Alexei stopped at the top of the stairs and caught his breath. "This is harder than fighting Orcs." The man next to him, Chae, agreed but could only nod. They had finally lugged the last of the oil to the top floor. The two began to spread the oil over the floor, the furniture in this bedroom and across the tables of magical research. The old man, Nikolai, had assured them that nothing of real value was left among the tables. Syndylys had agreed.

Chae, wearing much lighter armor then Alexei, climbed the ladder to the battlements and opened the trapdoor. He did not pause to look around but did notice it was still light outside. He had no real idea what time of day it was. The two men then started trailing the oil down the carpeted stairs.

Down on the first floor, Orin was double checking to make sure they had missed no treasure. Kyri was still struggling to get the chainmail off of Paurillian's dead body and Syndylys looked on with a grim smirk on his face. Orin snuck glances at the rest of the group as he looked around and splashed oil in spots. Ariston was helping to spread the oil in the other rooms on this floor. No doubt taking the opportunity to take a nip of wine as he worked, thought Orin.

While the group scurried around, Nikolai sat in a chair watching Orin. He was obviously glad to be free but seemed worn out by the excitement.

The group gathered together in the downstairs. The smell of oil assaulted their noses and made them a little lightheaded.

"Everyone ready?" asked Orin. They all nodded agreement. "Then I will be the last one out. Act like we belong here."

They walked out of the door single file. Ariston, Alexei and Kyri were dressed as guards. Syndylys wore a guard's tabard but no armor underneath. Chronos was dressed as Paurillian and Chae was trying his best Menelaus impersonation. The Halfling, the only one still in his normal clothes, took one last look back then threw his lit lantern into the room and shut the door. He heard it shatter and then a small "whooomp" noise as the fire took hold.

Quickly and with purpose, the group walked around the tower and headed for the main gates into the inner fortress. No one challenged them but people were everywhere. Without showing emotion, they crossed a darkly stained patch of ground where the Ogre had met his demise. Someone had already dragged off his corpse.

They arrived at the main gates which stood more than eighteen feet high. Banded wood and covered in pitch to make them resistant to burning, the gates loomed imperviously. However, there was a small door cut into the left hand side gate. A bell was attached to the gate and a small rope hung from it. In the small door was another sliding peephole, like the one in the tower door.

Ariston pulled on the thin rope attached to the bell and stood back. Kyri kept looking back over her shoulder, wondering when the tower would explode in flames. It did not but a faint twist of smoke was coming out of the open trap door. No one in the courtyard had yet seen it.

After a long minute, the little sliding door opened. "Yeah, what do you want?" a gruff voice said from the other side. "Oh, beggin' my pardon, lieutenant. What do you need?"

Ariston stood a little taller and deepened his voice. "Open this door right away. The troublemakers have gotten into the wizard's tower. Already the inside is aflame but I believe we have them trapped. I must report to Aurelian."

"Right away, sir!"

"That was too easy," mumbled Ariston. He looked back at the group. Though he had escaped injury, he worried that if they faced too many more encounters between here and the Eye of Traldar, they would all perish. All but him had received the blessings from their healing staff meaning that they could not receive it again until after the sun rose again. He said a little prayer to Ilsundal in his head. It could not hurt.

The group could hear several locks and bars being moved on the other side of the gate. Slowly the door opened and they saw a single guard, dressed in leather armor and wearing the double headed Black Eagle tabard most of them were also wearing. He seemed disinterested in the party, barely managing a salute to Ariston. "We were told to watch the gate in case those troublemakers came this way. Aurelian is afraid of them I think. He is making a ruckus over in the Watch House." The guard pointed towards a slightly ajar door a ways away from them. "If you want to talk to him, he is with the Captain. We will be here in the guard house if you need us." With that the soldier saluted Ariston and walked away. He entered a door and closed it behind him.

Alone in yet another courtyard, the group looked around. The ground was dirt and the area was open to the sky. The enclosed area was perhaps thirty to forty feet square. Another pair of eighteen foot high gates opposed the ones through which they had entered. Two solid wooden doors were on the other two sides. One was now closed since the guard had returned to whatever activity lay on the other side. The other was again, slightly ajar. The group quietly moved towards that door and as they approached, they could hear two men arguing.

A slightly nasal and whiny voice was strenuously making a point, "This is too dangerous! Just because there are a few troublemakers in the place . . ."

He was interrupted by a much gruffer and sarcastic voice, "Just a few but they've accounted for enough of my men and we don't know where they are. I had to send some troops into the city to find the escapees they let go so we don't have a lot of people to waste on protecting you. I don't care what you think. You're no soldier and I am not going to be to blame for losing you or that thing. If it gets lost or stolen, I am for the high jump. By sending you out to meet the Baron, you'll get that thing to that cold blooded swine Bargle in half the time. And you can deliver these strategic plans to the Baron a day early in the bargain."

The other man was still protesting, "Please, Tiberian. Sending me out on the road, even with an escort, is absurd. I demand to be taken to the Obsidian Tower for safety. I will await my master there."

There was a guttural laugh then the other man's voice could be heard again, "Once you're out of here, you're not my problem and I have enough problems. For all I know they are in your lab tower now. We have not seen Lieutenant Aenolas for some time. Surely he would have gathered your things by now. Anyway, there's five good men here now and another 20 when my orders get to that idiot Julianus. Just wait a few minutes."

The two voices continued arguing along the same lines but the party had turned away their attention and huddled together to plan their next moves.

"Well, I am not sticking around to wait for twenty more soldiers," Orin stated.

The group nodded their agreement. "Let's just go in and take them out," said Chae. There aren't that many of them.

"No, let's act as if we are the escort then we can get the Eye from the mage when we have him alone," Ariston suggested. Kyri nodded her agreement with that plan but Syndylys looked skeptical.

"If they follow us they will surely discover that we are not the escort then we will be stuck in this courtyard with an unknown number of attackers on both sides." He motioned towards the door where the guard had disappeared.

"I am going to scout it out. Maybe I can get the Eye without them noticing me if I use this," Orin held up the potion of invisibility that Nikolai had identified.

"Chae and I will distract them as you go in," said Ariston as he sheathed his sword. "Everyone else stay here."

The Hin took the silver vial from his pocket and removed the stopper. All in one gulp, he swallowed the liquid which was tasteless and seemed almost without volume. Everyone looked at him and waited. It did not take long before he seemed to be fading out of sight. He became transparent first then with a blink was gone. Chae laughed. "Now that's a nice trick."

"Okay," said Orin's incorporeal voice. "Open the door and I will go in right in front of you, Ariston."

The Forestor did as instructed, waited a second to give the Halfling time to move into the room, then strode in like he belonged there. He could see the room was filled with four bunk beds and in the center of it all stood seven men. Four were dressed like most of the other guards they had seen: leather armor covered by the double headed Black Eagle tabard. One of them had a crossbow and the others had short swords. Ahead of them but faced away was a large man in chainmail who carried a shield. Facing him were two last men. The first was a short man in leather armor but no tabard. A short sword hung at his waist. His face was almost too plain; he was an every man who would meld into any situation without being noticed.

The second man could only be Aurelian as he was wearing a yellow robe and a black cloak with no visible weapon. A heavy silver chain hung around his neck and a platinum brooch served as a clasp for his cloak. But most striking to Ariston was the man's face. He had dark brown hair and a shortly cropped beard. From here, he looked like the man who had blinded him in Radlebb but he could not be totally sure. There was something different about him. However, the resemblance made Ariston pause and the other men in the room turned towards him.

"Yes?" asked the big man in chainmail.

Ariston shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sir, you sent for us. We are here to escort the wizard."

The leather armored man in back turned suddenly with a quizzical look on his face. Ariston and Chae pretended not to notice.

Aurelian looked Ariston and Chae up and down. "Tiberian, I still disagree with this decision."

"Shut your yap," the man in chainmail said. "Get that box and get ready to get out of my sight . . . good riddance." That last part was mumbled but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Wait." Tiberian tilted his head and inspected Ariston and Chae. "There are supposed to be twenty of you. And lieutenant, I have never seen you before. Where is Julianus and who are you?"

"Julianus sent us," came Ariston's reply but it happened at the same time as Chae's movement. The rogue unsheathed his sword and sliced the stomach of the man in front of him, all in one fluid movement. Everyone, including Ariston looked on in shock as the man grabbed his belly and tried to keep the blood from gushing out.

"What the . . ." started Tiberian but he was interrupted by Alexei walking in and pointing at him. "Who are you?" said Alexei.

"Huh?" said the Watch Captain. He went from shocked to confused. "Attack that soldier!" He said, pointing to Chae.

Alexei moved further into the room and started to run between the beds and the wall. Tiberian was still pointing towards Chae but the Rogue was busy taking another swipe at the guard in front of him. Ariston shrugged and drew his sword, trying to kill the guard in front of him. He hit but with little damage.

In the open doorway, the Cleric appeared and pointed at one of the guards. "Who are you?" Chronos asked.

The guard paused in mid swing and looked back at Tiberian. The Captain yelled, "Don't be confused, kill him before they kill us all!"

The crossbowman sent a bolt towards the newly arrived priest but Chronos deftly stepped out of the way and behind one of the bunks. The bolt stuck into the wall behind him.

Chae and Ariston continued to battle the guards at the door but stepped out of the way for Kyri to get a clear shot with her bow. They were glad they did as her first arrow whistled close to their eyes but embedded itself in the neck of the guard with the crossbow. He flew backwards before crumpling into an unmoving heap.

Chae blinked and stopped short. Where there had been one Aurelian, now stood four versions of the mage. All four of the images laughed hideously.

Meanwhile, outside the room, four guards ran up to those still outside. Seeing Syndylys in a guard's uniform, they did not attack him but they did swing at Nikolai. The old man staggered and tried to avoid their blows.

"Wait! Wait! Leave him alone. The enemies are in the room!" Syndylys shouted at the four guards and tried to shield Nikolai. They sheepishly helped pick the injured man up from the ground, dusted him off then turned to enter the room.

The last one in line was quietly (and thankfully unnoticed by the lead three guards), stuck in the back of the neck by one of Syndylys' thrown daggers. He gurgled and stumbled into the dirt floor.

Seeing the guards enter, Chronos pushed one of the bunk beds over onto the first guard. The metal frame of the top bunk banged into his skull and knocked him sprawling onto the floor. The sheets from that bunk floated seemingly in slow motion as it covered his now unconscious body. Nimbly, the second guard escaped his comrade's fate and just barely jumped out of the way.

Seeing the success of the cleric, Alexei too tried to tip the bed and aimed his for Tiberian. Unfortunately, the focus of his push was too low and he scooted the bed but it did not tip over.

Kyri had stepped closer into the room and was a ways away from the two remaining guards. She sent an arrow whistling at close range into the lead one and though he had avoided the bed, he did not avoid her bowshot. The arrow sunk almost to the feathers into his chest. He dropped his sword as he was knocked back, tumbling over the bed that covered his compatriot.

The scene in the room was chaotic as the group and the guards fought ferociously. No one showed any sign of retreat. But the party whittled down the guards until only Tiberian, Aurelian and the Slaver were left. Many fell victim to multiple magical red arrows shot by Nikolai from his hands. The normally kindly old sage was vengeful.

In the fight, Orin had been spotted by the man in leather armor. Despite the Halfling's best efforts, it had become necessary to fight both one of the mage's images and then the man in leather armor. Now, being fully engaged, the man had turned his back on the rest of the fight. That was his fatal flaw. Ariston, having switched to his bow, sent to well placed arrows into the man's spine. Both dug deep and paralyzed him. Orin was not sure he was dead but it was clear that he would never fight again.

The mirror images of Aurelian had also been dispatched; most notably by a cleverly used unseen hand cast by Syndylys to cover the one closest to a bunk bed. With only one left, and enemies on all sides, Aurelian did not see the Rogue behind him. Taking careful aim, Chae drove his long sword into the mage's back, a sickening crunch almost stopping his hand as the blade sliced through the spinal column. With just a slight exhalation of breath, Aurelian was dead and slid clumsily off of the sword, onto the floor.

At this point, Tiberian knew he was helplessly outnumbered but also knew that he was a dead man either way. Bargle would kill him for not keeping his apprentice safe and the Baron would kill him for losing both the Eye of Traldar and his battle plans. There was only one hope, fight long enough to have reinforcements arrive. He pressed his attack on Alexei, forcing the large man backwards.

Now clear of the man in leather, Orin dove through the nearby bunk bed and tried to tackle Tiberian. His attack missed but threw the Captain off balance. Given that break, Alexei advanced and with a quick sideways swipe, knock the captain's helmet from his head. With the helmet however, was the top of the captain's skull and the brain beneath. Blood spattered over the crouched Halfling and the soldier toppled backwards from the blow.

The fight was finally over and it became eerily quiet. The group quickly summed themselves up to make sure no one in the party was dead.

Okay, let's find out what is in the box, Orin." Chae was cleaning his sword and looking at the Halfling.

"Do it quickly," said Syndylys. Those twenty soldiers cannot be far off. He was still tending to Nikolai's wounds.

"What happened to the tower?" Kyri asked. "I would have thought it would explode with all of that oil in there."

Just then, they heard a muffled boom in the distance. Unmistakably, the tow had become fully engaged and the stone and wood were bursting under the heat. Kyri smiled grimly. "Let's gather this stuff and get out of here" she said.

*****

"Ah!" exclaimed Kyri. "There is always one."

"What is it?" asked Alexei. He was not much of a horse expert though he did know how to ride. The group had fled from the gatehouse to the stables and was looking for mounts to help them leave the fortress. With the explosion of the tower, soldiers were crawling all over the place looking for the invaders. They had slipped by the twenty reinforcements, just as the party had finished hiding the carnage in the gatehouse.

"I was looking for a black horse and here is one. She's no Elven pony but she will do for the ride back to Luln. Won't you girl?" The Elf patted the side of the horse and spoke gently to her while she placed a blanket and saddle on. Carefully, she then tied another horse to the pommel using a bit of rope she saw laying on the ground. This one was another mare, gray but spotted with black. Her black horse appeared as calm as deep water and black as night. Kyri eased on top and the horse barely moved.

"See? Perfect."

The others had found steeds as well and were ready to ride out. All except Orin who was too short to ride one. He had been opening the stall doors and now was standing in the middle of the stables, lightly swinging another lantern.

"Can I ride with someone? It seems these are larger than my usual steeds."

"Hop on, Orin." Chae steered his horse closer but the horse did not like the lantern.

"Okay. Get ready to ride!" The Halfling climbed on in front of Chae then threw the lantern into the far corner. The lamp broke and instantly flames were licking their way up the wall.

Collectively, the horses gave snorts and moved away from the fire. The ones still in corrals saw the fire and burst out. "Let's ride!" shouted Alexei and the party steered their horses through the front doors of the stable. They were quickly followed by the unclaimed ones, all breaking for full speed.

"Hey! What are you . . . Oh . . . don't run over me!" The lone stable boy leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding being stampeded.

Without hesitation, the group rode to the gates. They called for them to be open in the name of the Baron and stated they had orders to secure the city. There was so much confusion that no one challenged them. Riding through the city, the group never looked back. They went unchallenged at the Main Gates (they were still wearing the uniforms of the Black Eagle Barony) and escaped into the countryside. They rode at full gallop for as long as they dare push their mounts then stopped beside the marker that told them they had indeed left the Barony.

Resting their horses by a little stream, they removed the guard uniforms and bound their wounds. Finally, they turned to the wooden box and examined the Eye. It was a yellow-orange gem, the size of a large hen's egg, mounted in a dragon's claw setting fashioned from toughened reddish gold. It did not look like an eye at all but was oblong like and egg. A slight glow came from it which slightly illuminated the darkness of the wooden box.

"It is not what I expected," said Orin.

The Forestor edged closer, "are you sure that is it?"

Alexei shrugged. "I thought it was going to be green and look like a cat's eye."

"That has to be it. I can feel its power from where I stand," asserted Syndylys "and perhaps Nikolai, you can give me some guidance. You stated that its power varies from mage to mage."

"There is not too much more to add to what I have already told you. This is the Eye of Traldar and it is powerful in the ways of detection." The old man coughed. He was still recovering from the short beating he received from the soldiers. "However, I do not think it wise to hold on to this item, despite its powers. It belongs to the Seer of the Lake of Lost Dreams so it is rightly his. He and his forbears have protected since the days of Petra and Halav. Also, surely, those who have had it recently will again attempt to claim it and woe to the one who holds it when they come calling."

"The man has a point," grinned Orin.

"Besides, it is the honorable thing to do," spoke both Chronos and Alexei.

The Elf spoke, "Then it is settled. We will make for the Sage after seeing Alexei's friends in Luln. Perhaps also, this Sascia of Luln can give us assistance."

With that, the group saddled up and began their ride again.

*****