, supplies from the town folk.  Also, if we set up some clearings in the forest, to make it look like we're preparing positions for the troops... but we need to make sure that the people know we're doing that.  That means getting them out there, and the best way to do that is to have them delivering things... or even working on defenses."

The vocator nodded.  "I like your thinking.  Keep it reasonable, but just tell them to bill the army."

"Yes, sir.  How long do we have to perform the operation?"

"Four days.  I want you back here on Friday evening."

"Yes, sir!" both men affirmed.

"Dismissed, and good luck."

"Just great," Joe said.  "Our first mission out, and already we're breaking the rules we were taught."

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"They just spent four weeks telling me to not be seen!" he said.

David chuckled.  "Yeah, well... this is a special mission, I guess."

Joe harrumphed.

After a pause, David asked, "You're not going to have problems, are you?  With me outranking you, I mean."

"Shit, David, I've basically been following your lead for two years now.  This just makes it official."

It was David's turn to harrumph.

They were in a peg-driven coach, and were just beginning to descend into the area south of Hurmich.  They didn't want to fly directly into the town, because that would be too obvious.  They knew that as soon as they showed up to buy supplies, people would start talking.  That was the best way to go, they felt.

After they exited the coach, which immediately took off to head back south, they started to walk into the woods.  They were not at all experts on finding the best places to base troops, but they knew enough to make it look reasonable to the uneducated.

Finding a small clearing near a stream, they decided it was the best spot they'd seen for a fake camp.  They took out their wands and started to clear the trees out.  Instead of cutting the trees down, however, they worked to move them around.  This was tiring, and it took several hours, but they finally managed it.  This gave the little camp a natural barrier wall.  Not quite solid, it would certainly slow down any group of intruders.  The area was probably not big enough for the entire Second Command, which was comprised of over four thousand troops, but it would certainly represent a camp for a single battalion.

By the time the two of them had completed the task, the sun was setting, and they were exhausted.  David crafted a fire, and pulled a couple of camp chairs out of his Conjuring Room for them to sit on while they ate their rations.

"You figure we're safe here?" Joe asked.

"According to the intel, we are.  The Vrudenans haven't entered this area yet.  They're still working their way forward on the other side of Lake Tyrex."

After they had finished their meal, they were basically staring at each other.

"So... now what do we do?" Joe asked.

David materialized a deck of cards.  "Want to play a game of war?" he asked with a grin.

"Not funny, sir," Joe said.

David chuckled.  "Okay, then how about a game of Marlow?"

"All right."

 David and Joe entered the town of Hurmich around mid-morning of the next day.  Their presence was noted rather quickly, since they were in standard military uniform and were marching down the sidewalk openly.

"Who are we looking for?" Joe asked.

"Right now, just some workers.  I figure to see if there's a construction company in town... or even a landscaping operation would be sufficient.  We just need someone to dig some holes."

"We could have done that ourselves, couldn't we?" Joe asked.

"Yes, but then the town wouldn't know we were here," David explained.

"Oh, right."

The two continued to walk until they found Doug's Digs, which was an excavation and construction company.  They went in.

"Hello, gentlemen," the man at the desk said politely.  "Can I help you?"

"We're in need of someone to dig a series of holes for us, and also to construct a five-foot high berm.  The work is to be done in the forest west of here by about five miles."

"Oh?  Is the army building a base?"

"I can't talk about that, sir," David said politely.  "All operations during war time are classified."

"Of course, of course," the man said apologetically.  "So, just some holes and a berm?"

"For now," David confirmed.

"Well, that's no problem.  When do you want the job performed?"

"As soon as possible.  Today, if that's an option."

"I do have two or three men I can spare today.  Tomorrow, I can send my full crew."

"Time is of the essence here.  Let's start with the men you have available.  If they can't finish by the end of the day, you can send the entire crew tomorrow."

"Very good," the man said.  "And... will this be coin or transfer?"

"Send an invoice to this office," David said, handing over a card.  "The bill will be paid within thirty days."

"Okay, that's just fine," the man said, knowing the trouble he could get into for refusing to perform work for the government.  "Can you give me a location to send my men?"

"Gather them together, and we'll lead them out there ourselves."

"Okay, that's perfect.  Let me just call them into the office.  They should be here in half an hour."

"Very good.  We'll be down the street in the restaurant.  If you could just have them join us?"

"Certainly."

David nodded to the man, then he and Joe left.

"That could cost a lot for a..." Joe looked around and saw no one listening, "...pointless defense."

"Shouldn't cost too much.  A few thousand granas.  But they want to make it believable," David said, keeping his voice low.

The two stepped into the restaurant and looked around.

"Morning, gentlemen," the waitress called from across the room.  "Just sit anywhere.  Can I get you some tea?"

"Just water for me," Joe said.

"I'll have hot cocoa, if you've got it," David said.

The waitress nodded as the two picked a table.  There were several other customers in the restaurant, who took a long look at them, but then returned to their meals.

Looking around at the others, David nodded to Joe.  They had talked about how to get the word out without being obvious, and this was one of their plans.

"So you were there?" Joe asked David, in a normal tone of voice, so that those nearby would hear.

"Yeah.  I was on the staff of Arkigo Schwarzkopf... you know, he's in charge of Ark North," David said.

"Right," Joe agreed.

"Well, anyway, I was there when he came storming in to my boss's office, ranting about the weres and their attacks in the Galibairn District.  He chewed out the Batalo for a solid twenty minutes."

"What did he think your boss was gonna do about it?"

"Well, Batalo Franks was in charge of border defense."

"Was?"

"Yeah, well... he didn't have any good answers for the arkigo, so I think he's now in charge of an outpost down in Minayers or something."

Joe laughed.

"Anyway, it was the general himself who came up with this idea, to..."

At this point, the waitress approached with their drinks.  "What can I get you boys?" she asked.

Joe ordered steak and eggs.  David had pancakes and sausage.  The waitress went off to fill their order.

"So it was the arkigo's idea?" Joe said, returning to their story.

"Yeah.  He figures he can do an end-run around the weres, and catch them with their pants down from behind."

Joe lowered his voice just slightly.  "But what if they find out before we're ready?"

David's tone matched Joe's.  "That could be really dicey, but there's not much time for them to find out, is there?  I mean, the Second Command is supposed to... um..." David theatrically took a look around.  "Maybe we shouldn't be discussing this here," he said.

Joe looked around, too.  He noticed one or two people who, though not looking back, were obviously interested in the conversation.  "Uh... yeah, maybe you're right.  Don't want to let the cat out of the bag."

"More like a tiger in this bag," David said.

Joe snorted.  "Yeah.  So, how're things back home?" Joe said, switching topics, and now starting a real conversation, as opposed to the fictional one they'd just played out.  They could only hope the message had gotten across.  The work in the forest would hopefully make their words believable.

 "This won't be much of a force," the man said to David.  "You've only got enough space here for a camp of a few hundred."

"Yeah, well, the task for the first men to come here will be more digging."

"So this encampment is for, like, engineers or whatnot?"

David snorted.  "Soldiers can dig holes just as well as you can."

The man smiled.  "Oh, I get ya."

"In any case, you and your men did a fine job.  We appreciate the speed with which you got it finished.  We don't have much time to complete this task."

"Yes, sir.  Is it true what they're saying in town?  Is this going to be a camp for Second Command?"

"You know I can't comment on that," David said.  "All wartime operations are classified."

"Sure, yeah.  Anyway, is there anything more you need us to do?"

David looked around.  The workers had dug a hundred foxholes twenty yards outside the tree-line perimeter.  They had then built the five-foot berm just inside the perimeter.  Scattered throughout the clearing, they had dug several more holes, to represent various things such as underground bunkers and more foxholes.

Turning back, David said, "No, I think you've gotten it all.  Tell your boss that we'll be filing a satisfactory report with our boss tomorrow.  That should smooth the whole payment situation, and make sure he gets his money on time."

"Good deal," the man said.  He shook David's hand, then turned to his crew.  "Okay, let's mount up and head back to town!"  The workers piled into a wagon, drawn by horses, and headed down the narrow path through the forest.

Joe, who had stayed out of the conversation with the worker, came over to David then.  "Now what do you think we need to do?"

"We're going to hang loose here for a couple nights.  We'll head back to HQ Friday morning."

"What's the point of that?"

"I'm hoping we'll have a visitor or two, and I want them to see this camp being patrolled."

"You expect just the two of us to guard a camp this big?"

"No.  This is why I brought Jailla with me.  He and the other forest birds can warn us if anyone's coming toward the camp.  If they are, then we can make it look like one of us is patrolling in that area."

"Not both?"

"With only two of us here, we could only have one on duty at a time.  Consider; you have to sleep eventually."

"Right.  So, for now... what?  Another game of Marlow?"

"Let's switch to Farkle for a while."

"You have dice with you, too?"

"They don't exactly take up a lot of space," David said, pulling them out of his pocket.

"All right.  Say, are you sure Jailla doesn't mind being used as a lookout?"

"Why do you think he's here at all?  I'd personally rather he was back in Bolmont where he'd be perfectly safe, but he insisted on helping out."

"Oh," Joe nodded.

"Say... why don't you or Zyla have a familiar?"

"I never bothered with one.  I wasn't that serious about my schooling when I started, if you'll recall."

"And Zyla?"

"Hers died in a horrible accident halfway through her school career."

"Oh, shit.  What happened?"

"Her familiar was a rabbit.  It was exploring the Woodward forest, you know, next to Byron Hall..."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, no one's really sure what happened, but a limb from one of the trees snapped off and fell on him.  It crushed in his skull."

"Oh, shit.  That's nasty.  Did she have enemies in school?"

"She... doesn't like to talk about her time in school.  Even less than I do.  I don't actually know what it was like for her.  I've never wanted to press her into talking about it."

David nodded.

"Are you sure she and Grace are safe where they are?" Joe asked after a minute.

"Joe, the Vrudenans are nowhere near Bolmont.  She's as safe there now as she was a year ago."

"I hope you're right.  I don't know what I'd do if they got hurt... or worse."

"Yeah, I know what you mean.  I feel the same way about Olissa."

The two continued to chat as they played various games throughout the night.

David's head came up of its own accord.  He wasn't sure what had woken him.  Shortly, he heard Jailla's call again.  He closed his eyes, making the connection with Jailla, and saw a dark shape moving through the forest below.  Jailla was clearly sitting high in a tree.

The shape took no note of the bird, and passed beneath him, heading toward camp from the west.  David quickly rose to his feet, pulled his wand, and moved to a spot on the northern berm.  He began a slow walk along the inside of the berm, keeping his eyes aimed outward into the forest.  He was acting as if he was doing a normal patrol, but the truth was, he was watching the shadowy figure through Jailla's eyes still.

The figure got to within a hundred feet of the camp, and stopped.  David knew that the entity - whether human or were was impossible to say from the silhouette - could see him moving, his head poking above the berm.  Every ten feet along the berm, they had built in a slight dip, to make firing over the berm easier.  This gave the spy a clear view of David, in uniform, so he would know that this was a soldier.

David watched as the spy watched, and that lasted for an hour.  Finally, David walked over to Joe and shook him awake.

"Wha?" Joe asked.

"Time for you to take watch," David said, loudly enough for the spy to hear him.

"Ngff," Joe opined.

Lowering his voice so that the spy would not hear him this time, David said, "west wall, about a hundred feet out.  Not sure if it's human or were."

Joe grunted acknowledgment.

David straightened and snapped, "Get your ass up, Capadra!  If you're not on your feet in five seconds, you'll be walking this post alone for the next three weeks!"

Joe struggled to a sitting position, then worked his way up to his feet.  He came to attention somewhat sloppily, then saluted.

"Yes, sir!" he said.

David returned the salute, then waved him off in dismissal.  As Joe pulled his wand and moved to the berm, David lay down as if to get sleep.  He turned so that he could face the spy, but his eyes were closed, still getting information from Jailla.

Ultimately, after another hour, the spy left.  David waited until Jailla had completed an entire circuit of the camp, looking for others, before he stood back up and moved to Joe.

"Guy's gone," he said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah.  Be interesting to see if they come back tomorrow night."

"Yeah.  Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Might as well.  I'm up for the day, so even if they come back, I'll be on guard duty already."

"Yeah.  See you in a few hours."

"Right."

"How'd it go?" Vocator Schultz asked David after all the salutes were finished.

"The people in the town are convinced that someone's coming.  Also, we had visits from at least three covert scouts.  I'm not sure if they were human or were.  We had one on Thursday morning, and two this morning."

"By morning, you mean..."

"Like two o'clock."

The vocator nodded.  "How much money did you spend?"

"About five thousand granas, to have men from the town prepare some defensive positions around our notional camp."

"Okay, that's not bad.  Any idea if they really believe it?"

"No sir, there's not really a way for us to judge that.  The questions I got from the townsfolk seem to indicate they were leaning toward belief, but whether the Vrudenans will believe, I just can't say."

"Right.  Well, you did your part.  We're sending a troop of less-than-stellar soldiers to hold down that fort for a little while, in case the weres want to keep checking on it.  All right, Bandador.  You have the rest of the day off, but be back here tomorrow morning at eight.  Capadra, you have a class to go to for the next several days."

"Sir?"

"We're sending you for signals training."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

"Hey, Vivian," David greeted upon seeing her standing outside the vocator's office.  "You called in for whatever this is, too?"

"I guess.  He told me to be here at eight."

"Well, might as well go in, then."  David knocked on the door.

"Enter," the vocator said from within.

David opened the door, and he and Vivian stepped inside.  They both came to attention and saluted.  "Bandador Stroud and... um... Vivian Columbo, reporting as ordered, sir!"

The vocator suppressed his chuckle at David's discomfort.  "At ease, you two.  Columbo, for the time being, you're being given the rank of Capadra.  Just so you are both aware, your ranks will be re-evaluated once this company is at full strength, which won't happen until the Rimohrs have all completed their training."

"Sir, is this company composed entirely of Rimohrs?"

"No, not entirely.  But all of the Rimohrs will wind up in this company.  There are also some straight military personnel, as well as other conscripts who also worked in jobs that taught them the skills this company needs."

"Yes, sir."

"I have a mission for you two," the vocator said.  He picked up a map from his desk and placed it on the wall, expanding it to full size.  On it were four stars, all well inside Vrudenan territory.

"These are the locations of the four travel gates inside Vrudena.  We assume that they have secured these with armed forces.  It's your job to find out just what kind of protections they've put there."

"How?" David asked.

The vocator grinned mischievously.  "That's your problem.  You will find, Bandador, that most of the time when we give you a mission in this company, we're not going to tell you how to do it.  We expect you to be able to think on your feet and come up with a solution.  That's why you're here, that's why you were chosen for this post.  And, in your case, that's why you're an officer."

"Yes, sir," David said.  "How much time do we have to perform this task?"

"You have requested a day's furlough for Tuesday.  If you plan to use that furlough, you'd best be finished by then."

"Yes, sir."

"That's all.  You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" they both replied.

"Oh, and Columbo, don't forget to stop by the supply center to pick up your rank pins."

"Yes, sir.  Thank you."

The two left the office and headed over to the supply center.  While they were walking, Vivian asked, "What have you got going on for Tuesday?"

"I'm supposed to take my A2 exam."

"Oh, shit, that's right.  I forgot you were technically still in school.  Shit, what are you doing about next year?  Or were you planning to go anyway?"

"I'll get in my last year of school somehow.  It most likely won't be next school year, though, thanks to the motherfucking Vrudenans."

"Can I ask you something... sir?" she said with a grin.

"Only if it doesn't involve the word 'sir' again," David replied.

"Why do you always call them 'Vrudenans', instead of 'weres'?  Everyone else uses the shorter version."

"Simple.  There are weres living in Callamandia.  The vast majority of those are loyal Callamandian citizens.  Calling the enemy a were just prejudices everyone against even the good weres living among us.  If we're going to hate someone, let's hate the right group."

"But there have to be even Vrudenans who don't want this war..."

"Probably, but I don't see them doing anything about it.  Let's face it, it's not like back in Earth, where the army has a slew of weapons that the general populace doesn't.  Everyone here has a wand, everyone has the ability to perform war tactics.  If the Vrudenan citizens were really, truly opposed to this war, they could stop it.  They're not doing so."

Vivian nodded grimly.  "I see your point.  So... any idea how we're supposed to sneak into Vrudena to check out these travel gates?"

"Yeah.  By not sneaking into Vrudena at all."

"Huh?"

David grinned.  "You'll see."

"Good thing our wizard IDs work as passports, too," Vivian said quietly.  They were stepping out of the Ottawa airport.

"Yeah," David said.  "Now we need to catch a cab."

The two climbed into a cab, and David gave the driver an address.  It took about twenty minutes to get there.  The address was a small house that looked just like all the other houses on its block.

"Please wait," David told the driver.  "This probably won't take long."

"It's your dime, friend," the driver said.

David and Vivian entered the house, where they found two hellhounds to greet them.  Most of the house had been blocked off by walls.  There was a doorway out of the entrance hall, and through that they saw a door.

"We're just going to walk through the door?  What if they think we're spies?" Vivian asked.

"Well, I hate to do it to you yet again, but we're going to have to act like a couple.  I'm thinking that we behave as if we just got married, and we're on our honeymoon."

"Without any luggage?"

"Day trip," David replied.

"Oh, okay.  That works, I guess.  Honey," she said with a grin.

David rolled his eyes and then led her to the door.  Before he opened it, Vivian slid her arm through his, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

As soon as they opened the door, they found two large men pointing spears at them.

"Don't move!" one of the men growled.

"Uh... sure," David said, trying to sound intimidated.

"Who are you?" the other guard demanded.

"Dave Anderson.  This is my wife, Vicky."

"Step through, slowly," the guard said.  the two did, until the door closed behind them.  The first guard nudged David with the tip of his spear.

"Through the door," he growled.  He was referring to the door opposite the travel gate, and David and Vivian walked cooperatively through it.  There they saw a woman sitting behind a desk.

"Names?" she asked.

"Dave and Vicky Anderson," David said.

"And the purpose of your visit to Urst Reishek?"

"Sight-seeing."

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"We wanted to see the waterfalls and the river.  We just got married, you see, and we're on our honeymoon.  We're staying in Ottawa, on the other side, you know, and we thought we'd come here for a day to see the sights."

"Uh-huh," the woman grunted.  "Urst Reishek is closed to human travel."

"But we're wizards..." David objected politely.

"It doesn't matter.  You are human.  Humans are no longer allowed in Vrudena anywhere."

"Oh.  Can I ask why not?"

"Because we are at war.  The Callamandians have belittled us for too long, and it is time that we teach them a lesson.  Are you Callamandian?" she asked harshly.

"No, we live in Earth," David said.  "That's why we didn't know about the war.  How long has it been going on?"

"Callamandia invaded our territory fifteen hundred years ago."

"Well, okay, but I mean, you weren't fighting all that time.  When did the current problem start?"

"The Callamandians began infiltration of our borders six months ago."

"Wow.  Damn.  Well, okay, I mean, we just wanted to see the waterfalls, really, but I guess that's not possible, huh?"

"No."

"Um... can we go back, then?"

"Yes.  Your names and images have been registered.  Do not return."

"For, um... how long?"

"Until the moon falls from the sky," she said shortly.

"Uh... okay, sure.  Um... good luck on your war, I guess..."

The woman flicked her hand in dismissal, and the guards escorted them roughly back to the travel gate.  As it was closing, the one guard gave a final warning.

"And stay out!"  With that, the door slammed shut.

"Well, that was friendly," Vivian said, her hand to her chest.

"Feeling a little anxious?" David asked.

"Just a touch.  Do you think it's even safe for us to try the other gates now?"

"The next one, I'll go through alone.  If I have to, I'll fight my way back."

"Why go alone, then?"

"Because I can play some tricks you can't."

"Right," Vivian said, nodding.  "Okay, let's... um... get back to the airport.  I feel pretty nervous about this place now."

"Yeah."

In another minute, they were on their way back to the Ottawa airport.  Their next stop was Winnipeg.

"Kind of late to be going through now, isn't it?" Vivian asked.  "What are you going to use as an excuse?"

"Don't worry.  I'm just going to act like a traveler, as if the area around the travel gate isn't my destination.  We'll see what happens."

"Be careful, would you?  I don't want to explain why I'm carrying you home in pieces."

"No worries," David said.  He then turned toward the travel gate.  This one was at the end of an underground tunnel.  He walked down, and then opened the gate.

As soon as he stepped through and the gate closed, four guards surrounded him.

"You so much as twitch, and there won't be anything left of you to bury," the lead guard said.

David didn't bother with the fake fear routine this time.  "Yeah, okay... I gather I'm not allowed to come through this gate?"

"Who are you?" the guard demanded.

"David Stroud.  I'm the head of the Peg Riders of Callamandia.  I'm here to do some research on wild pegs.  Since the only wild herds are up here in this area..."

"Huareishek is for weres, not filthy humans."

"I'm not the one that smells like they need a bath..." David said.

"What was that?" the guard snarled, leveling his spear at David's head.  There were crackles of magical energy pouring along it.

"How can you be deaf with ears that big?" David asked.  The guard was in hybrid form at the moment, and his ears were large, even for a werewolf.  "I said you stink."

"You are a dead man," the guard snarled, and fired a blast of energy in David's direction.

Unfortunately for one of the other guards, David simply faded, and the blast passed through him, engulfing the other guard and vaporizing him.

"Yes, I am," David taunted as he faded back to solid form.  As he did, he drew his sword.  In a flash, two of the guards were decapitated, and only the head guard was left to face David.

"What are you?" the guard snarled in fear and anger.

"I'm the last thing you're ever going to see while you live," David said.  With that, he ran his sword all the way through the werewolf's chest, slicing his heart in half.  The werewolf didn't even have a chance to howl, but let out a couple of gurgles, and then fell to the floor.

"Invade my country, will you?  You'll find out just what a mistake that was."

Moving quickly, David made his way down the tunnel.  He peered around the corner to see what he could see.

"Holy shit," he whispered to himself.  Before him was arrayed an army of at least a thousand people.  Their purpose was obviously to defend the travel gate entrance from intrusion.

"Well, nothing more to see here," David said.  He stepped back down the tunnel.  Before he went back through the travel gate, he turned to the wall.  Raising his wand, he uttered a spell, and wrote a greeting on the wall for the Vrudenans to find:

"Callamandia says hello, you sons of were-bitches.

We'll be back."

David smirked to himself, then made his way back through the gate.

"That was quick," Vivian said.

"Yeah, and we should leave just as quickly, before the Vrudenans find those four dead guards."

"You killed the guards?  Why?"

"Psychological warfare.  Plus, they will probably now beef up the security on that gate."

"How does that help?"

"Every soldier they have to put on a security detail is one more soldier the army doesn't have to fight on a battlefield."

"Right.  Okay, so... back to the airport?"

"No, I think we should probably call it a day, and find a hotel for the night."

"Okay."

"Do not move," the guard said coldly.

David and Vivian held still while another person was called into the entrance facility.  The person was a slight gentleman, his clothing rustic, but clean and well-kept.

"Good morning," the man said genially.

"Uh... hi," David said, trying to appear nervous.

"Can I ask what you're business is in Reishek Pangpatav?" the man asked.

"Well," David said, "actually we just wanted to look around and see what was there.  You see, we've been honeymooning in Calgary.  We got married two weeks ago.  Since we're... kind of tired," David said with an embarrassed grin and a glance at Vivian, who blushed, "we thought we'd come see what was here.  We've already seen all the interesting stuff in Calgary, a little at a time..."

"I see," the man said.  "Well, I congratulate you on your wedding, but I'm afraid that the Vrudenan travel gates are not accessible at this time."

"Well, why not?" Vivian asked, sounding petulant.

"Vrudena is at war with its neighbors, I'm afraid, and we can't risk spies or terrorists coming through the gates."

"War?" David asked.  "You mean like... real war?  Bang, boom, crash, and all that stuff?"

"Yes.  Now, if you want to try to get through them," the man said, waving his hand behind him, "you can continue to Reishek Pangpatav.  But I wouldn't recommend it.

"All of who?" David asked.

The man waved him over to a window.  Outside was the same sized unit of werewolves that had been guarding the gate at Huareishek.

"Wow.  Well, I'm not interested in fighting my way through anybody, so... can we just go back to the other side, then?"

"Yes.  Please do.  And please do not attempt to return."

"Right.  We won't.  We don't live in Calgary, anyway."

"Very good.  Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon."

"Thanks."

Once the two had been escorted back to the Earth side of the gate, they looked at each other in confusion.

"He was awfully polite," Vivian said.

"Yeah.  Sure was a different greeting from the other two places."

"I wonder what it means."

"I don't know," David said.  "Come on, we have to catch a flight to Green Bay."

"If you twitch, you will be blasted to dust," the werewolf growled.  Twenty guards were aiming either weapons or energy balls at them.  The guards were arrayed in four groups of five, positioned on either side of the gate in two layers.

"Whoa, shit, dudes!" David said.

"Why are you here, human?" the werewolf guard demanded.

"Hey, man, chill out!  We just came to do some fishing on the bay!"

"You have no fishing gear," another guard pointed out.

"Figured we'd buy some here.  We just got married, you know?  We both love the outdoors, thought we'd come here, enjoy the water, and do some fishing.  What's the beef, man?"

"No humans are allowed in Uvreishek Bay.  Your filth are not wanted here."

"Hey, dude, that's cool.  No need to get all huffy about it."

"Watch your mouth, human, or you will no longer have one," the werewolf growled.

"Yeah, like, sure, dude.  Can we go now?"

"Leave while you still can."

Right after Vivian went through the gate, while David still had one foot in Vrudena, he turned.

"Hope you miserable fucks die a slow, painful death."  With that, he hurried through the gate and closed it behind himself.

"That wasn't smart, David," Vivian said.

David just moved her gently to one side, then turned to face the door.  When it opened, three weres, who now looked human, walked through.  As soon as the door closed, David smiled.

"Dumber than you fucking look, aren't you?  And that would be exceedingly dumb."

One of the weres advanced.  David raised his wand and vaporized the werewolf with razpadat.  A second was engulfed in fire and burned to a cinder in just a few seconds.

David leveled his wand at the remaining one.  "Drop your weapon and your wand, or you will die right now.  You make any other move, and I will kill you in a blink."

The werewolf growled, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Vivian was also pointing her wand at him now.  The werewolf dropped his wand.

"Sem!" David said, pointing at the wand.  It came to his hand quickly.  David put away his own wand, then snapped the werewolf's wand in half easily.  That done, he pulled his wand back out.

"Reteni galing salong," he said.  A tendril whipped out of David's wand and pulled the werewolf's hands together, binding them tightly.  Once the tendril had finished wrapping, it appeared to morph into a pair of police handcuffs.  David did the same to the man's ankles, and now he was cuffed and shackled.  One final spell, and the man's clothing turned orange.

"You think they're going to allow us to transport a prisoner dangerous enough to need hand and ankle restraints on an airplane?" Vivian asked.  "And why the hell are we taking a prisoner, anyway?"

"HQ wants intel.  He has intel.  Getting it out of him is their job, not ours."

"I will tell you nothing," the were spat.

"Yeah, we've heard that song and dance many times before," David told him.  "It is almost never true, so shut up, would ya?"

David made a call to the local FBI office and informed them of his Rimohr status, letting them know he had a prisoner he needed to transport.  He was told that he would be met at the airport.

"Katherine Lee," the agent introduced herself, and shook their hands.  "Exactly what do we have here?"

"A prisoner of war," David said.

"Excuse me?"

"Long story.  This individual entered Green Bay from Dugerra, and attempted to assault us."

"Okay, so... legally, you've got him on assault and battery?"

"Assault on a Rimohr would be the actual charge," Vivian said.  "The equivalent would, I guess, be assault on a federal officer."

Lee nodded.  "All right.  You're going where?"

"Washington D.C.," David said.

"Okay, no problem.  We'll get you a flight on Gamma Airlines, we've had good relations with them."

It didn't take too long to clear things through the airline.  David had needed to make the werewolf's clothing less obvious, which was no issue.  The airline was apprehensive about the leg shackles until David informed them that they were easy for him to remove, and would in any case evaporate upon his complete incapacitation.

The werewolf was escorted to the very back of the airplane.  He was moved to the window seat.  David sat down next to him, and Vivian sat on the aisle.

Once they were situated, David looked at the werewolf.  "You cause me any trouble at all, and I'll vaporize your sorry ass faster than you can even get out of your seat.  There is nothing at all to stop me from killing you.  You are not a Rimohr prisoner, you are a prisoner of the Callamandian Army.  If you attempt to escape or to assault either of us, you will be killed immediately.  You got me?"

The were just grunted.

 "All right, Bandador, let's hear your report," the batalisto who was in charge of Scout Company 1, David's assigned unit, ordered.  David's immediate superior, Vocator Schultz, was also there.

"Yes, sir.  Our task was to determine the level of security surrounding the four Vrudenan travel gates.  I decided that the best way to do that was to simply try to enter each gate from the Earth side, and see what happened."

"That's hardly covert, Bandador," the vocator pointed out.

"Sir, my orders did not tell me to be covert.  In any case, we weren't in uniform.  In the three cases where we both entered the gate, we acted as husband and wife on a honeymoon vacation.  In the case where I went alone, I acted in my role as chairman of the Peg Riders of Callamandia."

"Why did you choose to go alone?" the batalisto asked.

"When we entered the first gate, sir, we were told that our names and images had been recorded.  There was a concern that attempting to enter the other gates might be more dangerous.  As such, I decided to go through the second gate alone, because I had a few tricks I could play to get out of trouble that Capadra Columbo could not employ."

"Okay.  So, you were not necessarily covert, but you did use misinformation during the mission."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well.  What can you tell us about the gate security?"

"In every case, sir, the gate was being guarded by a roughly battalion-sized unit."

"Wait a minute," Vivian said.

David turned to her.

"We never actually saw the unit at Urst Reishek, Da... uh, I mean Bandador."

David smirked at her slip, but then nodded.

"She does have a point.  I got that information through a divinatory process, so there is the possibility that it is incorrect.  We didn't have an opportunity to see that unit directly.  However, my divination did match up with what we later saw visually at the other gates."

"You mentioned in your report that the attitude at the various gates was highly variable."

"Yes, sir.  And I do think I might have an explanation for that."

"Oh?  Do tell."

"The two gates where we faced the most hostility - Huareishek and Uvreishek - are the two gates closest to Vruhaup Tas, the Vrudenan capital.  Urst Reishek was unpleasant, but more bureaucratic than outright dangerous.  And at Reishek Pangpatav, our greeting was very cordial.  Since Pangpatav is a good long way from Vruhaup Tas, I'm guessing that the level of hostility has to do with the perceived danger of invasion."

"A good guess.  Now, you broke your cover in two places... the two closest to the were capital.  Why?"

"At Huareishek, I saw an opportunity to employ some psychological warfare, without getting involved in a major engagement.  I was faced with four guards, who were taken out without a lot of difficulty.  I then left them a little note, to hopefully put the fear of God into them.  My hope was that they would beef up security at all of the gates, thus drawing down on the number of troops that they could deploy into the field of battle."

The batalisto nodded.  "And at Uvreishek?"

"I saw an opportunity to get more intelligence information.  It was our last stop before returning to headquarters, and there were plenty of guards there to antagonize.  I could only hope that at least one of them followed me through the gate."

"What if all twenty had done so?" the vocator demanded.  "You could have endangered the entire area!"

"It was a calculated risk, sir, but I did have a plan for that eventuality.  Had more than four or five come through, I would have simply enacted a force field to push them all back through the gate.  Instead, only three followed us."

"You realize they'll just change any plans that your prisoner might be aware of, just as soon as they realize he's been captured," the vocator pointed out.

David nodded.  "If they figure out he was captured.  The other two Vrudenans were disintegrated, sir.  There was nothing left of them to see.  It is entirely possible that the Vrudenans will believe that all three were killed."

"Is this why you destroyed the bodies?" the batalisto asked.

"One reason, yes, sir.  The other reason was so that the people at the gate would not have to clean up after us, and there would be nothing for the police to waste their time investigating."

"I see.  Very interesting.  Good work to the both of you.  This information is helpful to our planning.  You showed some good initiative out there, Stroud.  I like officers who can think on their feet."

"Thank you, sir," David said.

"Both of you are dismissed.  Stroud, we'll begin your furlough now, until Wednesday morning.  Be back here at eight Wednesday."

"Yes, sir!" David said.

"Columbo, you're on call for now."

"What, exactly, does that mean, sir?" she asked.

"It means don't go too far from the base.  If we contact you, we'll want you here within the hour."

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on," the batalisto said.

David and Vivian saluted, then left the office.

"Well, at least you get an extra day off," Vivian said.

David smirked.  "I have a feeling we weren't going to be doing anything just yet, anyway.  I wonder how the war itself is going."

"Have we even moved troops forward yet?"

"Last I heard they had engaged just southeast of Burton."

"I hope they're careful."

"Yeah."

"Say, good luck on your exam on Tuesday."

"Thanks.  See you in a few days."

"Yeah."

 The Government Administration, Level 2 exam was held in the Great Hall of the castle, as there were so few people taking the test.  David stepped into the hall, said hello to Lord Woodward and Penny, who were both present, and then signed in at the registration table.

"You are at desk forty-two," the man said.

David nodded, then made his way over to the desk.  He sat down and relaxed.  Either he would pass this test, or he wouldn't.  It hardly made any difference at this point, since he knew what his career was going to be.  After the war was over, he would go back to being a Rimohr.  That didn't require him to pass this test, so he wasn't going to agonize over it.

In due course, the test administrator got up and made basically the same little speech that every test administrator before him had made.  The test appeared on David's desk, and he set to work on it.

They were given ninety minutes to work on the test, but David had answered all the questions in forty-five.  He spent the next twenty minutes looking over his answers for mistakes, but didn't find any.  Finally, he decided to turn in his exam.

As the person at the table accepted the finished exam, he said, "You're aware that those who have served in the military aren't allowed to work in the government, aren't you?"

David looked at him for a long moment, then said, "You're not one of the people grading these exams, are you?"

"What difference would that make?" the man asked snidely.

"Well, apart from your obvious animus toward one of the examinees, your knowledge of Callamandian Civics sucks.  The prohibition against military personnel in the government only applies to those of batalo's rank and above, and was done to prevent Callamandia from becoming a military state.  Enlisted personnel and junior officers, as well as the batalisto rank, are allowed to hold any government position they like.

"So, as I said, you're not the one grading the exams, are you?"

The administrator, who had been nearby when David had posed his question, said, "No, he's not."  Turning to the man at the desk, the administrator continued, "And it would do you well to keep your little remarks to yourself."

The man frowned mightily, then shoved David's exam into its folder and put it in the drawer with the rest.  With that, David nodded at the man, then nodded to the administrator before leaving the Great Hall.

"How do you think you did?" Penny asked as they made their way toward the stairs.

David shrugged.  "I couldn't find any errors on my test, and I answered all the questions.  If I got stuff wrong, I don't know what it would be, so I figure I passed.  How high my grade will be... who knows?"

Penny smiled, then hugged him.

"You go back to the army tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'll actually head back down tonight and stay at HQ for the night."

"Please be careful.  I know they can't kill you, but you can be seriously hurt or captured..."

"Try my best," he promised her.  He gave her a soft kiss, and they continued their walk until they were on the fifth floor.

"You seem like you could use some stress relief," Penny said.

"Hmm," David said with a grin.  "You offering?"

"We also serve who lay and wait.  It's the laying part I'm interested in at the moment."

David chuckled as they entered the master bedroom.

"First off, you two, let me inform you that you will unfortunately be missing the ceremony we've planned for the graduation of your Rimohr class.  Rest assured, you will still be evaluated with the rest to receive your permanent rank.  Your rank may not go up, but it will definitely not go down."

"Damn, here I was hoping to be an enlisted man again," David quipped.

The vocator grinned briefly, but then grew serious once more.  He picked up the map on his desk and enlarged it on the wall as usual.  The map showed the current known battle lines.

"As you can see, our little ploy seems to have worked.  The Vrudenans have pulled several battalions west, near Hurmich, to block our supposed counterattack.  This has allowed us to stop them here in the northeast, and to even push back slightly in a few places.

"The problem is, we're beginning to lose track of exactly where their positions are.  They've been using some camouflage and deception tactics to hide their movements.  Werewolves can move almost silently in hybrid form, and they're faster than any human.  It makes trying to shadow them very difficult.

"What we want you two to do is to slip behind enemy lines, and find their locations for us.  When you do, get back across the border fast, and let us know.  Don't stick around too long; they change their positions regularly, so if your information is too old, it won't help us any.

"Obviously, avoid contact if at all possible.  If you are discovered... run like hell.  There are two of you, and about sixty thousand of them."

"Sir... if the need for covert operation is so critical to this mission, why not just send me in alone?" David asked.  "I can go in invisibly.  They'd never even know I was there... there'd be no chance of discovery, and even if they did manage to find me, I could simply fade into Haven, and would be completely untouchable.  I don't see why we need to risk another life on this mission."

"Well, mainly because Batalisto Franken said so, but there is also the simple fact of wanting more than one set of eyes to make the evaluation.  Capadra Garibaldi might see something that you don't, might notice a detail that would otherwise be missed.

"In any case, your orders are to take him with you, so you'll take him with you."

"Yes, sir!" David said.  "Is there a time limit on this mission?  If we don't discover their whereabouts in so many days or weeks?"

"It damn well better not take you weeks," the vocator growled.  "But we have not set a deadline for this mission.  Just get in and get out as fast as you can, with the information we need."

"Yes, sir."

"Good luck, you two."

David and Joe came to attention, then saluted, before leaving the office.

"Well, this one's gonna be fun," David said sarcastically.

"Trying to ditch me already, though, I see..." Joe said with a grin.

"There's no reason for you to be put in danger.  I could do this kind of mission without any help, and it would keep you safe."

"They don't expect army soldiers to be safe, they expect them to do their duty."

"You don't put assets at risk unless you have to," David replied, frustrated.

"Nothing we can do about it," Joe said.  "In any case, how do you want to proceed?"

"Let's go to one of the planning rooms and look over the map."

"Okay."

 "Say," Joe whispered, "I never did ask, what did you get on your A2 exam?"

David snorted.  "You're worried about that at a time like this?"

Joe shrugged.  "Can't stare blankly at their encampment all day."

"I got a 98."

"Out of 100?  Damn," Joe said quietly.

"Not that it matters.  Rimohrs don't need the damn thing."

"You probably won't be a Rimohr forever, though."

"Yeah, I know.  That's why I took the test at all."

The two sat quietly for another hour.  Just then, another group of werewolves showed up.

"Holy shit," Joe whispered.  "How many you figure that is?"

"Looks like another battalion," David said.  "That makes this a command-sized unit."

"And what do we have to counter this with?" Joe asked.

"Fuck all," David said.

"There aren't any Callamandian forces ready to face this?" Joe asked incredulously.

"Why do you think we're here?  The army doesn't know where these fucks are.  It's our job to go tell them."

"When are we going to do that?"

"We'll wait until it gets dark, and then we'll try to sneak out of here."

"Sounds good."

David settled down to try to get some sleep.  Jailla was in a tree above him, keeping watch, and David was sure that he would be warned of any trouble long before it was a problem.

David and Joe had been in the field for three days now.  They had only discovered this encampment four hours before.  At that time, it had only held a company of troops.  They had watched it blossom into a major army base in just those four hours.  David knew that if this unit went unchecked, Callamandia was in deep trouble.

Once darkness had settled firmly over the forest, David and Joe began to move.  Jailla, at David's direction, flew well ahead, trying to scout a path forward.  They had to move slowly, as werewolves have excellent hearing, and any sound might betray their position.  With thousands of troops gathered in this one spot, if they were found out, their chances of getting away were nearly zero.

David led Joe along a dry river bed, which allowed them to stay low.  Their movements had to be slow, however, as the river bed was littered with rocks and pebbles.  They crept along for hours, trying to clear the huge encampment.  As the river bed made a sharp turn, they had to leave it, in order to continue with their planned route.

Once back in the trees, they were both safer, because they were harder to see, and in more danger, as the enemy was also harder to see.  Their movement slowed even further now.  They were just about even with the south end of the camp, but they both knew that there were roving guards in the forest.  They weren't sure just how far away they'd have to get before they were safe from discovery.

When David heard a slight noise, he froze, and raised his hand to stop Joe from moving.  Joe was about to whisper something, but David angrily made a stop motion with his hand, and Joe grew silent.

The noise grew louder, and it was clear that, whatever it was, it was heading in their direction.  David silently drew his sword out of the pocket of his overcoat.  He held it down by his left hip, so there would be no chance of it glinting in the light of the nearly-full moon.  He stopped breathing, and waited.

In another minute, a werewolf guard stepped right through the bushes in front of them.  His face took on a startled look; he hadn't known they were there until seeing them.  He made to level his weapon - a short, spear-like object - at them, but David was a lot faster than that.  The were's head went spinning through the air as David's blade passed through his neck.  Joe quickly caught the body, and David used a spell to catch the head, so that there would be no noise.

"What do we do with the body?" Joe whispered.

"Just leave it here," David said.  "It's not on a path, so maybe it'll be overlooked, at least for an hour or two.  We only need a little while to get away cleanly."

David looked around for what he wanted, and then used his sword to cut the branch off a tree.  He quickly whittled a point onto the end of it, and rammed the branch into the ground.

"What are you doing?" Joe rasped.

"Sending a message," David replied.  He took the head of the werewolf and rammed it down onto the top of the branch.  It wasn't high enough to show over the foliage, but when they did find it, it would be a clear sign.

"Okay, now let's get the fuck out of here while we can," David said.  "But don't rush; if we make noise, it just makes their job easier."

The two moved off, continuing south as they had been.

Their luck, however, would not hold out.  The smell of blood was strong in the area, and werewolves also have an incredible sense of smell.  The nearest guard to the dead one came quickly to the spot of his corpse.  He saw the head rammed down onto the pole, and growled in anger.  A few sniffs of the area, and he snarled.

"Fucking humans," he spat.  He then tilted his head back and howled lowly, just loud enough for those nearby to hear him.  Quickly, a dozen other guards showed up.  A leader was close behind.

"Humans, sir," the original guard said.  "Not too far off, I'd say."

The leader tilted his head back and howled now, calling together the company of weres he commanded.  Once they'd arrived, he said, "Run these filth to ground!  You will kill them all!  Go, now!"

The werewolves immediately darted into the forest, heading south.

The noise was unmistakable to David.  "Oh, shit.  I think they found our buddy already."

"So now what?" Joe asked, concerned.

"Now, we move a little faster.  The noise they're making will cover ours.  Let's go."

The two moved out, trying not to leave too much of a trail behind them.  An expert would surely be able to track them, but that was a slow process, and they only needed a few hours of head start.  If the weres simply kept on coming, however, things could get hairy.

For the next two hours, David and Joe slipped through brush lines and darted across clearings.  For twenty minutes, they ran down another dry river bed.  They could still hear the werewolves behind them, however, and Jailla was keeping an eye on them.  They were getting closer.

"We can't keep on like this, David," Joe said, winded.  "We've got to think of something.  What if you just ghost me, and we walk on out of here?"

"Wouldn't work.  They'd be able to find us because of the use of magic in converting you.  And I can still be affected by magic as a ghost, so if they use the right spell, I'd be rendered unconscious... and that would render you solid, and then we'd both be screwed."

"Oh.  Shit.  Okay."

"For now, just keep moving."

"Where are we going?" Joe asked as they started to make their way through the brush again.

"South.  We're a long way from anything helpful, Joe.  I'm just trying to keep us ahead of them."

"Fuck," Joe opined.

David did not disagree, and he sped up somewhat.  Jailla's eye in the sky told David that the weres were only a few hundred yards behind them.  It was far enough that they couldn't see each other, but David couldn't afford to slow down at all.

Another hour had seen the weres close the gap by half.  The sun was coming up now, which was not a help to the two humans.  They increased their pace to a dead run, but they couldn't keep that up for any length of time, so they slowed back down after opening the gap a little more.  Still, they moved quickly through the brush.

They then had the misfortune of coming upon a meadow.  This took away all of their cover, and they didn't have the time to go around it.

"Run as fast as you can across it," David said.  Joe just grunted, and the two took off.  Small creatures scattered ahead of them.

Halfway across the meadow, magical blasts started to land around them.  The two could not go any faster; they were already running flat out at Joe's top speed.

Suddenly, David heard Joe scream behind him.  It took him a second to turn, and as he did, he saw three more energy blasts hit Joe as he fell.

"NO!" David screamed in rage.  His first shot took out the last were he saw fire on Joe.  As that werewolf was screaming the last breath of his life, David's brain kicked in.

"SCUDO ASFERA!" David shouted at the top of his lungs.  A bright, impenetrable dome appeared surrounding David and Joe.  David couldn't keep that up for long, but it gave him the time he needed.  He spent the next thirty seconds casting a protective enchantment which would keep the weres out indefinitely.  Unfortunately, it would also keep David and Joe in, but David couldn't worry about that right now.

Turning, he dropped to the ground at Joe's side.  Joe was lying face down, and David could see the damage done was massive.  He quickly chanted every healing spell he knew, but it didn't seem like it was making a difference.  They were too far from help for a sustaining potion to do any good...

David rolled Joe over, and Joe screamed with the pain of it.  David ignored that for the time being.  He pulled out a premade vial of Dendal Shepherd's Grass, and poured it into Joe's mouth.

"Swallow it, goddamn you," David ordered.  Joe managed to swallow, but then he just groaned in pain.  The potion was operative; David could see it trying to fix things, but it just wasn't strong enough to handle all of what was wrong.

"David..." Joe gasped.  "You've... got to get out of here."

"I'm in no danger, you stupid fuck," David growled.  "I've got to find a way to get you out of here."

Joe shook his head.  "Not... gonna happen.  Even if... you could get past them with me... I'll... never make it home."  Joe's body seized as a massive wave of pain swept through him.  He screamed as it peaked.  "AGH!...  I haven't... got much left," he gasped.

"Don't say shit like that, you asshole," David told him.  "You're not allowed to die on me, dammit!  That's an order!"

Joe chuckled, then coughed.  His coughing brought up blood, which was not a good sign.  "Sorry, sir.  I'm afraid... I'm going to have to... disobey that one..."

David dug out a piece of parchment.  He was looking down a list of spells he knew and potions he had available to him.  He was trying to find something, anything, to help his friend.  Joe coughed again, bringing up more blood, which drew David's attention once more.

"David... need you to... promise me something," Joe said, gritting his teeth.

"Anything," David said earnestly.  "You just name it."

"Promise me.... you'll look... after my family," Joe rasped.

"Always," David responded forcefully.  "I won't let anything happen to them, Joe.  I swear to you."

"You're a good friend," Joe said, some slight peace coming to his face, but it was quickly erased by another wave of pain. 

David slumped, finally admitting defeat.  "I'm sorry, Joe.  I guess I didn't plan this right."

Joe coughed.  "Not your fault, David.  Don't... blame yourself.  In war... people die.  It's... the only... guaranteed outcome."

"It didn't have to be you," David objected.

"You tried... to keep me safe.  You did... the best that could be done.  You... have... nothing to be... sorry forrrrr......"

With that, Joe exhaled his last breath, his body went limp, and the light left his eyes.

At that moment, David felt an unfortunately familiar presence beside him.  He looked up through bleary eyes to find Gabriel standing beside him.

"I'll take care of him now, David," she said in a soft, aggrieved voice.

David turned back, and this time, he actually saw Garibaldi's soul leave his body.  He stood beside Gabriel for just a second, and then the two of them faded to invisibility.

For a very long moment, David knelt on the ground and wept.  He allowed his grief to wash through him, to overcome him.  Until that process was done, nothing mattered to him.

Finally, David's tears stopped.  He looked down at the body of his oldest wizard friend.  David laid his hand on Joe's chest, and cast a spell.  The body was gently disintegrated, 'burying' it in the only manner that would prevent the werewolves from doing anything further to it.

With the disposition of his friend's body taken care of, David rose to his feet.  Though it would be a very long time before he was done grieving over his loss, another emotion took hold of him at this point.

As David drew his sword, he faded to visible ghost form.  He could see, outside his protective shield, that the werewolves waited in eager anticipation to take him apart.

As David waved his hand to clear away the shield, he muttered, "Come and get it, you miserable fucks."

By the time David left that meadow, over a hundred werewolf bodies lay scattered.  No one who had even witnessed the death of Joseph Garibaldi lived to tell the tale.

After the last werewolf succumbed to David's blade, David looked around at the carnage.

"One hundred down, fifty-nine thousand, nine hundred to go," David said to himself.  He then sheathed his sword and turned to the south to continue his walk home.

It would be a much lonelier walk, now.

Because speed was of the essence in delivering his information, after David had walked for a couple hours, allowing his emotions to come to some kind of equilibrium, he faded into Haven, and flew back to headquarters.  Jailla had assured him he would make his own way home.  Once there, David gave a brief report to Vocator Schultz, but was then told to report to Ark North HQ, which was currently in Cormatsen.

David continued his Haven trip, and arrived in Cormatsen before nightfall.  He reported to Arkigo Schwarzkopf himself.  The batalisto in charge of Scout Company 1 was also there, along with several other staff officers.

"All right, Bandador, let's have your report," the arkigo said.

"Sir, Capadra Garibaldi and I searched this area," David said, moving his finger along a small section of the woods just north of Lake Sudmer, the southernmost of the Five Lakes.  "Right about here we came across what started as a single company of were infantry.  Within four hours of our arrival, that single company turned into an entire command-sized unit of around five thousand weres."

"Did they look like they were settling in, or as if they were just rallying together to move out?" the arkigo asked.

"Hard to say for sure, sir.  We didn't stick around all that long.  I did see them digging a few trenches, however, so if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they planned it to be at least a semi-permanent base of operation."

"Okay.  What did you see in the way of equipment?"

"Equipment, sir?  They were infantry.  They brought tents, cooking utensils, that sort of thing.  What equipment do you mean?"

A commandant - the equivalent of a US Army colonel - explained, "Some were units have large energy cannons.  They would resemble long pipes on wheels."

"Oh, I didn't know we had that kind of thing.  No, there was nothing like that, unless it arrived after we left."

"How long did you observe them for?" the arkigo asked.

"All told, about eight hours, from initial contact.  We waited for darkness before trying to break contact without being discovered."

"How, exactly, were you discovered?"

"The sheerest of bad luck.  One of the camp guards stumbled right into us."

"So he sounded the alarm?" a batalo asked.

"No, sir.  We heard him coming, so I took him out silently and left the body in the brush.  Unfortunately, the weres found him pretty damned fast, and then the alarm was raised."

"Okay.  Now, can you tell me why you lost a man under your command?"

"Not without being insubordinate to my commanding officer, sir," David replied shortly.

The arkigo raised an eyebrow.  "Okay... for a moment, I'm giving you the right to speak your mind.  "Why did Capadra Garibaldi die?"

David jerked his thumb at the batalisto in charge of Scout Company 1.  "Because this stupid shit made me unnecessarily put Capadra Garibaldi at risk for a mission that did not require his presence.  Sir, as this was nothing but a recon mission, it didn't require two people.  I could have undertaken the mission alone, and been perfectly safe.  There wouldn't have even been any chance of the weres discovering that I was there.  Instead, due to orders, I was required to put a long-time friend in jeopardy, and thanks to bad luck and a stupid commander, he died."

David could see that the batalisto was white with anger, and wanted to lash out at David for his words.

Gently, the arkigo asked, "How, exactly, did he die?"

"We were running from the weres who were chasing us, and were forced, due to the terrain, to cross open ground.  We simply weren't able to cover the distance to cover before the weres caught up with us.  He was hit by at least four different energy shots before he went down.  I tried every piece of healing magic I know, but he was simply too badly hurt."

"And the weres?  How did you get away from them?"

"That's easy, sir.  I killed every last one of the mother fuckers."

"Right.  You took out an entire company of werewolves.  Alone," the batalisto sneered.

David turned to him.  "Sir, I am a demighost.  And I have been combat trained by gargoyles.  The only actual chance those weres had of surviving my attack was running away.  Thankfully, they were too fucking stupid to do that."

David turned away from the batalisto and muttered to himself, "Just like my commanding officer."

The batalisto didn't hear David's comment, but the arkigo did.  He tried hard not to chuckle.

"Very well.  You're sure of this position?" the arkigo asked, returning to the map.

"Yes, sir.  I had an exact fix on my position during the entire mission."

"How?" the commandant asked.

David pulled out one of the anchors of his measuring device.  "This.  It allows me to know my exact heading and distance from a fixed point.  The fixed point I used was Scout Company 1 HQ.  There's another one of these in my locker there."

"Where the hell did you get this?  I've never seen one of these," the arkigo asked, looking at it.

"I made it, sir, a couple years ago, for a case I was working on."

"Can you make more of them?" the arkigo asked.

"Yes, sir... they're not that tough to make.  Takes about a day for each pair of them.  That process might be sped up some if someone else does it... I'm not the greatest spellcaster in the world."

"All right, Bandador.  I want you to write up the procedure for making these devices, and give it to Vocator Schultz, back at your base.  He'll get it to the right people.

"After that, you are on one week's bereavement leave.  You are to report to Scout Company 1 headquarters on June 1.  Is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"And don't worry about Garibaldi's family.  They'll be notified by an army counselor."

"If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd just as soon make that notification myself.  The Garibaldis are friends of mine, sir.  That bad news really ought to come from someone they know."  And who they can then blame for his death, David thought to himself.

"All right.  I'll let the counseling troop know they don't need to make that particular visit."

"Thank you, sir.  Sir, it's really too late for me to travel tonight.  I can write up the procedure for making these measuring devices before I leave.  Do you still want me to give the instructions to Vocator Schultz?"

"No.  If you can finish them while you're here, give them to Batalisto McEntire, on my staff.  You'll find him in room fourteen."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

"And Stroud?" the arkigo said as David started to turn.  David turned back.

"Yes, sir?"

"Try not to let it eat at you.  You did the best you could.  It's hardly a comfort, I know, but truly, shit happens."

"Yes, sir.  Thank you, sir."

"Carry on."

David saluted, and then left the room.  He headed over to visiting officers' quarters, and set to writing out the procedure for his device, which he decided to call the Garibaldi Positioning System.  It was one final salute to a good friend... as well as an inside joke that only he, Joe, and Vivian would ever understand.

David walked down the street, heading toward a place he really did not want to go.  He knew that he had to make the visit, but the effect of it was merely to cause pain.  The pain to himself, he could deal with, but he was also going to cause a lot of pain to people he deeply cared about.  That tormented his soul.

He stood at the end of the walk for a solid ten minutes, unmoving, trying to put his thoughts in order and get up the nerve to just step onto the property.  Finally, with a deep breath, he straightened his uniform cap and then walked up to the door, knocking softly.

It wasn't long before the door opened.

As Zyla saw who was knocking, her eyes brightened.

"David!" she said in happy surprise. It took only a moment, however, for her to realize that Joe was not with him. She looked at David, and the desperate, haunted look she saw in his eyes told her everything she needed to know about why he was there.