(Continued from Ch 23, A Queen Revealed)

The Chronicles of Rapina
Chapter 24, Southern Comfort 


Rapina's sixteenth birthday had passed in August without celebration during her first few weeks with Thane. She really had not thought to mention it. August and the summer were long gone now. The bean plants Rapina had put in, put out only one crop of green beans before the autumn frosts hit. Ironically, it was only with the help of Kent's searches of the isle at dawn and dusk that Rapina had been able to locate and lay in a supply of contraceptive herbs before the cold destroyed them. Rapina could not complain about how long the weather had stayed mild in the fall, but if Thane's abode had been cold before, the chill had deepened. Now there was no relief to be had by going up on the clifftops. A pervasive chill began to settle into Rapina's bones; her only respite from it was when she cooked meals in the kitchen. 

Ever since Thane returned from his trip he and Rames had been working very hard. Thane had supplies stacked both in a storage room and in the lab, and Rames was supervising the building of a secret laboratory wing. At least it was going to be secret once it was done. Thane had cut the secret door using magic, and one could hardly see the crack when it was closed, even from very close up. Rapina could faintly hear the picks and chisels of a multitude of skeletons in spite of the distance to the area behind the regular lab. They were working all day and all night. 

It had been her duty to unpack a hoard of regular laboratory furnishings. She was astounded at the money Thane must have spent - thousands of gold pieces. His laboratory went from the meager set-up of an impoverished herbalist to the state-of-the-art laboratory of a court wizard of a wealthy nobleman. He was even installing plumbing! Rapina assumed that Thane was funding his laboratory expansion with Red Jack's chest of gems. 

Meanwhile Thane himself had set aside one of the old laboratory rooms as a temporary facility for his advanced animations. He still spent a fair amount of time studying, but now he seemed to be doing quite a bit of praying and meditating in his chapel to create some sort of resinous goo in his font. Beyond that, he had a stone-bending spell that he was using to cut semi-cylindrical alcoves into the walls of the great hall. The radius of each alcove was about three feet. Rapina had asked him about the reason for the alcoves, but the response of Thane had been for her to wait and see. 

Rapina simply took care of the housework and read as many books as she could as fast as she could. She brought sparkles of pride to Thane's serious visage every time she showed her mental agility and rapidly expanding knowledge of magic. She was the acknowledged star of the magical discussions Thane held with his apprentices each afternoon after breakfast, although she never tried to show off. 

To his credit, Rames did not seem to mind. When he needed help understanding something, he went to Rapina first to see if she could help him work out a solution. Thane was nearly always too busy to be bothered. Thane had encouraged Rames to continue weapons practice after the magic lesson at the beginning of every weekday. Thus Rapina had less time each day, but now that she knew how to handle her skeletal servants and was no longer celibate, she was sharper than ever, and much happier. With the daily workouts, her body remained as strong and capable as it had been in the best days of her training under the pirates. 

About three weeks after Thane arrived home from his trip, Rapina was putting dinner on the table in the great hall. For some reason, Thane liked to eat there instead of the kitchen now that he had servants. Rapina would have preferred the kitchen. It was warmer because of the cook stove. The table in the great hall was much too long for the three residents of the isle. Thane sat at the head end closest to the kitchen while Rapina and Rames sat on either side of the table near him. Rames aready sat at his seat looking hungry. 

Rapina smiled at Guardian Rames. He was a killer like the pirates, but she knew his best side. He had continued to improve her skill with the rapier and was now teaching her how to defend herself without weapons. Rapina smirked to herself. She suspected that half the reason Rames was teaching her unarmed combat was so he could touch her more often. He usually made love to her every other day. She would have enjoyed having him more often, but she would not allow him to take her two days in a row. Her control was better now that she was no longer celibate but, ironically, in Thane's household she thought it wise to underscore the fact that she was not a normal woman. It was exactly the opposite of what she had needed to do with the pirates. Besides, Rames needed his rest or he might loose his vigor, and she very much enjoyed his vigor. 

At that moment, Guardian Thane appeared from the door to the parlor looking very pleased with himself. One of his skeletons set a cylinder of ceramic material into the alcove in the West wall across from the end of the table where the living residents of the isle sat to eat. Thane took off the glove with the fingertips cut out that he'd taken to wearing on his right hand when the weather turned cold. Both Rapina and Rames had taken similar measures. The cold was a miserable thing that seeped into a person's bones. Rapina felt sorry for Rames. He did not get to work in the kitchen. 

Thane folded the side of the rug that the long table sat on over on itself. "I can tell you are both cold. This place is even more miserable in the winter than it is in the summer, but we can now truly give thanks to our glorious god Mortaebius for deliverance. I was able to come across the processes for some advanced animations some time ago, but up until recently, I had been unable to afford to try them. In addition, the animation I selected required that the dead man be evil. It rests on the fact that such men go to the lower planes where pits of fire abound to torment them. I could not be sure I had good subjects in that regard until I bested Red Jack and his men," Thane smiled. 

"I'm sure you will both appreciate the advanced animation I settled on to try first. With a flourish of Thane's hand, his skeletons opened the door to the parlor, and the door from the parlor to the main spiral stair of the abode. There was the familiar ticking of bone on stone as a skeleton double-timed it through the parlor and burst into the great hall. 

"Stand in that alcove atop the ceramic base," Thane ordered in a self-satisfied voice. 

Rapina gaped. The skeleton was on fire. Red, yellow and orange flames bathed the skeleton from the tip of its boney toes to the top of its head. The fire was exceptionally hot yet smokeless. 

"That's astonishing Guardian Thane, I never knew such a thing was possible," Rames said.

"Believe it Guardian Rames, the very flames of the hells pulled through the link between this man's bones and his tormented spirit. The best part is that when the skeleton is destroyed, it explodes, turning the grave-robbing fools who would fight such a monster into human roasts. The flaming skeletons are quite a bit more work than even my double-animated skeletons. Take heart, however, I can now take advantage of the richly deserved torment of these men to end the torment that winter throws at my aging bones each year. It will be a great relief, and I am sure you will agree it is a better improvement even than the plumbing we are installing in the lab. We will all benefit, and we can get Rapina some more flattering clothing rather than having her wandering around here cowled up in fashions gleaned from the sea chests of the pirates." 

"Do not get too attached to these particular flaming skeletons, however. I will be forfeiting seven of them in exchange for an advanced animation that I am not skilled enough to create. Have no fear, however. The exchange is not to be made until I have sufficient additional flaming skeletons to keep the abode at least minimally warm. I have no desire to suffer another winter of bone-numbing cold. I have found I work much more efficiently when the abode is warm." 

Rapina idly wondered what horror would be worth seven flaming skeletons. 

From then on, Thane produced about two flaming skeletons every two weeks, and in a month there were four more of them, plus one Thane claimed was a failed experiment at expediting their creation. Rapina suspected it was actually Thane's first try done when he was away training and hidden away until later. The fires of this particular skeleton were confined only to its chest cavity and skull, and they tended to be bluer and to produce less heat. This one served as a heater for Thane's personal suite of rooms. The others were scattered through the upper areas of the abode making it much warmer. Two stood in the great hall, now the warmest room in the house. 

Rapina's waking hours settled into a routine. In the "morning" actually the afternoon, she got up before the others then made and served breakfast. Over breakfast, Thane usually started informal discussion about previously assigned readings. Following breakfast Rapina cleared away the dishes, then Thane delivered a two-hour lesson on magic, sometimes making use of a blackboard on wheels that he had purchased for that purpose. After the magic lesson, Guardian Rames held arms practice for nearly another two hours. Following arms practice, Rapina bathed, often with Rames, then she rushed up to fix lunch. After lunch she did dishes and housework, interspersing as much reading as she could while supervising her skeletons. Then it was time to fix dinner and afterwards supervise the skeletons doing of the dishes. Once the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned up, Rapina was free to study and shortly after that it was time for bed. 

On the weekends, Rapina did meals but no other housework. Saturdays Thane gave an alchemy lesson and lab work. Sundays one of the priests would do a short service to Mortaebius and then Rapina could study or goof off. It was a full schedule but on days when Guardian Rames made love to her, Rapina found she could do just fine on less than her normal allotment of sleep. It was during these times that she devoured extracurricular magic books, sometimes with Rames sound asleep beside her. 

In addition to the secret necromantic laboratory wing, Thane and Rames built a secret passageway that opened behind the fireplace in the great hall. It led to a room for hiding the flaming skeletons in case of guests not of the Order of the Shroud. Thane also purchased cressets on brass stands that would fit where the skeletons normally stood to fill the alcoves with some likely looking item when the flaming skeletons were secreted away. Rapina's job of doing the housework was somewhat easier in the winter because there was no garden. Instead Rapina organized Thane's non-necromantic laboratory rooms. 

It was a Sunday a little past the middle of winter, and in spite of her busy schedule, Rapina was a little bored. She was now quite adept at her job and had even more free time to read magic books, but today she was within the spar of rock directly above the abode. The works for the second of Thane's wicker elevators were housed in a room somewhere within the stone below her. Below that was the main circular stair that went down from the cliff top gardens to the laboratory and residence level and then down to the storage and jail level. Rapina's gardens were now nestled under a blanket of snow. 

Above her in a cramped little secret room with eight cracks, each looking out in one of the eight compass directions, were the eight skeletons who watched the isle and the waters of grand lake for signs of humans. If they spied anyone, they pulled the rope that rung one of the eight warning gongs that hung side by side down in the abode. The room in which Rapina stood was an observation room with large, illusion-shrouded windows looking out in each of the four cardinal directions. Thane had recently installed a very large telescope on a heavy base in this room so that he could keep a better eye on the isle and the lake. Rapina peered through the eyepiece. Ice choked the lake at this time of year, and added to the cloistered feeling of the isle. She turned the telescope and looked to the Northeast. She could see the area Rames had prepared for a vineyard, but it was all covered with snow. 

Rapina sighed. She missed Drake and Doanthalas and she had no idea what had become of them. Kent and Edgar were now hideous ghouls, and Kent was hugely bloated. Rapina did not want to know how Thane scared up the bodies to feed his prized ghoul. She knew that at least some of what fed him were the bodies of criminals shipped to the isle for burial but, up until recently, there had been no such shipments. Now constable Olsen and deputy Barns sometimes did their winter executions and sledded out over the ice covering the lake to deliver the bodies of the dead. Mortician Hagston often did likewise with funereal parties, as winter was a popular time to die. 

Unfortunately, Rapina always wound up cloistered in alternative quarters when the isle had visitors. She made meals and laid them out for the guests but was then to disappear and eat elsewhere. Also during these times Thane burned oil in the cressets because he could not let guests see the flaming skeletons. He and Rames were already planning a heating system that made use of ducts under the floors with flaming skeletons heating the air for the ducts. To his credit, Thane was very careful about not letting people from the area see Rapina's face if it could be avoided. The law said he had Rapina for seven years, but the Avengenes were powerful nobles, and Thane did not want to tempt fate by letting them know he had the woman they sought for killing their son. 

Rapina's magical studies were going well, and there was no question that she was Thane's star pupil. Rames was an intelligent man, but he lacked some of Rapina's acuity and her uncanny memory. That and he tended also to think like a warrior, something Thane was constantly chuckling about. Rapina was doing so well that Thane had upped the ante. He was now very seriously teaching her deportment. He had said that if she were going to specialize in charm and sex-based magics, she would need to learn to resemble a member of the upper class. He believed that charming a pauper was seldom of use, but charming a nobleman could be most beneficial. 

Rapina knew that the necromancer never acted without reason. She wondered if there were more specific reasons he was teaching her deportment. Rapina fingered the mage light pendant Thane had given her. Rames had an identical light, as did Thane. It was a tiny rod made of obsidian, clear crystal and red crystal with a polished silver slider that had been chemically tarnished to a dull gray on the outside. Depending on where the slider was positioned, the device emitted white, red or no light depending on which layers of the rod were exposed. Flashes of light could be used to signal others, and the red light was useful in that it did not hamper night vision. Rapina now wore the light on a silver chain that reminded her of the one that had once held the dreamstone. All of her things were gone now. Thane had insisted she get rid of everything that tied her to her past. She regretted doing it, but she knew he was right. Her master could be cold, calculating and harsh, but his mind was as sharp as a quill. 

Rapina often helped Rames with his studies, and the warrior in turn cheered her up when she was bored or upset, made love to her, and took her on little outings around the isle during the weekends. Sometimes they would go slide around on the frozen pond in the valley of the dead or go hunting, ice fishing or hiking. Rapina smiled. Rames did his best to keep the winter from being overly oppressive, but as the wind whistled though the natural tower wherein Rapina stood, she could not help feeling as though she were in exile from humanity. To his credit, Thane had designed and gifted her three winter dresses, a cloak, shoes and accessories befitting a noblewoman. In addition, he and Rames had seen to it that she had seven different changes of silk and satin lingerie. They had dropped the hint that Rapina could wear the lingerie in the rather too warm skeleton-heated great hall while reading. Just because she enjoyed the tickle of the men's lust, Rapina sometimes did just that. 

Thane was in great spirits of late, for his macabre animations - the flaming skeletons - were keeping the main area of the abode quite warm, something the middle-aged man seemed to gloat over to no end. Rapina remembered the pervasive, bone-numbing cold they had experienced before Thane's advanced animations had remedied the problem. She did not know how many full winters Thane had spent huddled around the cook stove in his kitchen, but the number was large enough, no doubt. She could not blame him for gloating now that he could relax in warmth and comfort. A chill wind blew though Rapina's cloak, and she decided to descend the ladder and return to the staircase and to the warm abode. The sun was setting, and She had to make "lunch." 

Thane emerged from his chambers looking pleased with himself and sat down as Rapina finished setting "lunch" out. When both she and Rames were situated, Thane made his announcement. 

"You both look rather glum." Thane smiled, giving his statement time to sink in." 

"It's the winter, Guardian Thane, it gets to you after a while, even though the abode is much more comfortable with your new animations." 

Rapina nodded in agreement. 

"I do believe you are right, but my animations are not the only new magics I have learned. As you have seen, I have left you several times to visit other priests of Mortaebius and conduct various business. Having the graveyard mists spell gives me new freedom, and my visit, last night, with the priests of Mortaebius has brought grave news. I have learned that the church of the vindicator is once again on the move ravaging our temples in the South of Avengene's domain with a new, more powerful group of "bandits." Our sources indicate that these "bandits" are unusually well trained and may actually be loyalist troops of Avengene. Since his campaigns in the mountains to the North grind to a virtual halt in the winter, this theory would seem to have some merit. The Marquis of Avengene would have some troops to spare in the dead of winter." 

"Rather than fight a loosing battle within a province wherein the Lord is a zealous supporter of the vindicator, our priests are fleeing out of Avengene, primarily to the South. Already one of our temples South of Avengene in the barony of Bristol has been hit, and once the vindicator's forces consolidate their holdings inside Avengene, It is certain they will more often strike in the baronies surrounding Avengene. The Order of the Shroud is attempting to protect the interests of the Church. Fresh corpses, weapons, armor and gold are badly needed. I have already given up the zombies I made of the pirate recruits. I was able to keep the veterans only because I argued that they were too valuable for advanced animations to be wasted as mere cannon fodder." 

"One other thing you should know, Rapina, Captain Red Jack escaped execution this summer when a few of his loyal men started fires and a riot at his would-be execution ceremony in the square of Turnmoor. In the confusion, his men spirited the Captain to safety." 

Rapina could not help smiling, "really?" 

"Indeed. Since then, the city has raised an astonishing sum. There were several nobles in the crowd to watch the execution, and one of them was even killed. Thus Red Jack's bounty has more than tripled and the sums on the heads of his few men, now including your young friend Drake, are quite considerable. The order has requested that, since I have actually seen and talked with Red Jack, and since I have some of his personal effects, I might easily locate him using my viewing pool. I have been able to do so. The original plan was to catch him and turn his body in for the bounty. Unlike the previous price on his head, the amount given for him alive is not higher than that given for him dead. As a matter of fact, his wanted poster does not even say, 'Wanted dead or alive,' It just says, 'Wanted dead.' His bounty would help fund the defense of our temples." Thane paused dramatically. 

Rapina grimaced. 

"However, I suggested an alternative plan to the order that I think may be more useful to us in the long run. As you know, the church of Mortaebius is fairly wealthy. The mortuary business is a good one. We could hire mercenaries, but they do not have nearly the fear value that our undead troops have, and we are now faced with a well-trained foe that might easily mow down mercenaries if they had their wits about them. The Order is yet undecided pending your advice, Rapina. The have set a date for a hearing. At that time, someone will come to pick you up. He will appear to be death. You will accompany him to a meeting where you are to tell those assembled whether you think it possible to convince Red Jack that my plan is to his benefit," Thane said.

"What is your plan?" Rapina asked.

"Thane smiled the smile of the chess master. "Red Jack's bounty has grown truly substantial. It is now high enough that wizards other than myself, especially lesser wizards and those greater wizards who regularly do community service work will be attracted to the job of locating Red Jack. I found him in a matter of hours. I have mentioned that I had certain advantages, but although I am now officially a wizard, I am at the very lowest level of true wizardry. Others might just as well locate him without such advantages. He and his ships are in need of magical protection, protection that will be proof against location and viewing via wizardry. I personally am not powerful enough to provide this protection, however, the Order of the Shroud is more than able to do so, for a price." 

"What's the price?" Rapina asked uneasily. 

"That is the amusing detail of my plan. It will cost something Red Jack would normally throw away. It is well known that he and his men are cold-blooded killers, and the church of Mortaebius is in grave need of a steady supply of corpses. Ironically, although our church deals with corpses every day, we seldom deal with many corpses in one place at one time. Moreover most of our priests have no idea what the order of the Shroud would want with corpses, thus we have trouble getting them unless we steal them from our own graveyards. We could force our priests to give them up, but they do have loyalty to their clients and the Order has traditionally not resorted to such measures save under the direst of circumstances. It makes too many waves within the church. The order has already spent those corpses easily available in this conflict in Avengene. If Red Jack will provide us with the dead from his raids, we will protect him from magical spies. He must still beware of normal spies, however. What do you think?" 

Rapina grimaced, "It sounds like you are making him an offer he can't refuse. "Work with us or we turn you in." 

Thane smiled evilly, "Indeed, however the offer is not without benefit to Red Jack, even if it does carry the probability of dire consequences should he refuse it. Besides, if he works with us, I suspect he will want us to make certain concessions, and we may be willing to bargain with him, at least to some small degree. Currently he is in a vulnerable position while he tries to rebuild his fleet. I believe I have two of his longships sunk in my cove." 

Rapina smiled sourly. 

"The plot is beautiful save for one small detail," Thane said.

"What's that?" Rapina asked.

"You, my dear. We will need you to help with the negotiations, but the pirates know you, and I am sure that unadulterated stories of Red Jack's defeat on this isle may have leaked to his new men. If one of Jack's men is captured and tells the authorities that you have been visiting the pirates it could prove dangerous to me. The authorities may realize that you are supposed to be on indenture to me, and that if you are working with the pirates, then I must also be working with them."

"Oh, is there any way around that?" Rapina asked.

"Indeed I believe there is. I have been working on a solution that will allow me to keep my good name for a little longer. Unfortunately, in the end, the ultimate price of fighting Avengene's bands of temple-destroying outlaws seems to be turning outlaw myself. In spite of the slaughter of many of our brethren, the duke does not wish to intervene. Holy wars are notoriously messy. The Order Of the Shroud is content to let the legitimate face of our church attempt to fight Avengene's lawlessness through legal channels. At the same time, we of the shroud must counter the immediate threat by channeling the energies of Mortaebius to allow our god to enlist the power of the dead to his cause. I will hold onto my good name for as long as possible, but I realize this war will not be kind to it. Since you are the most obvious link between lawlessness and me, you must appear to sever the tie between us, and I have been planning towards that end. Tonight we must switch to a diurnal schedule and journey to Granville." 

Rapina cleaned up after "lunch," then supervised her skeletons while doing her assigned readings and some extra reading as well. Meanwhile Thane was busy in the laboratory with a "project." After dinner, which in Thane's abode took place a couple hours before dawn, Thane began to explain his plan.

"Very well, we must first make a sled trip across the frozen lake, but you will not need to walk. I claimed in my pigeon message to Hagston that you had an intolerable case of the winter glums and you were as snappy as the frosts. I wrote that I thought being around people might help you. We are so isolated here. I had Mortican Hagston send me the hearse sled and a pair of horses just yesterday. A couple of locals brought it and then walked back. I am far too wealthy to be walking eighteen miles to Granville. Before we stage our event, we will also be using some boxed skeletons I will be bringing to create and consecrating a small, secret graveyard in a secluded area of town. That way I may never have to make that walk again." Thane smiled.

Rapina was unused to being up all day, but she enjoyed the trip West across the ice, and then South overland. Guardian Thane was a brilliant conversationalist when it came to magic, and Rapina enjoyed just listening to him speak. 

Her role in town was simple. She walked around acting glum and snappy while Thane tried to cheer her up. The second night there Thane took Constable Olsen, Deputy Barns, and a fat merchant seaman named Captain Hogs to dinner. It was on the way out of the restaurant that the plot went into action.

"Stern! Stern! Stern! Right from wrong! right from wrong! That's all I ever get from you Guardian Thane! Damn it why do you have to be so proper? You could have raped me a dozen times and I would have welcomed it, but you are so DAMNED PROPER! I can't stand it!" Rapina screamed.

"Serina, you must understa..." Thane started.

As all eyes shifted to Guardian Thane, Rapina suddenly turned and snatched Barnses' short sword out of its sheath. She slashed the hamstrings of Constable Olsen's left leg as she kicked deputy Barnes off his feet, and then she took off at a dead run into the alley.

Serina! Serina! Come back! Thane bumbled into Barns as he got back up, tripping over the man in his haste to go after "Serina" and sending them both back onto the cobbles, thus giving Rapina an even better head start.

Oh goodness, Serina! Thane chased after the deputy while the fat sea captain took a different direction. Constable Olsen limped a few paces and then held his bleeding leg.

Thane was making plenty of noise calling to her as he chased the deputy. This gave Rapina a very good idea of where they were. She jumped a stone fence and hid as they ran past, then changed directions and headed for the hotel carriage house at a run. It was a lucky thing she was in such good shape because she had just finished saddling the fastest-looking horse she could find when Captain Hogs burst into the stable, drawing his rapier. With her luck he was probably a fine swordsman as well as a genius who realized she would run for a stable, Rapina grimaced. She really did not have time for this. While his words of warning concerning his mastery of the Rapier were still on his lips, she locked blades with him, spun and flattened him with a roundhouse kick to the back of the head.

Captain Hogs had been about to warn the girl that she was no match for his skill at arms when someone clubbed him in the back of the head and he went out like a light.

"Thank you Guardian Rames," Rapina thought as she considered anew the reasons why Rames had given her so many unarmed combat lessons. She snatched the Captain's rapier, mounted the horse and galloped out of town before the hobbled constable could raise the alarm. About ten minutes later she heard the baying of the hounds. She stopped and took a package of herbs from within her dress, leaned out from her mount and carefully sprinkled the herbs on her path. "That should fix the dogs," Rapina smiled.

She resumed her night ride moving far faster than most would have dared. Thane had fortified her vision with a spell that he cast on her just before meeting the others for dinner. After sprinkling the herbs she trotted her horse down to the banks of the River Augustana. The hounds were less than ten minutes away. The original plan had been for her to dismount and pick her way carefully across the river, but there was not time for that. She stayed on the horse and kept her eyes peeled, going around any area that looked as if it might be a thin spot in the ice. On the other side she breathed a sigh of relief but staid on the ice until she made it to the first creek. She turned just in time to be sure her pursuers would not see her. The hounds were getting closer, but they were still on the wrong side of the river and had yet to encounter her little surprise. She trotted South up the creek and into the forest, and then turned and rode West, paralleling the river.

She was pretty sure she had passed over five creeks that went North towards the river, but when she followed the creek South for two miles, she did not find the ancient burial ground that was supposed to be there. She might have mistaken a long puddle for a creek and not gone far enough, or she might have mistaken a creek for a snow filled gully and gone too far. She decided she must not have gone far enough and continued to the next creek, but after having gone both south and north along the creek, she did not find what she was looking for there either. Damn! She headed East back the way she had come, though she was South of her original trail. By the time she went by the next creek, It was getting dangerously close to dawn and her vision spell had run out. 

She fished the mage-light pendant Thane had given her from between her breasts and put it outside her cloak with the red crystal exposed. Then she heard the hounds, fewer than there had been in the beginning, but they were close, certainly on this side of the river. She doused her light and walked her horse to cover. The hounds passed, they seemed to be following her old trail. They would go to the next creek, then come back. Rapina sprinkled another packet of herbs on her trail and then urged her mount Eastward in the darkness. She used her light whenever she rode into a dip to determine if it was the creek bed she was looking for. 

When at last she found the creek, she could hear a single hound. It had turned and was coming Eastwards. Assuming she had found the right creek, was she North or South of the burial grounds? She saw a red light to the South and quickened her pace, hastily dumping a third packet of herbs in the trail behind her. As she rode she placed her hand over her own light then removed it to make it flash a few times. It had to be Thane, but before she made it to him, his light died. Mists rose and blotted out his image. She could hear a rasping voice chanting a spell. It didn't sound like Thane at all, but she had no other option. She galloped up, chanting a prayer to Mortaebius under her breath as was proper when Thane was casting the graveyard mists spell, and then reached down into the mists and found a man's shoulder.

"Hail Moraebius champion of the dead, may I show no fear before thy curtain, may I cross into thy realm with my head held high, and may I bolster thy cause before I die," Rapina intoned.

The mists blotted out the forest night, and muffled the sounds of the approaching hounds to nothing. Rapina gasped with relief as the mists cleared slightly and she was in the clifftop gardens of the abode. She felt the horse lurch forward as Thane slapped its rump. She heard garments dropping to the ground, and the rasping voice turned into Thane's, yet never fully stopped its chanting. Rapina held her hand against her breast and said a silent prayer to Mortaebius as she realized she could see the rosy hues of dawn brightening the skies on the Eastern horizon. The mists thickened, and then cleared; thankfully Thane was gone. He had returned to Granville to play the part of the bereaved guardian of Serina who had never left his hotel room.

Rames smiled from the doorway to the abode and then walked out to collect the garments Thane had dropped. "I'd say that was a little tight. I sure hope he made it back to Granville okay."

Rapina dismounted and embraced the soldier-priest. She held him for a while, and then they went into the abode and she recounted the night's events to him as they cooked a meal in the kitchen together.

Rames shook his head, "Too bad you couldn't get by that outlaw past, but at least you'll be able to help your old outlaw friends."

"And the church of Mortaebius."

"Heheh, and the church. I'll bet Thane was figuring you took off on him towards the dawn there."

"Let him think what he wants. Rooting around in the dark trying to count frozen creeks correctly is harder in reality than it is on paper. If it weren't for snow-filled gullies and long puddles I'd probably have been fine. I'm sure glad I made it. My dark vision ran out on me before I found Thane. If he hadn't had his red light open I would never have seen him and made it to the burial ground in time. The hounds were coming up on us too. I don't think the hunters were close enough to see anything though, and my trail would have seemed to go in circles, because it did. I wonder what we should do with the horse?"

"Rames laughed, "You were supposed to leave her at the ancient burial ground."

"I barely made it to Thane as it was. There was no time to dismount and get reacquainted. Actually with the hounds coming up, I probably did the right thing."

"Yes, I think you did. I'll hide the horse in the interior of the island. There are a few meadows in the forest. I'll build her a wind break and keep her fed from our meager stores of grain. When Thane returns, he can ship her back to the burial ground, and she will probably wander back to Granville from there on her own," Rames said.

"I don't know how Thane found that burial place. The locals are horribly superstitious about burying their dead only on land surrounded by water," Rapina said.

That old burial ground is little more than a monolith in the forest. I don't think they know the ancients shucked their bodies there. In a way our keeping the horse a while longer will help make it seem like you got farther away. Assuming she returns home, the constable will have to estimate you rode her quite a while before you gave her up. We have to hide you as well. We set up a place for you in the secret passages beneath the tombs. Thane wants you to hide out there until he has come back and any visitors have left."

"Ugh, I hope you included a stack of books," Rapina said.
---------------------

A few days later Rapina was able to return to the abode

"Welcome home, Rapina," Thane said.

"Thank you Guardian Thane." Rapina smiled.

Guardian Rames has filled me in on the happenings during your night ride. That night I said I was tired and returned to the hotel after the chase had begun. I waited a couple hours there and tried to get some sleep. It was lucky I did, because Barnes returned after about an hour and asked for an article of clothing of yours to put a new pack of hounds on your scent. I gave him what he wanted and appeared to return to bed. Not long after that, I left the hotel under cover of illusion. I went to the unmarked graveyard we had created in town during our first evening in Granville and transported to the burial ground. The hounds were disconcerting, but I decided to stay. I gathered the shadows around me. When at last I saw you, I lit my light until your signal told me you were heading my way. Since there was still a hound approaching, I doused the light and began casting the graveyard mists spell.

After bringing you here, I transported back to our Granville graveyard and then I snuck back to the hotel. I took a short nap and got up for breakfast at the hotel. That afternoon I located Deputy Barnes who had slept in after his nighttime hunt. He recounted his version of the story. Your first packet of herbs took out his entire pack of hounds, but he returned to town to get some other dogs owned by a local hunter. After that he kept a couple dogs back, and he was very glad he did so because your second packet destroyed the scenting ability of all but two remaining hounds. He believed he saw a red light for a moment, but he cannot be sure. Shortly after seeing the light he lost the scenting ability of another hound, and had to get out of the creek bed and go around the herbs to relocate your trail. This slowed him, and that was the last he saw of you. The last dog lost his sense of smell in the creek near the monolith."

"He did?" Rapina asked.

Thane chuckled, "Indeed, shortly after I arrived I dumped a few packets around the area of the monolith. I knew that if things became very close, it would be better if the dogs lost their sense of smell, than if the trail simply went inexplicably cold.

"Regrettably I was forced to sell or destroy everything you used to have during your stay here save what you had on you when you escaped, of course. Assuming the pirates see you, the possessions you will have at your disposal will be the ones you had upon your escape, and new ones from your new master. It will be as if you really did leave me."

"Oh no! All my things are gone?"

"Not to worry, the next role you play will be that of Rapina apprentice to Kroz, a dark necromancer. I, of course, will be playing Kroz. There is still a chance that certain noblemen might try to link you to Thane of Graveston isle, and if they could find any trace of necromancy on this isle, then they might be able to make something stick. For that reason, and for the future, I am considering building a second residence, one that would be located out of the reach of the armies of noblemen during such religious conflicts as these. That is still on the horizon. For now, you will be housed in a suite within the secret laboratory wing. When we move my laboratories to a new location, we will also move you." 

"What will I wear?" Rapina asked.

"Something nondescript from the pirate chests for the moment. When you are dressed, come up to the clifftop. We will be going on a little trip."

Rapina found some clothing from the chest of one of the smaller men and put it on. She looked anything but glamorous. On the cliff top, Thane was dressed in his Mortancer robes. He wore a leather mask over the death mask and he was wearing a pair of black gloves instead of the gloves that made his hands look skeletal. 

Thane began casting, and when the mists cleared, they were in a city cemetery.

"Welcome to Bleckner," Thane rasped. "There are some shops here where I believe we can find you some functional garb. Black silk, kidskin gloves, items that would appeal to the stylish adventurer. After that I believe we will go to Argos. It is a large city famous for its finery. There we will find you some dresses and under things. I regret not being able to design for you myself, but my style might be recognized, so we will just have to go with the styles of others."

The shopping spree lasted over a period of several days and included a new main gauche, and a sheath for the serviceable rapier she had lifted from Captain Hogs. By the end of the week, she was ready to speak before the council of Mortancers.

Thane gave her a final drill in the honorifics proper to the addressing of the priests she was about to come before, and then left. A half-hour later Rapina stood at the top of the steps to the abode looking out at the snow-covered gardens. Rames had shoveled an area around the exit so that Rapina's dress would not get wet in the snow. She was not exactly prepared for what happened next. There was no warning. It was not like the graveyard mists spell that Thane used, and no one dressed like death materialized close to her as Thane had explained might happen. Instead, the space in front of her wrenched open and she was suddenly staring into a room. It was like a small amphitheater with a tabletop that went around in a ring that was interrupted at eight points so that one could get to the dais at the center of the room. A simple but luxurious chair currently sat on the dais. 

"Enter," said a voice like dry leaves in the wind. 

Inwardly Rapina shook with fear, but she had grown strong in conditions that would have rendered the minds of others into goo. Thane had drilled her in the art of deportment, and she wrapped herself in that training like armor. She stepped into the chamber of the Mortancers of Mortaebius with the grace of a queen. 

Even though the arrayed wizards were all dressed in hooded shrouds and had illusory faces that looked like those of her skeletal servants, Rapina knew that there were men behind those faces. She looked at the visage of one of the senior Mortancers. His eyes were red points of light. Overwhelming feelings of death and magic radiated from him in great waves. Rapina had serious doubts that he was wearing an illusion mask, though she assumed many of the others were. Each of the other personages in the room also emitted a palpable sense of power, though some were more overwhelming than others were. The room was lit by a red glow that seemed to concentrate on the tabletops and the central dais. 

"Hail Mortancers of Mortaebius, may your powers preserve the life of Mortaebius' church for as long as the living die," Rapina intoned, a little amazed her voice did not crack. 

"Welcome to our circle Rapina. Please take off your cloak and be seated upon the dais." 

Rapina curtsied to Mortancer Bain; then A skeletal figure took her coat. Rapina stepped onto the dais and seated herself. She caught herself in time not to grin when the skeletal figures in front of her beheld her dÚcolletage. Rapina's nose tingled strongly as the combined lust of several wizards washed over her. She felt not one whit of lust from Mortancer Bain, the creature with the flickering red lights within his skeletal eye sockets. Rapina sensed no lust from another Mortancer also seated before her, this one had eyes that were glowing points of ice blue light. 

"You have been brought here to briefly address the council of Mortancers on the mater of Red Jack," Bain rasped. "It is well known that one of our priests is responsible for capturing the pirate captain and destroying his fleet. Many of our number believe it is foolish to work with one who will doubtless hold a grudge against us. You know Captain Red Jack better than anyone here assembled does. Tell us how Jack will react to our offer." 

Rapina stifled the urge to swallow in dread. "Red Jack is a ruthless but reasonable man. He is astute. He knows when to run, and he knows when to cut his losses. He is not easily intimidated. His men respect his abilities. That is why he remained free for so long in spite of the bounty on his head. Jack will not have to like you to deal with you. If he saw some advantage in a deal and felt that the other party would deliver, he would deal with the devil himself.

Threat alone will not sway him, but I believe if he sees benefit in the deal, he will at least consider it and try to strike a bargain. There is no doubt that he could provide the Mortancers of Mortaebius with a steady stream of corpses for the conflict with the church of the vindicator if you make it worth his while. 

As long as you are willing to negotiate and uphold your end of any bargain struck, I believe that I would be able to convince him to bargain with you even though one of your order defeated him. I believe that Red Jack takes experience to heart. When something goes wrong, he does not repeat it, he fixes it. He knows that conflict with sorcerers is costly. With the new price on his head, I'm sure he worries about mundane spies in his midst and he is more than intelligent enough to realize that sorcerous spies could be at least as much trouble.

I don't know if he would deal with just anyone, but I feel confident I could convince him that a bargain would be beneficial to his continued success as a pirate. Needless to say, his continued success as a pirate could be useful to the Order." Rapina hoped she was telling the truth, because she knew if she was not then she would have to get over Jack's death all over again.

There was some discussion and some minor distention, but in the end the Mortancers decided that, if Red Jack would deal with them, then the captain would be considerably more valuable to their war effort alive than dead. Moreover, if he did not deliver, there was always the option of killing him. One Mortancer suggested that they kill Jack and bring him back as undead, but another maintained that if his men were typically superstitious sailors they would bolt. Furthermore, Jack's charisma had held his men together and almost secured him a victory even in the face of fearful undead foes. An undead pirate captain would loose that charisma. 

The same Mortancer added that Jack might suspect that Rapina was working for the priest who defeated him, but it could be arranged so that he would never know for sure. Rapina could say that she was working with a patron of the church whose methods were a bit more proactive than the priest who had defeated the pirates was, but that the two men had had business dealings. 

Rapina considered the speech mannerisms and reasoning of the Mortancer who looked at the psychological aspects of Red Jack's men. Rapina smiled inwardly, had it not been for the conversation she had overheard in the abode, she would have guessed Mortancer Greel was Guardian Thane but she realized he must simply be speaking for Thane. She could not really tell which skeletal figure was Thane. The illusion shroud that made the wizards look like robed skeletons also disguised their voices so that they sounded like talking corpses. Based on her lust sense, Rapina believed Mortancer Ashe to be Guardian Thane. After the discussion, there was a vote, a vote that went quite convincingly in favor of negotiating a deal. 

"Then it is decided. The council of Mortancers will endorse the plan and help in its initial establishment. Assuming a bargain is struck, those priests who put forth the motion to work with Red Jack will administrate our dealings with him in as clandestine a fashion as possible. Thank you for having this interview with us, Rapina, it has been enlightening. We have provided a trustworthy assistant to look after our interests in this matter. He will fill you in on our negotiating position. At the end of this meeting, I will send you and our assistant to negotiate this deal. You may leave us now." 

Rapina curtsied and left with the skeletal assistant. The skeletal assistant surprised Rapina. He was none other than the assistant to the council that Bain had spoken of, and the surprise did not end there. Not long after learning the gist of what things the Order of the Shroud might agree to during the bargaining, it was time to go. 

Rapina and the council's assistant were taken to a strong room where Rapina donned her cloak. Mortancer Bain cast several spells on her and wizard-locked a jeweled silver choker around her neck. Mortancer Bain then cast a transport spell on Rapina and the assistant. She was not quite prepared for it when her stomach decided it wanted to come visit her throat, but it took her only a second to regain her composure and look around. 
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This ends Southern Comfort, Chapter 24 of The Chronicles of Rapina.
The story continues in Chapter 25, Reunions.

Copyright 2001 by Rapina