Mortalis

by R. A. Salvatore

Chapter 9 The Enduring Gift of Bestesbulzibar

  The day was hot, brutally so, but at least the incessant rains that had so filled the spring and early summer now seemed to be burned away by the brilliant sunshine. Master Francis, his robes flung as wide as he could get them, would have welcomed rain this day, anything to wash the stickiness from his weary body. He had made the seventy-or-so-mile journey from St. -Mere-Abelle to St. Precious in a couple of days, with magical assistance, but the return trip had been marked by one problem after another. With his escorts, Francis had stopped in Amvoy on the Masur Delaval to gather supplies; but in that small sister city of Palmaris, they had encountered too much misery to ignore, including a group of people wounded in a skirmish with a band of goblins still running wild in the eastern reaches, as well as a little boy who had been kicked by a horse. At Francis' insistence, and over the protests of a couple of the older brothers, the group had spent nearly two weeks in Amvoy, working with their few hematite soul stones to aid anyone in need-and it seemed as if the entire town had come to them!

  Now, finally, they were on the road again, but not on a direct route toward St. -Mere-Abelle but rather heading southeast, toward a small hamlet named Davon Dinnishire-a settlement of hardy people who had come south from Vanguard. The remnants of a goblin band had been spotted lurking in the forests near the place, and, though word had gone out to those soldiers hunting the monsters, Francis had learned that none were available to go to the support of Davon Dinnishire.

  "It is not our affair," one young brother, Julius, argued. "We have been entrusted with coordinating the College of Abbots at St. -Mere-Abelle, yet we tarry with the business of the military. " Master Francis fixed Brother Julius with a sympathetic expression, and a helpless smile. "Once I walked as you now walk," he said to the young brother, loudly enough for all of those near to him to hear. "Once I walked with the pride that I-that the Church and thus anyone associated with itwas somehow above the common man. "

  Julius seemed perplexed by the statement and completely off his guard.

  " It took the death of Father Abbot Markwart, the destruction of the evil that the man had become-"

  "Master Francis!" another of the group interrupted.

  Francis smiled again and held up his hand to silence the murmuring of the astonished brothers.

  "To go now straight to St. -Mere-Abelle, though we know Davon Dinnishire is in dire need, would be an act of sin, plain and without argument," Francis stated. "It would be a course that the younger and less wise Francis Dellacourt, betrayed by the edicts of Father Abbot Markwart, would surely have followed.

  "I am wiser now, my young friend," Francis finished. "I do not speak with God, but I believe now that I better understand the path our faith asks us to walk. And that path now is to Davon Dinnishire. " Another of the group started to question that, but Francis cut him short. "I am the only master in the group," he reminded them. "I have served as bishop ofPalmaris and as abbot of St. Precious. I walked beside the Father Abbot for many months. This is not an issue I plan to debate with you, Brother Julius, or with any of you," he said, glancing around at all the monks.

  There was only a bit of grumbling behind him as he started down the southeastern road once more.

  Master Francis walked with honest convictions and a purposeful stride, He did wince once, though, when he heard Brother Julius whisper to another brother that Francis was only delaying because he feared to return to St. -Mere-Abelle and face stern Master Bou-raiy, who would not be pleased at all about the events in Palmaris from the fall of Father Abbot Markwart to the present. There was a grain of truth in that statement, Francis had to admit.

  Soon enough, the monks came to the walled village of Davon Dinnishire, running the last mile, using a rising plume of black smoke to guide them. They were somewhat relieved to find that the village had not been completely destroyed. The villagers were forming bucket lines to try to put out the flames.

  "Who leads here? " Francis demanded of the first woman he could stop,

  The old peasant pointed to a young, strong man of about thirty winters, with reddish brown hair and a full beard, thick arms and a barrel chest, and intense gray eyes that flashed like embers flaring to life every time he barked an order at one of the nearby villagers. Francis hurried over to him. The villager's gray eyes widened when he recognized the approaching man as an Abellican monk. "I am Master Francis of St. -Mere-Abelle," he introduced himself. "We will help where we may. "

  "A pity ye wasn't here this morn," the man replied. "If ye'd helped our fight with them goblins, we'd not have so many squirming with pain, and not so many fires to douse. Laird Dinnishire, I am-Maladance Dinnishire o' the Davon Dinnishire clan. " He held out his hand, and Francis took it and shook it firmly, but turned back as he did and ordered his monks to get to work.

  "The wounded first," Francis instructed, "then go and help with the fires. "

  "Did ye see the goblins?" Maladance Dinnishire asked. "Somewhere between two and three score run off, by last count. " "And how many came against you? " asked Francis. "Not many more than that," the laird admitted. "We weren't to run out after them, and they stayed back, throwing fiery arrows and running up to launch their spears. We killed a few, and hurt a few more, but they were just testing our mettle, so to speak. " "They will return," Francis reasoned.

  "Likely this same night," Maladance agreed. "Goblins're likin' the dark. But don't ye worry, Master Francis. If they're tryin' to get over our wall, they're dyin' tryin'!"

  Francis didn't doubt the town's resolve or strength, for he understood that many of the towns in this region had been badly set upon during the months of the demon war. Many enemy forces had landed along the gulf coast, part of an assault force that had set its eyes upon the greatest prize in all the kingdom: St. -Mere-Abelle. But then the demon dactyl had been destroyed and the monstrous army had lost its coordination. The attack upon St. -Mere-Abelle had utterly failed and, since the powrie fleet had been mostly destroyed and the rest had sailed off, those goblins and powries already on the land had been left with no escape from the region, running off in small marauding bands.

  So these townsfolk, farmers mostly, had seen some fighting, he knew. But he knew, too, that even if they fought valiantly, they would suffer further losses, perhaps heavy losses, against so many goblin warriors.

  Francis went to work, helping the wounded and fighting the fires. When he was done, some three hours later, the sun was beginning its western descent. He called together those of his brethren he could find, all but a couple still tending the wounded and the ill. All of the monks were drenched in sweat and covered in soot, eyes red from smoke and hands blistered from running with heavy, water-filled buckets. "Gather your strength, both physical and magical," Master Francis bade them. "The goblins mean to return this night, but we will go out and find them where they camp. "

  That widened some eyes!

  "We are eighteen brothers of St. -Mere-Abelle, trained in fighting and in magic," Francis said.

  "We've one offensive gemstone," Brother Julius, who had become somewhat of a spokesman for the rest of the group, interjected, "a single graphite. "

  "Enough to blind and confuse our enemies that we might spring upon them," Francis remarked with a sly grin.

  "You are beginning to sound much like Master De'Unnero," Brother Julius remarked, and his tone showed that he spoke somewhat in jest. But Francis didn't take the comparison that way at all and scowled fiercely at the younger man.

  "We have a responsibility to these people," he declared, "to all people who are in need. "

  As he finished, there came a tumult from down the lane. The brothers turned and saw a monk crashing out of the door of a peasant hovel, stripping off his robes as he ran full speed for the group. "Master Francis!" he called repeatedly. By the time he reached the group, he was wearing only his short cotton underclothing, and to the amazement of the other monks, he grabbed up one bucket of water a
nd doused himself.

  "Brother Cranston!" Francis scolded. "We are all uncomfortable in the heat-"

  "Rosy plague!" Cranston replied desperately. "In that house . . . a woman . . . already dead. "

  Francis rushed over and grabbed the man, shaking him. "Rosy plague?" he asked breathlessly. "Are you sure, brother?"

  "Red spots with white rings all about her body," Brother Cranston replied. "Her eyes were sunken and bruised, and she had bled from her gums and her eyes, I could see. Oh, but she rotted away!"

  Brother Julius came up to Francis and dropped a heavy hand on the master's shoulder. "We must be far from this place at once," he said gravely. Behind him, Francis heard another mutter, "Better that the goblins come back and burn the whole town to the ground. "

  Francis wanted to shout at the brother, to shove Julius and his words far aside. But he could not dismiss any of the remarks. The rosy plague! The scourge of Honce-the-Bear. Francis' primary duties at St. -Mere-Abelle for years had been as a historian, and so he knew, better than any, the truth of the rosy plague. It had first occurred in God's Year 412, devastating the southern reaches of the kingdom. One in seven had died, according to the records. One in seven. And in Yorkey that number had been closer to one in four. And yet the plague that had occurred the following century, from 517 to 529, had been even more virulent, devastating the Mantis Arm and spreading across the Gulf of Corona to Vanguard. Ursal had been particularly hard hit. Afterward the record keepers of the day, Abellican monks mostly, had put the death toll at one in three-some had even claimed that half the population of Honce-the-Bear had fallen.

  The rosy plague!

  How vulnerable Honce-the-Bear would have been then to invasion by Behren, to the south, except that Behren had not been spared either. Francis, of course, had no records of the death toll in that southern kingdom, but many of the accounts he had read had claimed that the Behrenese had suffered even more than the folk of Honce-the-Bear. Now the kingdom was even more thickly populated than it had been before the 517 plague, Francis knew. And now, given the war, the kingdom was even less prepared to handle such a disaster.

  So even though Master Francis Dellacourt-the enlightened monk who had learned the truth of Father Abbot Markwart and of the heroes he had once considered enemies, had turned his life down a different road, a road of compassion and of service-wanted to yell against the callous remarks of his brethren, he could not find the strength to do so. Not in that terribly shocking moment, not in the face of the threat of the rosy plague!

  But first he had to go and see. He had read the descriptions of the disease, had seen artists' renderings of the victims. Several times since 529, there had been reports of the plague, but they had proven either to be minor outbreaks or simply the mistaken claims of desperate people. He bade his brethren to stay there, except for a pair he sent in search of the three stillmissing brethren, and then Master Francis gathered up his strength and strode determinedly toward the hovel at the end of the lane.

  He heard weeping and found a pair of children within, looking haggard and afraid. He brushed past them and through a curtain, and there she lay.

  Ring around the rosy, Gather bowls of posies

  Burn the clothes

  And dig the holes And cover us with dirt.

  It was the first verse of an old children's song, a poem that had been penned sometime around God's Year 412, a song of the attempts to ward off the killer plague by diminishing the rotting stench of its victims with flowers, a song that told the honest truth for those who contracted the illness. " 'And cover us with dirt,' " Francis whispered. "Get out! Get out!" he yelled at the children. "Out and far away from here. You can do nothing for your mother now. Get out!" He chased the weeping children out before him into the lane; and several townsfolk, Laird Dinnishire among them, came over.

  "My brethren and I will go out after the goblins," Francis explained to him. "With luck, they will not return to your town. "

  "What's wrong in the house?" the concerned laird asked.

  Francis looked at the hovel. "Burn it," he instructed.

  "What?"

  "Burn it to the ground," Francis declared, fixing the man with a determined stare, "at once. "

  "Ye can'no-"

  "Burn it!" Francis interrupted. "You must trust me, Laird Dinnishire, I beg of you. No one is to enter. "

  The laird stared at him incredulously, and those behind Dinnishire shook their heads and mumbled.

  Francis took the laird by the arm and pulled him aside. And then he explained to the man, plainly and honestly, that the goblins were not the worst of their troubles this hot summer day.

  "Ye canno' be sure," Dinnishire protested.

  "I am not," Francis lied, for he did not want to start a panic, and forewarning, beyond burning the house, would do the folk ofDavon Dinnishire little good. "But are we to risk the chance that I am right? The woman is dead, and her husband and children-"

  "Husband's been dead two years now," Laird Dinnishire explained. "Killed in a powrie fight. "

  "Then the children must be taken in elsewhere. Burn the house to its foundation, and then you, and another one or two you can trust, must go and clear the remains of the house and of the dead woman. "

  Laird Dinnishire stared at him.

  "I beg of you, Laird Dinnishire," Francis said solemnly.

  "Ye'll keep them goblins off us? " the man asked.

  Francis nodded, then went back and gathered up his brethren; and out they went, on the hunt for goblins.

  As soon as they reached the trees beyond the farms immediately surrounding Davon Dinnishire, Francis set the group into a defensive formation. Not wanting to diminish his own magical energies any more than he already had done with his efforts in healing the injured townsfolk, he gave the finest hematite to Brother Julius and bade the monk to spirit-walk to search for the goblins.

  Julius was dumfounded. He had attempted only one spirit-walk in his years at St. -Mere-Abelle, and that had not gone well-the monk unintentionally had tried to inhabit the body of another nearby student. "I am not so good at such a task," he admitted. Francis nodded, for he understood well the man's trepidation. Markwart, Avelyn, and Jilseponie had all taken gemstone use to a higher level, where such feats as spirit-walking seemed almost routine. Francis, too, had learned much in his days beside the Father Abbot, and he had forgotten how daunting spirit-walking could be. And how dangerous. He took back the gemstone, then, regretting that he would be using even more of his magical energies, and set off out of body, rushing through the trees, across the small river, and over the wide bluffs.

  He found the goblin band almost immediately and counted their number at only thirty. He stayed with them only a few seconds, to get a feel for their organization and readiness, then headed back, taking a circuitous route, which confirmed his suspicions that the rest of the group-another score, perhaps-was spread out among the trees.

  "They have done well in choosing and setting up their encampment," Francis explained when he returned to his brethren. Before the details of the terrain were lost from his memory, he bent down and sketched out a rough map in the dirt. "We'll not get anywhere close to the goblins without being noticed. "

  "Let us turn for St. -Mere-Abelle, then," Brother Julius started to say, but Francis cut him short with an angry glare.

  "We need not go to them," Francis went on. "I doubt that they expect any trouble from the townsfolk-it seems more reasonable that they believe the people of Davon Dinnishire will await the next attack from behind the walls of their village. To get back there, the goblins will likely take this route. " He indicated the fairly obvious path on his map. "Let us prepare a section of that same path for their march. "

  The monks headed out at once, coming to a stretch of wide-limbed maples, with a clear and easily traveled path beneath that Francis reasoned the goblins would take, not expecting any ambush. Francis took a good, long look at the area. N
ever had he been much of a tactician, but rather more of a political animal.

  "If I may, Master Francis," said Brother Julius, apparently noting that the man was at a loss. "We put everyone up in the trees, except you, who will travel to the far end with the graphite. Those of us carrying crossbows will arm the weapons. " He glanced around and nodded, for more than half the monks did carry crossbows. "The rest will sharpen a stick to use as a spear or take as large a stone as they can carry up into the boughs with them.

  "You come out first, reacting to a predetermined event, such as the lead goblins passing a specific tree," Brother Julius went on. The other monks nodded, for they knew Julius had fought with Master De'Unnero, the finest of tacticians, on several occasions, including during the almost legendary slaughter of powries at St. -Mere-Abelle's lower dock gates. "We will expect the flash, and so we will cover our eyes, and then . . . " He paused and smiled grimly, and it seemed to everyone, even to Francis, that Julius-now that he wasn't going to get his way concerning the return to St. -MereAbelle-had put his heart into the fight.

  A good student of De'Unnero, Francis noted, with just the right attitude.

  Soon after, the monks were all in place, settled on their branches, with Francis farther down the lane, behind a large tree.

  The minutes became an hour, became two and then two more. Though he was growing as impatient as any, Francis was glad of the delay, of the rest, that he might recover more and more of his magical energies. He didn't really believe that he would kill many goblins with his lightning bolt, but the stronger the flash, the more likely a solid and quick victory.

  The sun went below the western horizon, and still the forest remained quiet. Francis understood that the goblins would gain an advantage in the dark, for the night was their favored time, so he was relieved to see Sheila, Corona's bright moon, nearly full, rising in the dark sky.

  Still they waited-and Francis hoped that the other brothers remained awake!

  And then he nearly jumped out of his boots, for a goblin slipped quietly past him, moving from tree to tree. Francis resisted the urge to chase the creature, understanding that this was a lead scout and that any noise from him would likely ruin their ambush. He took careful note of the goblin's movements, though, for he expected that he would see that one again all too soon.

  Soon after, there came a rustling down the trail, and Francis saw the dark forms, trotting easily, crossing the maple grove.

  The master took a deep breath, rubbing his hands along the graphite, finding his heart. He harbored no doubt about the course of his actions; he merely feared that he would not be strong enough to see his brothers through this fight, that they would all die out here on the road with so many important messages, of the future of the Church and of the threat of plague, yet to deliver.

  In any case, it was too late to change his mind or his plans, Francis deliberately told himself, and so he crouched and focused on the leading goblins, waiting until they reached the appointed spot.

  Out jumped Francis, falling to one knee and holding forth the graphite, calling out a single time-the signal for his brothers to shield their eyesand letting loose a sizzling blast of white energy, a lightning bolt that charred three of the first five goblins, dropping the next bunch writhing to the ground, and stealing the vision of all for the moment-a moment long enough for the Abellican brothers to fire their crossbows and throw their stones and spears down upon the confused monsters, then to leap down to the ground and begin the wild melee-elbows, feet, and fists flying savagely. And what a rout it seemed, with goblins falling, scrambling, shrieking, and ducking! For a moment, Francis thought the day would be won without damage to his brethren. And indeed, before the first two minutes of fighting had passed, a score and more of the goblins were down, with another score running haphazardly into the cover of the forest.

  Francis called out rudimentary commands-cheers more than ordersand he leaped about, graphite in hand, his blood coursing fiercely, his heart pumping furiously, and in that heightened state of energy, confident that he could loose another equally powerful blast of lightning.

  Maybe he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, or perhaps it was just a result of his heightened sense of awareness, but he sensed a movement behind him and spun about, just as the goblin who had earlier passed this spot thrust its spear at his chest. Francis gave a cry of surprise and fear and had no time to do anything but dive aside. He felt the spear tip slash, slip in, and bang against his rib. Had the goblin been carrying a better weapon, that would have been the sudden end of Master Francis Deliacourt. But the meager spear deflected off the rib and tore a longer but more superficial line as it came out along the side of Francis' chest, lodging in the folds of his thick robe instead of into his flesh.

  Francis staggered to his feet, aware that the spear was at his side and that the goblin was no longer holding it. But the vicious little creature was coming fast in pursuit, yellow teeth bared.

  Francis didn't try to extract the spear, but shrugged off his robe, dropping it-the weapon with it-to the ground. He brought his left arm into a defensive position before him, then drove his right arm to block and push aside the goblin's first attack. The wretched little creature snarled and drooled, its tongue hanging out of its mouth; and it hardly reacted to the sudden movement as Francis snap-kicked it under the chin, driving its jaws together and nipping off the tip of that pointy little tongue.

  The dazed creature staggered backward two steps, and Francis, well trained in the arts martial at St. -Mere-Abelle, came on to take the advantage, pushing aside the skinny goblin's arms, then snapping off a left jab into the creature's face, once and then again. The goblin staggered backward, and Francis fell over it, bearing it heavily to the ground beneath him.

  The goblin bit hard into his shoulder, but Francis got his hands around the thing's neck and squeezed with all his strength. It seemed to Francis to last an hour-an hour of fiery pain from the goblin's bite and of horror as the thing squirmed pitifully in his unyielding grasp, arms flailing.

  And then it lay still, very still; and even in the moonlight, Francis could see the blackness of death that had come over its face.

  Reminding himself that there was still a battle being waged behind him, that other goblins even then might be running at him with cruel spears, Francis wrenched himself away and staggered to his feet. He saw then that his brethren had performed well, that many goblins were down, and that any of those still near the monks, who had formed into a tight defensive circle, had no chance of gaining any advantage.

  But those goblins who had run off had not gone far, Francis saw to his horror. At the left flank, a substantial group of goblins was approaching, spears up and ready to fly.

  Francis dove down for his robe, scrambling for the pocket. A moment later, he lifted his hand and reached into the graphite gemstone, calling forth its power. The volley of spears flew in-he heard the cries of his brethren-and the lightning stroke fired off, dropping several more goblins, stunning several others.

  On came the Abellican monks, leaping into the goblin ranks, punishing them in close combat with strength and skills no goblin could match.

  Francis moved to join the fighting, but found his legs weak beneath him, and when he reached down to feel his chest, his hand came back covered in blood. He was on the ground then, suddenly, alone and vulnerable and expecting another goblin to come up and skewer him.

  But then he heard Brother Julius call out his name; and a horde of monks gathered about him, defending him.

  Francis reached up and gave Julius the graphite. "Crossbows," he managed to gasp.

  The remaining goblins regrouped and came back at the defending monks, but their barrage of spears was met by another blast of lightning and by a volley of more deadly crossbow quarrels. Those surviving goblins ran, scattered, into the forest night.

  "How many?" Francis demanded of Julius shordy after.

  "Re
st, master," Julius replied. "You will be tended by bandage and by gemstone, and will feel stronger in the morning. "

  "How many?" came the determined question a second time.

  "We have downed nearly two score," Julius answered. "They will all be killed, and those remaining have fled without organization and should pose no further threat to Davon Dinnishire. "

  Francis grabbed Julius by the front of his robe and pulled himself up, so that their faces nearly touched. "How many?" Francis growled.

  "Six," Brother Julius replied gravely. "Six are dead, master, and several wounded. We must begin the healing at once. "

  Francis held the grip for a moment longer, then sank back to the ground. Six brothers killed in a battle that he could have avoided. Master Francis felt breathless, and it had nothing to do with the wound in his side.

  He spent a long while-perhaps an hour, perhaps two-lying there, in and out of consciousness, as the other brothers tended his wound with bandages and soul stones. When finally he awoke fully, he learned that another brother had died. More than a third of his force. Francis took little comfort in the fact that the number of goblin dead was much more substantial, being consoled only because he knew that he and his brethren had saved Davon Dinnishire from any further attackshad, for the most part, put an end to this rogue band's troublemaking. He made his slow way about the impromptu encampment, checking on the wounded. Though no anger seemed to be directed specifically his way, he was perceptive enough to understand that more than a few brothers were questioning his wisdom in pursuing this goblin band-queries that, Francis suspected, would be repeated, more forcefully, once he and his companions reached St. -Mere-Abelle.

  "Prepare for the road, and we take the dead with us," Francis instructed Brother Julius.

  "Straight to St. -Mere-Abelle this time? " Julius asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

  Francis glared at him and nodded. "Have you searched the goblins?"

  Julius looked at him incredulously. "You expect that they carry treasure?" he asked with a snort. "Their boots were falling off their feet, so worn and decrepit were they. "

  "I want to know why they were still here," Francis clarified.

  "Because they found no escape from the kingdom," Brother Julius replied, rather loudly and sharply. "They, like all the bands still roving this region, were trapped here when the powrie fleet that initially brought them to these shores east of Palmaris was crushed at St. -Mere-Abelle. Where were they to run? "

  Francis stared hard at the man. He wasn't sure if Julius was openly second-guessing his decision to fight the monsters, or if the man was simply reeling from the losses. It didn't matter, Francis decided. Though his enemies within the Church might use this incident against him politically once he returned to St. -Mere-Abelle, he knew in his heart he had done right. As Master Jojonah had taken the all-important Barbacan caravan off its course to attack an even more substantial group of monsters for the sake of an Alpinadoran town, so Francis was bound to try to protect Davon Dinnishire.

  "Prepare them all for the road," Francis said evenly, not blinking and not backing down an inch. "To St. -Mere-Abelle. "

  Julius matched the master's stare for a long moment, but then nodded and began calling the camp to order.

  Francis, meanwhile, gathered up a burning branch from the small fire the brothers had built, and headed for the pile of goblin bodies. What was he expecting to find? he asked himself repeatedly. Treasure or information that would help him to justify his actions in pursuing this band? Some reward great enough to justify seven dead Abellican brothers?

  With anger wrought of guilt, Master Francis pushed among the liceridden corpses, kicking them aside. He found a few coins-a pair of gol'bears and some smaller coins-but nothing, as Julius had predicted, that seemed worth the effort of searching the creatures, let alone battling them in the first place. With a helpless sigh, Francis confirmed that the boots of those goblins who were wearing any were ragged things, likely stolen from humans but now worn to shabby pieces. He kicked at one boot, and it fell away, and Francis started to turn back toward his brothers.

  But then he noticed something on the goblin's now-exposed foot, and though the coloration was surely wrong-a yellowish blotch inside a circular scar-he recognized the pattern clearly.

  Francis bent down low, bringing his torch in for a closer look.

  "By God's good graces," he whispered, for he had just seen this same pattern, the pattern of the rosy plague, on the woman in the village. Only on this goblin, the scars seemed healed, as if the creature had overcome the disease. Francis checked the rest of the goblin's body-finding more such scars-then he searched others. To his astonishment, nearly half of the creatures showed remnants of what looked to him like the rosy plague. He would have to research this more closely when he returned to St. -MereAbelle, he told himself, to learn if these strange scars were similar to the marks the disease had left on the few human survivors of the plague.

  But Francis already had his answer, he believed, and as he followed his assumption along a logical path, he came to understand that the demon dactyl might now be waging another war upon the humans of Honce-theBear, a more subtle and more deadly war. Had the demon's minions brought with them the plague?

  Francis paused and took a deep and steadying breath, considering his next move carefully. Should he bring one of the infected goblins back to St. -Mere-Abelle? No, he decided almost immediately, fearing the consequences to his precious home if the creature was still spreading the plague. That same thought led him to an even more disturbing possibility: had he and the other brothers contracted the plague by battling the goblins?

  "We can check, with hematite," Francis muttered, needing to hear the reassuring words aloud. "We . . . no, the more powerful masters will search for signs when we return. "

  "What is it, Master Francis?" he heard Brother Julius ask from not so far away.

  Francis turned and faced the man squarely, but decided that sharing his disturbing fears at that moment might not be so wise a thing to do. "It is time, past time, for us to return to St. -Mere-Abelle," he answered.

  The younger brother nodded and turned away. "We are ready for the road," he announced.

  "Brother Julius," Francis called, and the monk turned back to look at him. "Your plan was an excellent one. Without it, the goblins would have overwhelmed us, or, had we left them, would have overwhelmed Davon Dinnishire. The blood of our dead brethren is not on your hands. I thought you should know that. "

  "I do, Master Francis," Julius replied in a more accusatory tone. "I do. " The monk turned and walked away, and for a moment, Francis entertained the thought of scolding him publicly for such impertinence. Just for a moment, though. Francis glanced back at the pile of diseased goblins and understood that he had more important issues to attend.