Ceres dipped her head. "Madam Devere, thank you for your part in my rescue. I shudder to think what would have become of me otherwise. I misjudged you at first. For that, I apologize. You provide a safe place for your girls, those that have nowhere else to go. Like a family, I suppose."

Devere took up Ceres hands. "Perhaps so, a family of sorts. And I misjudged you. You be indeed a kind soul, my Lady."

Devere's thin white sleep gown flared as she turned to Waithe. "And you Waithe, do not make me wait so long before you return again." She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, then yanked him to her, pressing her lips against his for a deep lingering kiss.

Waithe regained his breath and bowed his head to her. "We are indebted to you, my dear Madam."

She smirked. "Very much so and I expect to be repaid with your presence. Now go save the Realm."

With that, they mounted and rode off into the dark night, only the stars and a sliver of a moon providing illumination. Branches and brush overhanging the dark seldom-used trail made progress slow. Eira leaned back against Waithe as she slept in the saddle.

Ceres said, "That was some kiss Waithe. So where did you sleep these last two nights?" 

While too dark to tell, he knew Ceres had a smug grin on her face. "Well, Madam Devere asked me to keep her warm at night."

She laughed. "In the heat of late summer? I may be unknowing of such things, but not that much so."

"Let it just be said that she be a dear friend of mine and that our relationship is, well, complicated."

"Oh, my dear scandalous protector!"

Waithe changed the subject. "It be fortunate that the Medice Guards did not take away our horses nor my blades. But what of your purse and the coins it held?"

"I did not think to ask that it be returned when we left that wretched prison. The money you extracted from the greedy Duke be lost."

He sighed. "An irony that. But alas, we dare not spend coin at a tavern or roadhouse. Regardless of the false rumors spread that we head back south, the Guard will have eyes out. We shall he sleeping on the ground for many nights."

"Waithe, I felt so afraid that all was lost in that lonely jail, and that I would never see you or Eira again. I shall be happy to sleep on the hard ground under the stars near you both."

"Aye, my dear Ceres. We make for Krinn, the capital of Woest where I once served in the army. There I have other friends, ones less complicated, that would help us."

*****

"There we may find shelter and assistance in your quest." He pointed at a sprawling estate surrounded by rock walls along the banks of the river.

"The house of Lord Girald? You know him?"

Waithe replied, "Aye, we fought side-by-side in the wars. His wife, Lady Jenn, be a dear friend. I knew her in my youth, well even before they married." Ceres narrowed her eyes at him. He lifted his hands and smiled. "Not in any scandalous way, I assure you, my suspicious Lady."

The estate had not the intimidating high stone walls of the Overlord's castle but seemed impressive in its own way. It featured many buildings, none more than two stories tall and some connected by passageways. They were constructed of an eclectic mix of building materials that featured the varied lands of Woest: limestone from the Grand River valley; red sandstone from the desert hills to the west; lumber from the northern highlands; and colorful granite from the mountains to the northwest.

The city of Krinn that surrounded the Lord's estate seemed thoughtfully laid out.  Thoroughfares radiated out from the estate like spokes in a wheel. Shops, taverns, and small green parks separated clustered residential areas. A series of docks lined the river.

Waithe, Ceres, and Eira rode up to a gate in the estate wall. He caught the attention of two guards who stood there. "Waithe Rand to see the Lady Jenn."

One of the guards eyed the riders suspiciously. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Nay, sir. But I be an old friend of the Lord and Lady. They would want to see me."

"Wait here then."

The other guard, a young man barely out of his youth, ran toward the largest of the buildings within the wall. Waithe and Ceres took the opportunity to let their horses drink from a nearby pond and munch on the grasses. After several minutes the young guard ran back and they were granted entry, although Waithe was required to leave his sword and long knife at the gate.

A woman greeted them with a smirk. "Waithe, you old scoundrel. What misadventure brings you back to my home?"

The woman of about Waithe's age wore a warm smile on her lined face. Streaks of platinum highlighted her light brown hair, which was arranged in elaborate tight braids wound around the back of her head. 

Waithe took her hand and kissed it. "I recall, my dear Jenn, that we shared a few misadventures ourselves before you became the respected Lady of Woest."

"Aye. Good times, my friend. Sometimes I wonder how we all survived. So why are you here?"

Waithe motioned Ceres and Eira forward. "Lady Jenn, I would introduce the Lady Ceres and the young Eira."

Jenn took a step back as Ceres performed a small bow as she pulled back her hood. "Is this the infamous Ceres? Who the Order so desperately seeks to capture? Waithe, a misadventure indeed."

"I be her protector and ask on her behalf for refuge and assistance. The charges against her be false."

"Hmm. Let us discuss this matter with Girald. Come with me."

Tapestries and artfully carved wood lined the walls of the house. That and the rich wood trim and window moldings gave it a rustic warm feeling. As Jenn led them through the house toward the Lord's bedchamber, she turned back to Waithe. "I should tell you, my friend, that my husband is not well. A sickness has hold of him, progressing slowly but inexorably over the last few months. Even our own Medice Shaman has been unable to stop it. I run the day to day business of Woest in his stead."

Waithe cast a gaze at Ceres. She nodded. Jenn opened a carved oaken door to a large bedroom.

"Do my old eyes deceive me? Waithe Rand?" The old man straightened up in his bed, his gray hair disheveled and his wide face paler than it should be.

"My Lord." Waithe bowed slightly "It has been long."

Jenn spoke up. "My dear, Waithe has a bit of a dilemma."

Girald grinned. "When has he ever not? Whose feathers have you ruffled this time?"

He motioned toward the young woman with him. "The Order of Medice and Lord Scias. With me be Lady Ceres of the Order. I seek refuge and assistance for her noble quest."

Girald grimaced. "You have a talent for finding trouble, my old friend. This is even worse than the time you charmed that pretty young Shaman away from the Lord of the Lake Lands and married her." He laughed. "That was quite the scandal then."

"My Lord, she be falsely accused. Her only crime be that she refused to serve in Lord Scias' house and be mated with his chief Shaman. Her quest be to rid the Realm of the Taint. Already has she purged much land of it, as well as from me."

"A treacherous man, Lord Scias be. No honorable woman should suffer in his service." He turned his eyes to Ceres. "Tales have I heard of a wandering young woman of the Order who heals both men and land. That be you, Lady Ceres?"

She bowed. "Aye, my Lord." She raised her eyes back up to his. "And if you would permit me, I would try to heal you."

"Hmm. But per the Treaty of Lands, it is my duty to arrest you and inform the Order." He winked at his wife. "Jenn, would you be so kind as to take care of that?"

A wide-eyed look of shock came over Ceres. Jenn smiled and placed her hand on Ceres' shoulder. "Worry not, Lady Ceres. Your jail cell shall be one of our comfortable guest rooms, and there be no lock on the door nor guard outside. Escape would not be difficult. And as unreliable messengers are, a letter to the Order may take months to arrive."

Ceres blew out a breath and a grin came over her. "Thank you, my Lady. That is so much better than the Overlord's prison."

"You escaped from Hagan's dungeon?"

Ceres nodded. "Aye, my Lady. By the skill of my protector and a rather clever Madam."

"Oh, you must tell us the tale, over dinner perhaps? But for now, I would be exceedingly grateful if you would rid my husband of this sickness."

At Jenn's request, the Lady Adelia, Lord Girald's assigned Medice Shaman, was summoned. Adelia's icy stare toward Ceres as a fellow woman of the Order seemed to unsettle Ceres. Waithe could easily tell that Adelia did not want to be here. The dark-haired middle-aged woman slunk to the back of the room and leaned against a far wall, her eyes wide, lips taut, and brow lifted. Fear, perhaps? But what did she have to fear? Something was not right.

Ceres sat down on the floor near the large bed and took Girald's hand. At her beckon, Eira, who had done her best to remain hidden behind Waithe, sat down beside her. Waithe took a position behind them and Jenn sat on the bed near her husband. A guard stood at attention at the doorway.

Ceres closed her eyes and began to hum softly. Phy's green light appeared immediately and within a few moments so did Myr's umber light. The Spirits revolved slowly around Ceres and Eira. The shimmering white lights appeared above them and then settled on Lord Girald.

Goosebumps appeared on Waithe's arm. He did not know why visions of his lost daughter appeared sometimes. But they usually did when he stood close to Ceres as she called on Magic from the Life Spirits. The vivid visions gave him joy as they appeared, then pangs of grief as they disappeared. Again it came.

Aala sobbed in her father's arms. She could not understand why the older girl would take her favorite toy and break it. Had they not been playmates? "I am sorry, little one," her father said as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "But that be sometimes the way of the world." He picked up the broken pieces of her toy. "Let us see if we might make this right again."

The corners of Lord Girald's lips turned up as he opened his mouth. He held both hands up and gazed at the magical shimmer that enveloped them like a glove, as it did with his whole body. His breaths became deep and slow as color returned to his face.

Ceres frowned as she snapped her eyes open. "Poison!" She cast narrowed eyes at Lady Adelia, who cowered in the back of the room. "Why?"

Adelia steeled her expression and lifted her arms. Within a moment the bright red light of an Elemental Spirit radiated above her and fireballs appeared above her hands.