(Continued from Ch 68, The Understudy)
The Chronicles of Rapina

Chapter 69, The Man In Rags

After the last event of the championship tournament, the attendees were told to head for the girls' grounds to watch the fireworks to be displayed by a pyrotechnics squad from the county of Li'Yieraun. Some of the fireworks were set up along the river near the wall between the boys' and girls' sides of the school and some would be launched into the air from a staging area on the other side of the river for the sake of safety. Bellany made her way through the crowd getting ready to watch the fireworks and continued to head south. She made it to the sculpture of Lavinia Jordell, Jamie's mother, but Jamie was not there. Bellany waited a few minutes and then began to worry. Jamie was never late, and if he changed his plans or something came up he always sent a servant to let her know what had happened. Bellany fidgeted for a few minutes more and then noticed the hulking shoulders of Abraham Steefl in the crowd. She hurried to his side.

"Hi Mary, hello Abraham, have you seen James Jordell? We were supposed to meet at the sculpture of his mother, Lavinia, but he is not there. He is never late. I am getting worried about him."

"Mary and I were going to meet Charles and Bruhnhilda here, but we have not seen them either. Charles is late a lot so I did not think anything of it." Abraham smiled.

"I am going to go to the courtyard to see if Jamie's coachman has seen him. Do you think you could watch the Lavinia for me?"

"Yes, of course," Abraham and Mary said in unison.

"Thank you. I will be right back."

Bellany rushed to the courtyard and found an open coach with Stevens at the helm.

"Coachman Stevens, have you seen James?"

"No, he said he would be coming hither with you sometime during the fireworks."

"We were going to meet at the statue of Lavinia Jordell, but he did not show up, and that is just not like him."

"Shall I fetch some household guards to search for him?"

"No, it's probably nothing... I am worried though. Is that what you would normally do if James did not make an appointment?"

"James is a very important young man, Milady. He does not just disappear. I would be lax in my duties if I did not summon men to help search even if it turns out to be nothing."

Bellany nodded. "Then you had better do your duty. I just do not want to make a scene for what is probably a false alarm."

"It is no trouble, milady. The household guards can dress in normal clothing, thus blending in with the crowd."

"Oh, that is a great idea, Coachman Stevens! You go ahead back to Jordell Manor for the guards. I will continue searching."

"Very good milady, I will return shortly with help."

Bellany started back towards the Lavinia, but before she had gone a great distance from the courtyard, Abraham came up to her.

"Abraham, I thought you were at the Lavinia."

"I was, but Mary and I were worried about you wandering around alone when it is nearly dark. The Lavinia is just back from the crowd so Mary is safe. I came to make sure you did not become as lost as your brother."

"That is very sweet of you, Abraham."

Bellany took Abraham's hand and they started back towards the Lavinia. When they were nearly there a beefy deputy constable came up to them, raised his torch and looked at them.

"Milady, Sir Knight, the fireworks are on the riverside. You will not get a good look at the display from here."

"Oh deputy, thank goodness. We are looking for Lord James Jordell and my brother, Lord Charles Norwit."

The deputy hesitated briefly then nodded sharply and spoke. "I hope you will keep this to yourself for the moment, but we found Lord Jordell and he was injured by the man in rags. The man in rags was sighted in the area but escaped into a tunnel. Lord Jordell is convalescing near the tunnel entrance with a leg injury. I would take you to the young Lord so perhaps you could help him while I fetch the leech, but I must do my duty and get to the constable's office. We need to call out every available man to try to root the man in rags out of the tunnel that we discovered."

"Is there some way we can help?" Abraham asked.

"You are a jouster are you not, Sir Steefl?"

"Yes, deputy."

"Good, then you can ride. If you could ride to the constable's office and bring back every available man, I could take Lady Norwit back to the entrance we found to identify the young man and perhaps to help see to his injuries while the leech is on his way. It is a very important mission; can you take care of it for me, Sir Steefl?"

"Of course, deputy."

"Thank you very much, Sir Knight. Come right this way, milady."

Bellany hustled after the deputy. Their destination was actually no more than thirty yards from the Lavinia, but Bellany could not see it due to the landscape garden's intervening foliage and the evening's darkness.

"He is right here on the other side of this tool crate."

Bellany looked beyond the crate but saw nothing.

"Goodness, I hope he didn't get pulled into the tunnel. Check near the tool box, that is where he was. I will take a peek into the tunnel." The deputy raised a camouflaged trap door and looked in.

Suddenly something grabbed Bellany's ankle and scratched her soundly right through her stocking.

"Aaaaaaah!" she screamed before realizing just what had scratched her. She had somehow shrugged off the wave of magical fear that emanated from the wound or she would not have been able to scream. She tried to run but something had grabbed her ankle. She glanced down to realize that a scrawny ghoul must have been built into the large toolbox because there were two small trap doors in the box. Each was only big enough for a single ghoulish arm. Yet the box itself was not big enough for a whole ghoul. Suddenly Bellany flashed back to the still animated, severed arm of a skeleton that she had brought back to Red Jack after encountering many whole animated skeletons on a scouting expedition on Graveston Isle. Perhaps the box contained the top half of a ghoul that had been severed at the waist but had not ceased to function. Just as she realized this, the ghoul scratched her for a second time, and then a third and a fourth in rapid succession. Bellany resisted several times but was then immobilized by magical fear.

The deputy on the other side of the crate did not seem to be surprised. He leaned over and swished his torch over the ghoul's arms. They instantly retracted. The deputy then flipped a lever that appeared to be nothing more than a latch for the top of the crate. The small trap doors in the box shut. He then picked the box up and slung it over his shoulder by its strap. With the box taken care of, he grabbed Bellany around the waist and carried her into the tunnel. In spite of the magical fear, Bellany noticed the tunnel went both due east and west. The entrance was simply a ramp-like side tunnel. Once in, the deputy closed the trap door and made his way up the tunnel to the east. The tunnel itself looked recently excavated and was very frequently shored with new-looking timber beams and sometimes with a plank roof. As they progressed up the tunnel the timbers became less frequent and far older.

After several minutes of walking the deputy approached an open secret door made of stone. Another man was standing in the doorway watching their approach. It was constable Herrington.

"I got the Norwit girl," the deputy whispered when he reached the constable.

"Good, how did you find her?"

"I just bumped into her. She was looking for the Jordell boy. I told her the man in rags had injured him. I played like I was headed out to raise the constabulary to root the man in rags out of the tunnel, and got her side-kick, Sir Steefl, to do that while I showed the lady to Lord Jordell's location. After that I said I would head out to fetch the leech for Jordell. When we got to the tunnel entrance, the ghoulbox toolbox took care of her."

Suddenly Herrington held up his hand at the sound of some falling dirt a distance down the tunnel.

"You were followed, you fool! Leave her and the box, and then head down the tunnel and talk to whoever is coming. Slow them down just a minute and we will be ready for them."

"Yes sir, I was amazed but she actually got out a scream after the first scratch, maybe someone heard it." 

"That's ill luck; the ghoul must have got tangled in her finery and missed. Go see who followed and buy us some time." 

The constable carried Bellany and the ghoul box through the doorway. The passage that she was now in was familiar. She was in the crypts beneath the administrative building. The crypts were laid out like the spokes of a wagon wheel. There was a large round room like a hub in the center where the sarcophagi of the most important Bristols were housed and then there were corridors that radiated from the hub room like spokes. The sarcophagi of notable people who were not important enough to be in the hub room were placed end to end down the centers of the corridors giving them a boulevard-like appearance. Those of lesser stature were interred behind stone plaques lining the walls three plaques high. The door to the stair down from the keep was near the end of one of the radiating corridors. There was also a round corridor that surrounded the cylindrical stone room that housed the stairway. The bones of soldiers were stored on shelves that lined the walls of the round corridor.

Bellany’s mind was somewhat clouded by magical fear, yet she found that she could think more clearly than she remembered was possible after Kent the ghoul had abducted her for Thane. Perhaps the undead held a little less fear for her now. Unfortunately she still could not move. Baladus had said that there was a northwest passage that had suffered a cave-in about ten years ago. Bellany was sure that was the passage she had been carried through. Returning in an easterly direction made sense if one was in a passage that headed northwest from the crypt. The direction they had moved was probably more properly south easterly. The cave-in explained why the constabulary knew about the location of the tunnel. They probably had to keep students away from the area of the cave-in ten years ago. The cave-in also explained why the first segment of the tunnel had needed such extensive shoring and why the entrance they went through was in the area of the cave-in.

Bellany briefly wondered why the ghosts had not come to get her when the crypts were invaded. Yet she realized that the actual opening of the secret door might have taken place during the day and very recently so as to minimize the risk of exposure to anyone visiting the crypt to pay respects to the dead. She also wondered why the invaders had not been caught by any of the old traps such as the doors that should have slid down if a person did not say the entry prayer. She guessed that some of the traps might have been disarmed when the keep became a school, others may have stopped working due to age, and Herrington may have disarmed any remaining traps when he actually penetrated the crypt. Nevertheless she could not imagine Herrington and his deputies alone could overcome Baladus' magic. Perhaps the old ghost was more depleted than she had thought.

One thing was certain: as Bellany was carried to the central hub she saw that someone had been busy. The place smelled strongly of death. Blood and gore had been used to write things across the rows of plaques commemorating the dead, and there were freshly gnawed bones and bits of entrails strewn across the floor. Although it was difficult to read without being able to move, Bellany picked out several phrases: "The dead shall rule the living!" "Praise Mortaebius!" "Undeath Everlasting!" It was over the top, as if a particularly rabid necromancer priest had received coaching from a priest of the Vindicator on how to be especially creepy. It was as if all of the things Reverend Leland hinted about the priests of Mortaebius had come true in a big way. The baronial sarcophagi had been removed from the central dais; instead there was a symbol of Mortaebius painted in blood and gore. The dais itself was ringed with black candles as if it had been converted into some sort of dark sacrificial altar.

As Bellany was unloaded onto the dais she saw that she was not alone. James Jordell, Charles Norwit, Bruhnhilda Daelrath, Bianca Bristol and Glenda Gransward had been dumped there sometime in the recent past. Every one of them was rigid with paralysis. Evidently the ghoul box had been used repeatedly. From behind her she heard soft voices. One of them was Abraham's. She prayed he was not involved with this.

"Not you too, Sir Steefl," the deputy was saying. "I tried to keep Lady Norwit and the others out of here until we could get more manpower, but the man in rags snatched Lady Norwit while she was attending to Lord Jordell and he insisted that she needed his help right away to avoid being eaten. I followed them up here, but when I heard you coming I thought maybe you were the additional deputies arriving; but I cannot imagine you could have ridden to the office that quickly. Is any help coming?"

"Mary is going to find someone to raise the constabulary and the Jordell staff, but it will be a while before they get here. I heard Lady Norwit scream. Lord Norwit is my liege, and it is my duty to protect her. Have you seen the man in rags?"

"I saw him earlier. He is lurking around here. Have you got a sword with you? You might need it."

"No, I was not prepared for this," Abraham said grimly.

"Mayhap there is something you can use ahead. This appears to be the old crypt under the school. Stay sharp, Sir Steefl."

Bellany could hear Abraham and the deputy approaching the dais.

"Someone made a mess of this place. There are open sarcophagi and the corpses cannot be that old. They stink!" Abraham observed.

Suddenly a louder and quite familiar voice sounded. "Abraham, I cannot say I am happy you could make it, but sometimes we cannot change fate."

"Reverend Leland? What are you doing here?"

"Just a wonderful bit of business. The Bristols are too stupid to realize that, by harboring the church of Mortaebius, they harbor monsters. We are providing a service for them."

"Constable Herrington!?"

The constable brought a shackled man to the dais and took a hood off him. It was Guardian Moore, the priest of Mortaebius who performed the services at the school's chapel of Mortaebius.

"In just a few minutes this man and his ghouls will kill a number of notable young lords and ladies to add to the commoners that they have already murdered."

At this, both Abraham and the guardian were struck momentarily speechless.

Reverend Leland held up his symbol of the Vindicator in one hand and began reciting arcane prayers while moving his hands. Suddenly Guardian Moore was rooted to the floor just in front of the dais facing the secret door through which everyone had been brought in. Constable Herrington removed the shackles from the man's ankles and ruffled the legs of his breeches so that no one would ever know the man had been restrained.

"Leland, you will never get away with this, your theatrics can never pass as the truth. I will strike you down with words before you reach me with your mob to kill me for these staged crimes!" Guardian Moore spat with indignation.

"Nonsense, you worm. You will be attempting to cast a spell upon me. I will have no choice but to smite you where you stand!"

Leland mumbled some additional syllables and moved his hands.

"Vlab bala slaba calatha," Guardian Moore began slathering and talking in nonsense syllables.

"Very good, worm. You are now speaking in tongues. You will continue to do so until after I return leading the heroes of the day. It will be obvious to all that you are attempting to launch some evil spell."

"Reverend Leland, this is wrong!" Abraham practically hollered.

Leland inclined his head. "I was afraid you would not see the poetic justice behind this plot, Sir Steefl." Behind Abraham the stinking corpses he had noticed on the way in stood up. They were ghouls. They had obviously had previous instructions.

Reverend Leland continued: "This plot has something for everyone. It shows how dangerous and deranged the priests of Mortaebius truly are! It shows they have no respect for life! It shows that they are in collusion with hideous undead monsters! It specifically targets the anger of the Jordells, the Daelraths, the Bristols and the Granswards at the church of Mortaebius, and it takes out our trash as well!

"Indeed this plot turns our trash to gold. Boyish and besmirched, Lady Norwit is no good to us alive, but dead she adds legitimacy. Charles with his dubious pedigree does the same. Don't you see? We will turn liabilities into assets! We can commiserate because we too will have lost loved ones to the fell priest of Mortaebius! Their deaths will give us good reason for righteous anger and war! Reason strong enough that even the King will see our actions as just and look the other way. Your death, Abraham, will simply add fire to the swords of the faithful, for you will have fallen to the evil of Mortaebius! One cannot underestimate the impact of the death of a knightly hero. It is as if the Vindicator deliberately prolonged your life so that you could die a more useful death and be rewarded! As for Lady Daelrath, her death will turn her father against the ghoul priests and drive him back into the fold of the Vindicator!"

While the reverend spoke, the ghouls behind Abraham attacked.

"And the death of the good deputy will ensure that no one suspects the constabulary of having had a hand in this plot. He must have chased the headstrong Lady Norwit into the tunnel to try to stop her from attempting to rescue the missing lords and ladies. She is such a fool! Now her foolishness will profit us rather than stain our name!"

Abraham stiffened but did not freeze as a ghoul attempted to scratch him through his tunic. Steefl spun and punched the ghoul in the face. There was a wet, sickening sound as Abraham's fist hammered the ghoul's dead skull. The ghoul flew backwards, landed hard and scrambled to get to its feet. The deputy was not as lucky. A smaller, more cunning ghoul reached under the skirts of his chain mail hauberk and scratched. The deputy froze solid before he even had a chance to turn around and face his attacker. The ghoul that had started with the deputy then sprang on Abraham. It grabbed his leg and bit. Steefl's expression of anger became paralyzed across his face.

"Lieutenant, put Sir Steefl on the dais with the others."

Leland continued to speak to Steefl as the lieutenant dragged him onto the dais. "It is a shame you think so conventionally, Sir Steefl, and to think I almost felt guilty about not healing you when you were injured. You understand, I could not reveal my power! We could not afford any chance that the priests of Mortaebius might pin this plot on me. Since the public believes that I have no magic I am above suspicion. Yet this is a far better death for you than dying in a sports event! As for you, deputy, you compromised yourself. With Mary on the loose, too many people know that you were supposedly with Miss Norwit and Lord Jordell. It would be too fishy for them to disappear while they were with you unless you also disappeared. You must die to cover your error. Have no fear for your foolishness, Deputy Tristan and Sir Steefl: the Vindicator will reward you both for your sacrifice!

"It is auspicious that we have been able to collect every one of the notables on the list, but thanks to the deputy's blunder we have very little time. Who knows how many people Mary has already told about the situation in her efforts to find someone to ride to the constable's office? Lieutenant Herrington and I must throw on fresh clothing and get back to the fireworks to help arm and organize the party that will seek the missing lords and ladies. We will find them dead at the hands of the evil Guardian Moore and his vile ghoul servitors and then our cause will be vindicated!"

Reverend Leland lifted his holy symbol and presented it before the ghouls.

"You will obey the power of the Vindicator! Kill all of the people on and near the dais starting with the armored deputy followed by sinful Lady Norwit and her homosexual boyfriend Jordell. Then you shall kill the others! After they are all dead you may feast on them, but make sure their faces remain recognizable even after you finish!"

With that, the reverend and the constable headed down the corridor that led to the spiral staircase to the offices. The constable carried the ghoul box with him. The reverend stopped briefly to snatch some rags that were draped over a sarcophagus. Bellany had seen the man in rags wear the exact same costume.

As the reverend and his servitors left, she heard the two ghouls ripping the deputy open. The poor man could not even scream. At the same time she wondered where the ghosts were but imagined that Reverend Leland might have been able to banish them to the land of the dead, at least temporarily. She could not sense them as she had not cast Life Vision before being paralyzed and she could not move her ghost hand. Its palm was turned towards her own thigh. She was so angry with Reverend Leland and so concerned for her friends, yet she could not break the paralysis of the ghouls. Suddenly she felt the magical fear modulate as if someone had cast the ghost of a Remove Fear spell on her. She tried to shove the fear from her mind and for the brief instant that the ghost of the Remove Fear spell held sway she had a measure of success. She was able to turn her ghost palm forward.

"Kill first, eat after," the smaller ghoul said to the larger who, by the sounds of things, had started eating the deputy.

Both ghouls stood up and swarmed onto the dais. One raised his claws to Bellany's throat and suddenly tumbled to the side, shoved by the first one who had just licked her left palm.

"Lookie here," it rasped.

The ghoul, that had been about to rip her throat open, scrutinized her palm instead. The first ghoul pushed the second ghoul's head down as if in jest. Bellany felt the contact.

"Mortaebius' will be done, let no will sway you but that one!" She could not say the phrase but she thought and willed it as strongly as she could and she felt another will behind her own and a force that welled up from her ghost hand. The ghoul lifted its head, grabbed the hair of the other ghoul and pushed his face into her hand. Bellany willed the phrase once again.

"Mistress!" Both of the ghouls rasped in unison.

Suddenly the ghouls picked her up and stood her on her feet. She was still paralyzed and they had to periodically steady her so that she would not fall over, but in the interim they spent their time groveling and licking her feet and her ankle wounds. It sounded as if they might be eating her but thankfully they were not. The licking did not alleviate the magical fear. If anything it only reinforced the power of the magic, yet the hilarity of the ghouls groveling and scraping before her like obsessed courtiers made her laugh inside. Suddenly her muscles all released back to her control. The fear had been vanquished. She now saw the ghouls not as terrifying horrors but as the pitiable servitors that they saw themselves as. She started to fall much as she had been doing when she was paralyzed. When a ghoul caught her she whispered in its ear.

"Carry me off down the corridor behind the heads of the people on the dais. While you do so, start an argument about who gets to eat me as a cover for leaving."

The ghoul hoisted her up upon its stinky back and looked at the other ghoul cunningly. "I get to eat mistress. You don't get any!"

"No! You mustn't eat the mistress!"

The ghoul who was hauling her started down the corridor and once he was out of sight of the people lying on the dais he whispered to the other ghoul. "Play along, we tricking other people."

"You mustn't eat, I get all!" the smaller ghoul howled inventively.

_Gods! I need a plan and fast_, Bellany thought to herself.

Once they were nearly to the end of the corridor Bellany whispered to the smaller of the two ghouls: "Move the torches from this corridor to the one opposite this one. Pretend to need the light of the torches that you are removing because you are looking for a coin to toss in order to settle who gets to eat me." When you return, bring only the torch that burns most dimly. You can leave it near the end of this corridor on the floor by the sarcophagus. The way the small ghoul bowed and hastened to do her bidding was positively comical.

"A coin! A coin, we must find a coin to toss. Winner eat mistress!" the ghoul crooned enthusiastically. I get torches to find coin better!”

Once the smaller ghoul made off with the torches Bellany had the larger ghoul set her down near the far end of the darkened corridor. There she turned away from the far-off dais and whispered her Life Vision spell and then Ghostly Whispers.

After casting Life Vision she saw Baladus' face sticking out of a wall by her side. As soon as she saw him he began moving backwards so as to be as far away from the dais as possible. When she completed her Ghostly Whispers spell he began speaking.

"Milady, Reverend Leland defiled the sanctity of this place and then completed a spell of banishment against ghosts when we first encountered him this morning. There is an area in my chambers that offers some protection from this sort of magic. I stayed there until I sensed you. I was able to reduce the power of the banishing spell temporarily with a ghostly Cancel Magic spell. I then cast Remove Fear upon you from the limit of my effective range. Did it help?"

"Yes, it enabled me to turn my palm and the ghouls noticed it. The energy of Mortaebius came through to release the ghouls from their bondage to Reverend Leland and they have been acting like obsequious courtiers ever since," Bellany whispered no more loudly than the ghost.

Baladus smiled. "Ghouls are simple yet cunning. They know who you are and they react accordingly without reserve!"

"They are positively comical in their eagerness to serve me. It is unnerving. Reverend Leland is on his way to attempt to pin this carnage on Guardian Moore. By the looks of things he had the ghouls kill and dismember several commoners just for atmosphere. Guardian Moore is rooted to the floor and speaking in tongues so as to resemble a hostile spell-caster when Leland makes his heroic entrance leading a mob."

"Forgive me, I cannot stay much longer. It is easier with you near but the exertion of helping you earlier has spent me. I cannot maintain a presence here. I must retire from this area to rest. You must somehow turn this plot against its creator. Lie down on the floor there. Lady Elaine is below. She is in much better shape than I am. I will send her up to assist you if she can, but she will have to stay within your aura or Leland's spell will drive her away."

Bellany lay on the floor and felt a brief chill as Lady Elaine came up through the floor to occupy the same space as Bellany did.

"I am hardly an aura of banshees but I will do my best," Lady Elaine promised.

"Thank you, Lady Elaine. You are a good friend and I value your aid. Besides, I don’t think I am ready for an aura of banshees just yet." 

By this time the ghoul that had removed the torches from the corridor returned. He meticulously set a dim, guttering torch behind the last sarcophagus in the corridor.

"I have done as you bid, mistress," the ghoul whispered before dropping to the floor to join his brother in groveling at her feet.

"Thank you. You did well." Bellany whispered while she rolled her eyes at the groveling. She was glad the corridor was still quite dark. "We must continue with our trick. We will make the other people believe that I am nothing special. Who I really am is a secret. Do you understand?"

"Yes secret mistress," the ghouls whispered enthusiastically.

"Now we must contrive a way to get the other people straightened around so that we can turn Reverend Leland's plot against him and save the reputation of Guardian Moore and the priests of Mortaebius. Once I am done explaining the plan I want you to argue out loud about who gets to eat me and settle on the loser getting the consolation of eating another woman. Choose the dark-haired lady on the dais for the consolation prize. You will also refer to her as mistress to confuse the other living people so that they will not realize that I am special to you. Remember who I am is a secret."

"As you wish, very secret mistress," The ghouls nodded gamely.

"After you grab the dark-haired lady, carry her past me and place her at the far end of this corridor."

Bellany dug a copper from her pouch. "Once you have put her at the end of this corridor, flip this coin and let it fall on the floor near her to settle your supposed bet. I must pretend to be Bellany, a normal school girl who is not your mistress at all. I will pretend that you also dumped me near the end of the corridor and that I was laying in the dark, paralyzed near Bianca, the dark-haired lady. After you settle your bet you must suddenly hear a noise and go to investigate to see if there are intruders."

"While you are away I am going to convince Bianca that she can command you. You must pretend that she is a priestess and that I am just a normal girl. Do not follow any orders she gives to harm me in any way, but otherwise do as she bids as long as she makes a good show of commanding you. If she is pitiful you must not comply with her wishes, but do not actually harm her. Make her work to command you at first if she is not convincing, but do not take too long to comply as we have little time. Until further notice I will command you through her while I pretend to be a normal school girl. In this way my identity will be concealed from the others. Do you understand the plan?"

"Yes, Mistress," the ghouls said in unison.

"Our mistress is cunning," the smaller ghoul added.

"Now the show must begin." Bellany petted the ghouls on their heads with her ghost hand as if they were house pets. Even she marveled at how she could think they were sweet in a creepy undead sort of way. Touching their heads revealed that the smaller and smarter of the two was Nick Hunt and the larger was Frank Fenton. Both had been soldiers of Li'Yieraun that had been turned into ghouls by the ghouls defending Red Jack's camp from Heinrich Li’Yieraun’s forces some time ago. Bellany suspected that the ghouls had been subsequently captured by Nordula or Lord Li'Yieraun's soldiers.

As the ghouls went to do her bidding, she crept to the end of the corridor. While facing the end of the corridor she cast a Darkness spell to fill the final segment of the corridor around her. She did not want Bianca to have any chance of seeing her casting.

"Okay, we choose mistress loser prize! Which one?" the larger ghoul crooned from the dais.

"This mistress look more delicious. We take her for our second mistress!" The smaller ghoul squealed, making a show of sniffing Bianca in several compromising locations.

The larger ghoul hoisted Bianca onto his back and hauled her down the corridor from the dais. Bellany was already casting Remove Fear on Bianca from the dark end of the hallway as Bianca came up the corridor on the ghoul's back. Bellany released the spell and then quietly collapsed into a heap near the end of the corridor. She then canceled the magical darkness before Bianca and the ghouls entered its confines.

"Mmm this mistress be a good second eat!" the larger ghoul said as he put Bianca down just past Bellany.

"I have coin, if heads, I win first mistress."

Bellany saw that Bianca was shaking with terror rather than being immobilized by it as the ghouls gambled. The Remove Fear spell had worked.

"What it say?"

Tails! I lose! You cheat; you turn coin while I look away!"

"Did not!"

Bellany rolled her eyes. She stealthily dug a coin out of her belt pouch and flicked it as far down the hallway as she could without being obvious.

"You hear that? We better check, maybe people coming, we have to get killing done quick if they coming!"

"We check and see."

Both ghouls scrambled towards the dais and then past it towards the secret tunnel that had lead to the crypts.

Bellany groaned softly. "Gods, my muscles are so sore. Are you all right, Lady Bristol?"

"A-are they gone?" Lady Bristol said as she grabbed Bellany in a vise-like embrace. Bianca sobbed softly. She was shaking like a leaf.

"They are for as long as the coin I tossed fools them. I think the paralysis they cause is temporary. Perhaps some of the others will come out of it as well. We need a plan."

Bianca looked up into Bellany's face. "We haven't a chance; th-those are real ghouls! One touch and you are s-stiff as a board," Bianca whimpered.

"Lady Bristol, are you going to let Reverend Leland kill you and Glenda and blame it on a priest of Mortaebius?" Bellany growled.

Bianca stared at Bellany incredulously. "How can you be so calm? Gods, N-Norwit you are not even sh-shaking."

"I have been called garbage by better than Leland. The only difference is that he has taken it upon himself to take out the trash. I have seen you scornful and incensed and even angry over far less than what Leland is about to do to us. Lady Bristol, I know you are terrified, but I will not let you lie down and die. You are our only hope against those ghouls and we cannot turn this around if we cannot overcome them!"

"B-but w-what can I do against g-ghouls?"

"This is your family crypt. These are your dead ancestors. The ghosts here are members of your family. Your people have worked with Mortaebius and his priests for generations. Headmaster Bristol is a priest of Mortaebius. I will bet there are loads of Bristols in this crypt who were priests of Mortaebius. Do you have a holy symbol of Mortaebius?"

"Y-yes I wear one. I-it is t-tradition."

"Then bring it out. Gods, Bristol, I would really rather you were busy scorning me and stabbing me in the back then being such a wreck!" Bellany looked Bianca in the eye. "Stop shaking. You are going to grab your heritage by the throat and make it work for you or every one of us will perish here and I am not going to let Leland do that to us! Now stand up!"

Bellany lifted Bianca to her feet. The lady was such an absolute wreck that Bellany worried that her plan might not work.

"Do you have the symbol?"

Bianca pulled the symbol out by its chain and handed it to Bellany as if it were on fire.

Bellany reached around Bianca’s neck and calmly unclasped the holy symbol. She took Bianca's left wrist and wrapped the chain the symbol was on around it and then put the symbol itself in the nerveless fingers of Bianca's left hand so that she would not drop it.

"Lady Bristol, you saw what Leland did. He held his symbol out, presenting it so that the ghouls could see it clearly. Then he exerted his faith and forcefully said, 'You will obey the power of the Vindicator.' You have to say, 'You will obey the power of Mortaebius.' and you have got to believe it! You are a Bristol and Mortaebius is the god of the dead! If anyone can command undead it is a representative of the god of the dead in her own crypt."

"But I am not a priestess!" Bianca protested.

"You are a Bristol. Act like it! Just command them to get inside of these sarcophagi and play dead and let nothing disturb them until a priest of Mortaebius says that they can move."

Bellany gritted her teeth and slid aside the heavy lid of one sarcophagus, and then another. There was a noise from the main room and Bellany had to run and catch Bianca. The lady's knees were so weak she could not stand.

"Bianca, pull yourself together!" Bellany whispered urgently.

"But I am not a priestess!" Bianca protested again, her voice trembling nearly as much as her body.

Bellany heard Lady Elaine whisper and suddenly Bianca's legs started to give out again. "Th-this will never work! I-I'm getting horrible chills!"

Bellany caught Bianca before she collapsed. "Thank goodness!"

"W-what is good about that?"

"Isn't it the ghost they call Lady Weepins that gives chills?"

"I-I guess s-so."

"She must be one of your ancestors; perhaps she will help you in your hour of need. Lady ghost, can you help Bianca to command the ghouls? Please tell us, chill twice quickly for yes, once by itself for no."

"Oh gods!" Bianca said breathlessly. "I felt two chills."

"Good, stand up straight. I am going to let you go now. I am right beside you. The lady ghost will help you."

Bellany whispered firmly into Bianca's ear. "You can do this, Lady Bristol. It is your heritage. You may have applied it in frivolous ways in the past, but you have a strong personality and you are very good at influencing others. You are going to have to grow up now or die. You must command the ghouls like Reverend Leland but with even greater conviction! Your god is the god of the dead; your ancestors are behind you. Here come the ghouls, now claim your birthright!"

Bellany kept her left arm around Bianca to supplement the strength of her weak knees. The poor woman could not stop shaking.

"Y-you will obey the p-p-power of M-m-mortaeb-bius."

"M-m-m-mord-dae-b-b-bus? Who that?" One ghoul asked the other. Both ghouls grinned, brandished their claws and continued to advance.

Bellany could feel Bianca twitch as Lady Elaine hit her with two more chills. Bellany tightened her grip around Bianca's waist. "Seize your heritage in the face of death, lady Bristol," Bellany whispered commandingly.

Suddenly Bianca set her jaw. "You will bow before the power of the god of the dead! The majesty of Mortaebius compels you. You _will_ obey me!"

It was a surprisingly good showing considering Bianca was still shaking with fear. Yet Bianca's voice had been strong and steady. There had been no stuttering or breaks in the middle of words. Bellany released her grip on Bianca, opening her left hand as she did so.

The ghouls dropped to the floor as if struck. "Yes Mistress! We obey!" They rasped in unison.

"Each of you will get in one of those open sarcophagi. Pull the lid back in place, lie down and play dead. You will not reanimate yourselves until a priest of Mortaebius bids you do so!"

The ghouls hastened to do as Bianca bid but the smaller ghoul could not seem to get the lid of its sarcophagus back into place, as it did not have a lot of leverage.

Bellany calmly stepped forward and helped push the lid into place.

"Gods, Bellany, where is your fear?"

"When the orcs took me I had to decide whether I would survive or not. You know what my decision was. I have not changed my mind. That was very good with the ghouls, Lady Bristol. Now we need another plan. Lady Bristol, please see if you can get the others moving. We need weapons. I will check a few of these other sarcophagi and then we can meet back at the dais. We have maybe ten minutes to work before Leland and his mob arrive."

Once she was looking at Bianca's back as the noblewoman retreated towards the dais, Bellany quietly recast her Darkness spell. She stood within the darkness and began casting the ranged version of Remove Fear on those on the dais. It was a taxing spell. She was not sure how many times she would be able to cast it. She targeted Jamie, Abraham, Charles and then Bruhnhilda, but by the time Glenda's turn came up she just did not have enough power to cast the taxing spell again. She could not even think about casting Cancel Magic on Guardian Moore's feet. Cancel Magic was even more taxing than Remove Fear. She released a good measure of life force from her reserves into her mind to speed recovery from the fatigue of casting. Perhaps she would be able to cast another taxing spell or two later if Leland took his time. For now she would have to limit herself to easier spells.

After she completed casting she canceled her darkness spell and picked up the weak torch that the ghouls had left so that she could read the dates on the sarcophagi. They were old. She decided she would look for the newly interred. Any weapons buried with them would be in better shape. She walked back to the central dais to confer with the others.

"I got James, Bruhnhilda, Abraham and Charles up, but Glenda is still frozen solid," Bianca said as Bellany arrived. "James snapped out of it first," Bianca continued. "He went to search for weapons. He congratulated me on the turning before he left. I still cannot believe I did that."

"I am glad you rose to the occasion. Thank you, Lady Bristol."

"Gods, I rose because you picked me up! Otherwise I would still be on the floor and by this time I would likely be little more than bones, blood and gristle. I will never forget your incredible courage, Lady Norwit!"

"Thank you Lady Bristol."

James arrived from one of the radiating corridors to report on his search, "I have good news. There must have originally been an armor display here around the dais because there are full suits of plate armor standing with the help of internal racks. All are holding and or wearing weapons. You can take your pick of halberd, two-handed sword, broadsword, short sword or parrying dagger. There are also some shields and flails. I have no idea if the armor would actually fit anyone but the weapons look serviceable."

"That is great news, Jamie!" Bellany gave James a brief hug. "I have been formulating a plan. "I think we should turn this plot back against Leland. If anyone has reservations about that, or a better plan, please speak up."

"We should get help," Bianca said, running for the door to the spiral stair. A few minutes later she returned. "Damn! It is no good; the door is locked. The only way out is the tunnel that Leland's mob is probably heading down this instant."

"That is probably just as well. Herrington may have lookouts that would step in to cancel the plot's grand finale if they saw us. He may also have an escape plan in case things go wrong. Maybe we could stuff something in that keyhole. The last thing we need is to catch Leland red-handed only to have him escape."

Charles looked shaken, but that had not drained him of his wit. He was busy pulling the hauberk off the fallen deputy. "I am in. No one tries to murder half the Norwit clan and gets away with it! Abe, can I count on your support?"

"To the death, Lord Norwit!" Abraham vowed. 

"I think James or I should be able to fit into the deputy's hauberk."

"You take it, I am unused to fighting in strange armor," James wrinkled his nose.

"Okay, I'll give it a try. The good thing about being a little on the lean side is that you can usually fit into other men's clothes. What is your plan, Belle?"

"Our first order of business is going to be to survive long enough to sway the crowd. Secondly we must keep the murderers from escaping. The undead must not be involved. They are too deeply associated with the history of this place and people like Leland would be able to make something of that, even though it was actually Leland that brought these ghouls here in the first place. We need to blame these murders on the men who were behind them, not the Bristols or the priest of Mortaebius, as Reverend Leland would have it. We need an alternative story, something plausible. Everyone knows I am handy with a sword. Let us say that the dead deputy was supposed to kill us, but he could not resist mixing a little rape with his murder. He started on me and I kicked him senseless and then used his own sword on him. I will see what I can do with the corpse of the deputy to make it look like a sword killed him rather than claws."

"That sounds like a good tale for the crowd, Bellany, but let us all be clear that we shall tell the truth to Baron Bristol. He deserves to see the full extent of the political ramifications," Lady Bristol asserted.

"Agreed, but getting back to the matter at hand, we will have to face off with Reverend Leland and convince the mob he brings that he was trying to pin murders on Guardian Moore for political reasons. Thanks to Abraham we know that is the truth. The first thing Leland is likely to do after making a grand entrance is to kill Guardian Moore. I think I have an idea how we can protect him yet still allow Leland to seem to kill him."

"Guardian Moore, I realize you are rooted to the floor, but I want you to try to twist your feet some as I am laying you down. First I need to take your cloak."

"Glada yalba raha..." the guardian continued speaking in tongues.

After taking his cloak and laying Guardian Moore down against the foot of the dais, Bellany got Abraham, Charles and James to help her move a thick stone lid from one of the baronial sarcophagi. They leaned it against the dais in front of Guardian Moore to serve as a full-body shield.

"I doubt there is a light crossbow made that would penetrate that," Charles assessed.

"Let us get some weapons moved up here behind the dais and grab one of those standing suits of armor," Bellany directed. 

They took weapons from the stash James had found and brought up one of the smaller suits of armor. Bellany put Moore's cloak on the armor. She stood the armor in front of the lid that they had laid down to shield Moore. At Bellany's request, Bruhnhilda doused most of the candles on the dais and moved several of the torches in the central area of the crypts and put them on the floor behind the dais to make detail less apparent.

"That helmet may sink us," Bellany observed with a worried glance.

Bellany ran back to the weapons stash and got a couple of halberds. Abraham followed.

"If they are expecting to go up against ghouls, my guess is that the deputies will be wearing chain mail just as the one that was down here was. These old swords will need some sharpening to have a chance at cleaving chain, but if they will not take a good edge we had better have some blunts." Abraham picked up a couple of horseman's flails and then followed Bellany back to the central dais. Charles was nearby sharpening a broadsword on a slab of stone that had served as one of the footers for one of the sarcophagi that had been moved from the area of the dais.

"Dad always made me sharpen the swords for the entire garrison when I misbehaved, so I have a little practice at this." Charles smiled wryly. "There is a short sword there for you Belle, honed to perfection in record time."

"Thank you, Charles. This sword is in great shape, where did you find it?"

Charles chuckled. "It was the deputy's parrying blade. I figured we men can use heavier blades that do telling damage even when they are less sharp than a razor, but a light blade that is dull is not worth a damn. Since you have the most skill of the unarmed light blade wielders, I selected you for our one good short sword. Abe gets the deputy's broadsword."

"Thank you, Charles. I will try to live up to the honor."

Bellany placed the sword behind the dais with a shield she had selected and then went to the corpse of the deputy with the halberd she had fetched. She pulled the helmet off the standing armor and then beheaded the corpse of the deputy. She stuck the head on the armor suit instead of the helmet.

"That is disgusting, Norwit," Bianca grimaced.

"Yes I know, but it may save our lives. The helmet is too obvious even in dim light. It is good to see some of the old Bianca Bristol shining through," Bellany grinned at Bianca who blushed with embarrassment.

"Those ghouls really scared me. As long as they stay put I have no problem with making my heritage work for me."

Bellany smiled. "You have been hanging around too many war ladies. It is eroding your helplessness at an alarming rate."

Bruhnhilda beamed at Bianca.

As she spoke to Bianca, Bellany dragged the bloody beheaded corpse of the deputy up onto the far side of the dais so that it would look like someone had died there and perhaps there was more carnage out of sight behind the dais. She made sure that the torso hung over the dais so that the missing head could not be seen. She also took a moment to run her sword along the claw marks to try to make it look more like a sword had killed the deputy. She knew her work would not fool a schooled observer but it would do fine for a crowd in questionable lighting. She also tipped a few of the candles over on the dais to make it look as if the ghouls had dragged bodies over the far side.

"I may be slipping, but you will not see me dragging beheaded corpses around," Bianca scoffed.

"Of course not, that is my job. We need to get frigid Glenda into a sarcophagus where she will be safe from the battle. Is that okay, Bianca?"

Charles could not help a brief chuckle at Bellany's remark.

"I am sure the dead would not mind giving her shelter under the circumstances," Bianca decreed. 

"Use mine," Lady Elaine said, although no one heard her but Bellany.

"I will bet you are right. Your ancestors seem to be doing their best to help us."

Bianca nodded.

"According to the inscription this is Lady Elaine Bristol's sarcophagus. She is very long dead. I doubt she will stink. Besides, she is a kindred spirit. In spite of repeated rapes and beatings she lived on to found the - eek - Bristol line." Bellany smiled sassily.

"You and Headmistress Vargrend will never let me live that down. What was the 'eek' for? Have you something against the dead Bristols?"

"No, actually I do not. As you will recall a band of orcs beat the pious vindie girl out of me some time ago. That is why I did not stand a ghost of a chance invoking the power of the Vindicator to turn the ghouls. The 'eek' was a rather convincing double chill. I believe our Lady Weepins is none other than Lady Elaine and Elaine is so much more flattering than Weepins I think I will call her by that name."

Bellany walked over to Elaine's sarcophagus and braced herself to slide the lid aside but James held up his hand for her to stop.

"Actually I believe you are thinking too much like a war lady. Trapping Leland is not as much a priority as you might believe; it is a minor nicety that can be put off. If he brings too many men loyal to him, trapping him could prove very costly in terms of lives. He may also attempt to take us hostage. Our top priority should be to ensure that our version of the story is the one that is accepted by the public. If Leland runs he may win on a personal level, but on a political level he is admitting guilt. Our top political priority is to keep as many witnesses alive as possible, and that means Guardian Moore and all of us. The guardian's role is very important because he is a well-respected adult. Leland might try to play anything we do off as a youthful prank, but the same would not fly for Guardian Moore."

"I see your point, Jamie. I do get all wrapped up in vanquishing foes. If Leland is going to be leading a mob surrounded by well-armed co-conspirators, our best bet will be to hide our non-combatants in the sarcophagi as close to the tunnel entrance as possible. That way Leland will pass them by and they will stand up among the commoners and school officials Leland will no doubt be bringing to witness the horrors that he has prepared to pin on Guardian Moore. The rest of us could hide in sarcophagi in the same corridor, but closer to Guardian Moore. In that way we can stand up not far behind Leland and redirect his attention from finding Guardian Moore once he realizes what appears to be Moore is a dummy."

"There are some small slabs that served as footers for some of the sarcophagi that Leland moved. Perhaps we could stack a wall of them at each end of the sarcophagus lid to plug any means of stabbing Guardian Moore. If he was hidden completely, they would have a harder time getting to him and they might not even realize that he was behind the sarcophagus lid if we were very lucky," Charles added.

"That's a good idea, Charles, why don't you and Abe get cracking on that, and the rest of us can open up some sarcophagi to hide in."

A few minutes later, Moore was blocked in and Abraham and Charles were free to help the others move the lids of their chosen sarcophagi. Abraham would occupy the sarcophagus closest to Moore. It was a bit ironic, but Abe was the best warrior and thus the one most able to protect the priest of Mortaebius. They placed Glenda in the sarcophagus closest to the tunnel entrance. Bianca chose a sarcophagus fairly close to Abraham's because she believed she should be the one to level accusations at Leland since she was a Bristol and any deputies not specifically loyal to Herrington would think twice about crossing her. Bellany took the Sarcophagus behind Bianca's and Charles and James took sarcophagi further back to guard Glenda. 

"The living approach, Lady Norwit," Lady Elaine warned while Bellany could still hear no signs of an approach.

"We had better get into our boxes. Try not to scare the commoners when you come out. They might think you are undead and kill you. I am going to check the door to the stair one more time before I get into my box. If I could get through and find Headmaster Bristol is in his chambers, he could bring in more help without causing Leland to abort his plot."

Once the others were lying down moving the lids of their sarcophagi into place above them, Bellany sneaked into the darkened corridor where the ghouls were hidden in sarcophagi. She had a bad feeling about Leland that would not relent; he reminded her too much of Evangeline, and Lieutenant Herrington reminded her too much of Lieutenant Harms.

Bellany crouched down and spoke in a hushed voice right next to one of the ghoul's sarcophagi: "Nick, reanimate now and quietly open your sarcophagus enough to squeeze out." She then moved to the other ghoul's sarcophagus. "Frank, reanimate now and quietly open your sarcophagus enough to squeeze out."

As the ghouls complied Bellany cast Clinging Darkness and her Floating Dagger telekinesis spell. Frank, the larger ghoul emerged first and helped Nick the smaller ghoul with his sarcophagus lid after a single nod from Bellany. Once out, both of them began to follow her.

"Hurry, stay hidden in the darkness surrounding me, move silently and come with me."

The ghouls followed Bellany to the door to the spiral staircase. She had the familiar lock opened before she arrived. The ghouls followed her in and she quietly closed and locked the door behind them. She remembered that Herrington seemed to have keys to all of the school locks. If Leland decided to escape he would likely be coming this way and the stairwell would be the best place to set up an ambush. She bounded quietly up the spiral stair and stopped at the office door. She tried a few coins in the keyhole to the office door and then found one the right size and pounded it into the keyhole with the pommel of her short sword.

Once she was finished compromising Herrington's access to the lock, she cast Clinging Darkness on each of the ghouls individually. She then ran down to the foot of the stairs and listened at the keyhole to the crypts. She could already hear footsteps on the stone as people poured into the crypt. Lady Elaine stuck her head through the door so that she could see and narrated what was going on for Bellany.

"Leland is in the lead. He is fully robed with a vindicator holy symbol hanging outside his garments. He also has a crossbow. There is a young man between Leland and Herrington that is holding two staves and a torch. Herrington is dressed in a full suit of chain mail with a chain coif and an open helm with a nasal guard. He also has a crossbow in his hands. He is wearing a broadsword at his side. There are four or five others who might be deputies, and perhaps a score of men with various arms who were likely attending the tournament. I can also see the Headmaster."

Bellany could still hear Guardian Moore speaking in tongues, but the sound was very faint due to the protection that surrounded him and the distance to him. Bellany knew that the dim light made it difficult for anyone to see details but she was gratified when she heard Reverend Leland speak up in spite of the changes they had made to the scenery.

"So you are the one behind these deadly men in rags, Guardian Moore! I hear your arcane syllables! Thou shalt not use foul magic upon me! I smite thee with the bolt of the Vindicator!"

Leland's crossbow bolt shook the suit of armor wearing Moore's cloak as it penetrated. A second bolt, this one from Herrington's bow hit the armor and the deputy's head rolled off onto the floor.

"What the...?" Herrington exclaimed as he and his men advanced.

At that moment Steefl spoke. "This is Sir Steefl, hiding. My friends and I are coming out!" There was a sliding of stone lids and murmuring from the crowd.

"As many of you know, I am Bianca Bristol! You just saw that Leland and Herrington shot what they took to be Guardian Moore in cold blood because he is speaking in tongues. What you did not know is that his speaking in tongues is the result of Reverend Leland's foul spell. Leland and Herrington left a deputy to kill us so that they could pin our murders on Guardian Moore, supposedly a deranged priest of Mortaebius. Unfortunately the deputy took a moment to rape Lady Norwit and she overcame him and rescued us!" Bianca Bristol shouted.

"I, Sir Abraham Steefl, will protect Guardian Moore. I may not like him, but even he does not deserve to be killed for crimes he did not commit! Committing a dire sin advantageous to the cause of the Vindicator does not make it any less wrong!"

Herrington conferred quietly with a few of the men around him as Leland spoke.

"You youngsters and your childish pranks you staged this whole thing, didn't you?" Leland shouted.

"Childish pranks, Leland!? This is Lord James Jordell whom you tried to murder! Do I sound like I am laughing!? You might as well give up now, Reverend. The Jordells will not rest until you are shown harsh justice!"

A few of the people from the crowd hastened to surround James. They were dressed in plain clothing but the way they moved with one purpose betrayed them to be Jordell guards.

Suddenly the deputies around Herrington sprinted at the crowd, bashing Abraham and several others with their shields while Herrington darted in, grabbed Bianca Bristol, and put a dagger to her throat. He backed up more slowly than he had gone in.

"No one move or Bianca Bristol is a dead woman! We are going to be leaving now, and if you would like to see Lady Bristol alive again, you had best not move for half an hour. If you follow us, Lady Bristol's death will be on your hands!"

Bellany heard footsteps approaching the spiral stair room and crept up the steps to a point where she could just manage to see the office door below her if she leaned out a little sideways from the step that she stood on. She whispered some quick instructions to the ghouls concerning when, how and whom to attack and then she stood silently waiting. She heard Herrington open the door from the crypt and then relock it after his group entered. They then made their way up the stairs to the door to the office.

"The nearest border between here and Avengene is to the northeast. If we ride hard, Bristol will never catch up with us, especially as long as we have this precious package." Herrington pushed Bianca's neck into the crook of his left arm so that he could sheath his blade and use his right hand. "In case you think you can escape without a blade to your throat, let me assure you that if I flex my bicep strongly enough your neck will snap like a twig, young lady." Herrington unhooked his ring of keys from his belt and attempted to unlock the door.

"Herrington?" the deputy nearest Herrington spoke up after a moment's delay.

"Lieutenant Herrington, is something the matter?" Reverend Leland asked.

"Shit!" 

"Who doused the torches?!"

Bellany smiled as she completed casting her second spell and her ghouls stealthily advanced down the stairs into the resulting darkness. She had cast her first spell on Herrington. It had been the ranged version of the Scared Stiff spell. She could hear the confusion of the deputies, but she knew who her first target would be.

"Oh gods, I just had a wicked chi_," a deputy froze in mid phrase as the second attack of a ghoul got beneath his armor and paralyzed him.

Reverend Leland's voice could be heard as he rushed to cast a spell: "I invoke the blessing of light, for the Vindicator is the light of the soul. I invoke that growing light! Let the light become manife - hhhhgluglu."

_I have wanted to do that since your first Sunday sermon, you swine_ Bellany thought silently as she dodged the fountain of blood now spraying from Leland's jugular, the result of the swift stroke of her short sword. She might have whispered it in Leland's ear as he died but she had no time or taste for such theatrics.

The soldiers that were with Leland could also be heard in the darkness:

"What was tha_!"

"I think someone has cut the reverend's throat!"

"Shit I can't see."

"I think I got one!'

"Careful with that sword you idiot! That was my leg you just hi_"

"Oh gods, I dropped my swor_!"

"Tang!" Bellany parried a blind man's blade that had come too close to Bianca Bristol and kicked the man in the solar plexus. It was wonderful how being the highest on the staircase gave a person such an advantage in the kicking department. Several deputies fell against one another and in the rush of arms, legs and swords, the stealthy claws of the ghouls fit right in. In only a few minutes the stairway was ominously silent. Bellany checked the life force emanating from Bianca Bristol, particularly her neck. The paralyzed Herrington held her uncomfortably tightly in his frozen grip, but she was not smothering, nor was her neck broken. The Scared Stiff spell had worked as it was supposed to. Herrington had frozen where he stood.

Bellany inserted her hand into the crook of Herrington's left elbow, grabbed his left hand and pulled as hard as she could to open up the crook of his arm while she firmly pushed Bianca's neck. Thankfully she came loose.

"Gods, who are you? I can't see anything!" Bianca said breathlessly.

Bellany took a burning torch from the floor and pressed the handle into Bianca's hand. She tightened her throat and whispered "Up" into Bianca's ear while simultaneously giving her a push up the stairs along the wall.

As Bianca felt her way up the stairs, Bellany checked the ghouls and saw that Nick, the smaller one, had been injured. She motioned for him to drag the paralyzed body of one of the deputies as she was dragging Herrington. She whispered orders into the ear of the other ghoul and each of them dragged a paralyzed deputy back down the stairs as far as the door to the dungeon. She unlocked the door with her telekinesis and opened it. She and the ghouls dragged all of Leland's servitors into the dungeon. She then opened the cellblock.

She and the ghouls hastily disarmed each man before locking him in a cell. Bellany paid special attention to Herrington. She frisked him thoroughly and recovered keys, a set of lock picking tools, weapons, and even the ring on his finger and his armor. He was the only man she took the time to shackle to the ring in the floor of his cell. When they were finished moving and disarming the conspirators, she had the ghouls carry Leland's corpse into the cell at the end of the block. The last cell was unique in that there was no small barred window to look through in order to see the occupant of the cell.

"Quickly undress the reverend and put his things in that corner," Bellany whispered to the ghouls. "Once he is undressed you may devour him, but you must only eat below the cut in his throat. The investigators will need his face and head intact for identification purposes and you must not break or gnaw his bones because a Priest of Mortaebius may have use for them later. Frank, please be kind enough to let Nick have the lion's share of the meal so that he can heal his wounds. I want you both hale and hearty. I will have to figure out what you are to tell the investigator that comes; but until I tell you otherwise, simply tell him that you will not speak of me."

"Yes mistress," the ghouls said in unison.

Bellany closed the cell door behind her and locked it. She made sure the other cells were locked before she ran back through the dungeon making sure to lock both the door to the cellblock and the door to the dungeon behind her. She kept Herrington's locksmithing tools and left the rest of his items with those of his men locked in an equipment chest in the dungeon. After taking care of Herrington and his men, Bellany snuck back down the stairs; she quietly unlocked the door to the crypt, entered, and locked the door behind her. It was nearly dark on the far end of the corridor to the stairs and what light there was came from the dimly illuminated area of the dais and the torch-bearing crowd directly beyond it on the northwest side. Bellany crept towards the people. She hid in the shadows until she felt that her darkness would look out of place and then she stopped, dropped to her hands and knees, cancelled her darkness and crawled around the dais.

Headmaster Bristol was busy conferring with James Jordell who was giving a detailed account of the events that had transpired earlier. Charles and Abraham tilted back the sarcophagus lid covering Guardian Moore to give him more air. The move drew the attention of the crowd as Moore was still babbling in tongues. As people looked at Moore, Bellany crept into the opening of the southwestern passage and waited until she was sure that there was no attention directed her way. She then rejoined the crowd near Guardian Moore.

"Is he all right, Charles?" Bellany asked.

"I guess he is as all right as a man who cannot control his own mouth can be. Were you in your box?"

"I went to check the door and then I heard footsteps coming so I hid back in one of the side corridors." Bellany _had_ hidden in one of the side corridors for a few seconds, she had simply failed to tell about a great deal of time when she was elsewhere.

"Oh that explains it. I wondered where you were. I did not see Herrington take you prisoner and I did not see you get out of your box."

"I am fine. I heard when they took Lady Bristol hostage. I tried to think of a way we could head them off but I never came up with a plan that did not involve some danger to Lady Bristol. It is ironic that I would even consider rescuing her."

"Yes, I can't say as though I care for what Bianca has done to you socially, but I would not wish being taken prisoner by a madman on any girl."

"You are the greatest brother, Charles." Bellany gave Charles a hug.

"I know it. I try to be humble about it, but I am just so great it is difficult." Charles grinned.

Bellany rolled her eyes. "It looks like James is finished talking with the Headmaster. A lady probably ought to remind Headmaster Bristol that he has duties."

"Go right ahead," Charles agreed.

"Headmaster, I wonder if I might have a word with you over here."

"Oh, Lady Norwit, I did not realize you were here, although Lord Jordell did say that you were instrumental in foiling Leland's plot."

Bellany whispered in the Headmaster's ear. "The crypt is the scene of a crime. It should be sealed pending Baron Bristol's investigation. The crowd should be moved back out into the tunnel and the door should be closed to preserve everything as it is. Since the local constabulary has been compromised, you need to get some letters written to the proper baronial authorities. Since the spiral stair goes directly to your chambers, you can get a head start on the necessary correspondence without the danger of any remaining lookouts Herrington might have posted ever knowing. You realize that I have excellent penmanship and you would like me to come along and assist you."

Headmaster Bristol nodded.

"Gentlemen, I would like the bulk of you to kindly move back out into the tunnel, but do not leave it. We will comply with the kidnappers' demands, as I will not be the reason for Lady Bristol's death. I will leave a few men here to see to Guardian Moore. Since my chambers can be accessed from here without showing my face anywhere in the school I am going to get a head start on letters that need to be sent out to the proper authorities. Obviously the local constabulary cannot be trusted."

"Lord Charles, Sir Steefl please assist Jon Dunstable by moving these gentlemen out and then watching over Guardian Moore until the magic on him fades. Lord Jordell, if you can spare a guard or two for Guardian Moore I would be much obliged."

"Of course we are glad to help protect such an important witness." Lord Jordell designated two men.

Headmaster Bristol continued: "Lady Norwit, I have noticed you have impeccable penmanship. Might you assist me with my correspondence?"

"Of course, Headmaster Bristol, I am always willing to help in an emergency. Perhaps you and I should carry Lady Gransward upstairs as well. She would probably be more comfortable on a parlor couch than in a sarcophagus with a strange corpse."

"You have a good point there. Shall we bring someone else to carry a torch?"

"No, I am sure we will have no trouble carrying her. I could do it myself, so with the two of us she should be a breeze. She is so stiff that we can carry her like a ladder under one arm each. It's a good thing too since we will probably need one hand for torches. I will take her head and shoulders if you will take her feet."

"Very good, I will set a couple of torches right here."

"Okay, a gentle lift and we should have her. Thank goodness Lady Gransward is not a heavy girl."

The two of them hoisted Glenda Gransward up, snatched up their torches and hauled Glenda to the door to the spiral stair.

"Do you have the key to the crypt door, Headmaster?"

"Yes, I took the dungeon ring just in case the tunnel led to one of the basements."

"Good. Lady Gransward, I know from recent experience that you can hear in spite of your paralysis. We should have you in Headmaster Bristol's parlor shortly."

After they brought Glenda into the room that housed the staircase, Headmaster Bristol closed the door. Bellany moved towards the staircase so that she was now in the lead. They then made their way up the spiral stairs.

"Wow, suddenly it is very dark in here, Headmaster. The torches seem to have gone out."

"Yes, you are right. After that last step, I cannot see my own torch either. Back up a step... Yes, there seems to be a zone of magical darkness."

"How strange..."

"Is that you, Bellany?"

"By the gods, Lady Bristol, how can you be here? I just heard you get kidnapped," Bellany exclaimed. 

"Lady Bristol!?" Headmaster Bristol shouted.

"Shh, there may still be people after her, we should probably just hush this up, at least until her household guards can get here."

"Yes, you are quite right, Lady Norwit. Can you see, Lady Bristol?" Headmaster Bristol asked a little more quietly.

"Not when I was down there. Come up higher."

Bellany lightly tapped the butt of her torch on the stone wall and walked up the steps very slowly. She pretended that she could not see even though her Life Vision spell was still operating.

"Watch your step," Bellany warned as she used her foot to nudge aside a burning torch left over from Herrington's deputies.

A few steps later she said, "I felt heat and kicked a torch aside. I think it is burning but we cannot see it. Stick close to the wall."

"Very good, we can make it, slow but sure. Goodness, what happened here, Lady Bristol?" the headmaster asked as they emerged above the darkness to find Lady Bristol coming down the steps towards them.

"I cannot be sure myself, but I will tell you the story."

"I can see Lady Bristol now; we seem to be coming out above the darkness," Bellany observed.

"Thank the gods you are here. Every door above the darkness in this stairwell is locked and I was afraid to make too much noise in case there were lurking deputies," Bianca confessed.

"That was prudent of you, Lady Bristol. It is hard to say what might be in that zone of darkness." the headmaster grimaced.

"Indeed Headmaster, Lady Norwit has been teaching me how to keep my head in a crisis today. It has been a trial by fire."

The small group walked up to the door to Headmaster Bristol's chambers, whereupon he gave his torch and then the key to Bianca Bristol. She let them into the Headmaster's parlor and they laid Lady Gransward on the couch.

"If Herrington has additional conspirators watching the Academy our safety may depend on no one getting too near the windows. Luckily my tower is a little higher than the other parts of the school. We should be fine if we stay low when near a window.

"Later I will get parchment ready and take formal statements from all of the key players in these unfortunate events. No doubt Baron Bristol will do the same when he arrives, but I have found that memory for detail is best right after an event. For now I am most interested in why you are not currently on your way to Avengene with a knife at your throat, Lady Bristol."

"Well, they were taking me away. Everything was normal until we got to the door to the offices. Constable Herrington shifted my neck to the crook of his left arm so that he would have his right hand free to use his keys. He had done the same when we went into the spiral stairwell from the crypts. This time he just froze while using his keys. Some of the other men asked him what was up and then all the torches went out. Well I guess they did not go out at all, but their light did.

"The next thing I heard was Reverend Leland reciting some kind of prayer for light. I suspect he was trying a spell to counter the darkness. Someone must have cut his throat because he started gurgling and I got sprayed with blood as he fell." Bianca indicated her soiled dress.

"The other men drew swords, but they were as likely to hit each other as they were anything else. I heard a sword being parried near me and then I heard someone near me being kicked and several men falling. One dropped his sword. The odd thing was that some of them were talking and they just stopped in mid-sentence as if they were frozen as solid as Glenda here."

"Oh, maybe it was ghouls," Bellany suggested.

"I think you are right. The ghouls smelled horrible and I smelled that scent during the battle. Someone helped me get out of Herrington's grip and put a torch in my hand, but with the exception of whispering the word "up" in my ear and giving me a shove, they said nothing. I stumbled through the darkness and found that it ended before the level of the door to the library. I made my way up to Headmaster Bristol's door, but he was not in. I heard a door opening below. I think it was the door to the dungeon because it did not sound as far down as I remember the door to the crypt being. I think I also heard bodies being dragged, but it is hard to say. After a while the door that I think went to the dungeon closed again. Maybe ten minutes later you two showed up." She looked to Bellany on finishing her story.

"Headmaster Bristol, like Lady Gransward, we were paralyzed by ghouls, but came out of it. If those deputies were paralyzed by ghouls, we had better get down to the dungeon and make sure that they are properly secured before they thaw out. Also, we should be careful not to reveal Lady Bristol's location or any other valuable information. The deputies may be paralyzed, but they are not deaf."

"Gods, you are right, Lady Norwit. We had best make haste."

"Could you watch Lady Gransward, Lady Bristol? We need to hustle. There is food in the pantry and tea if you feel so inclined. I apologize for the lack of servants. I lead a humble life. We must get to work quickly before those men resume being a menace. Lady Bristol, here is the key to the tower door. Please lock it behind us. When we return, make sure it is one of us that is asking to come back in, and then ask how everything went. If I say everything is just fine, then it is not. There is a weapons display in the living room. You can arm yourself if necessary. If everything really is all right I will make some petty complaint as to the dankness of the dungeon or the difficulty of dealing with the deputies."

"Okay, thank you Headmaster Bristol. You had better get down there before we have still another disaster!" Bianca exclaimed.

Bellany smiled at Lady Bristol as they left to take care of the paralyzed deputies. To their mutual surprise, Bianca smiled back. Bellany cancelled the magical darkness before they reached it so that it seemed to have worn off during their conversation in Headmaster Bristol's chambers. They made their way over stairs still wet with Reverend Leland's blood and into the dungeon. They gave the dungeon a cursory search and then headed into the cellblock.

After they searched the cellblock and found the incarcerated conspirators Bellany remarked, "Did you notice that the doors to the cells occupied by deputies are closed and locked and that the rest of the cell doors are open except for the door to the cell at the very end of the block, the one with no little window that allows one to see into the cell?"

"Yes, now that you mention it I did notice that, and I normally keep all of the cell doors open."

"Since we have no idea where the ghouls might be, maybe we should just leave that cell alone."

Headmaster Bristol nodded. "I see your point. Reverend Leland is also unaccounted for, but judging from all of the blood on the stairs, I think he may have been killed as Lady Bristol suggested."

"He might be a ghoul snack by now."

"Ahem, yes that could be. I think we had better leave that last cell be as you advised."

Bellany nodded. She and Headmaster Bristol searched and secured each deputy as a team, and then made their way out of the cellblock and locked the door behind them.

"I am glad that is over. I have a friend with some vicious dogs that we can probably borrow for the cellblock hallway." Headmaster Bristol smiled as he opened the door out of the dungeon and locked it after Bellany had gone through.

"With Herrington out of the way I can send a boy to fetch Lady Bristol's household guards to escort her and Lady Gransward home as soon as she thaws. First we will need some warriors to scour the area for any remaining lookouts Herrington might have posted. Lord Jordell has excellent household guards. If you will watch over the ladies upstairs, I will make arrangements with Lord Jordell. If all goes well, the Jordell guards will be up to escort you to Jordell Manor to prepare for the ball within the hour. At the same time the Bristol guards can escort Lady Bristol and Lady Gransward to their homes."

"That sounds like a good plan. Make sure the men keep an eye out for a large toolbox, but don't open it, since it contains a still animated hunk of ghoul that the constable used to capture us. He took it with him when he left with the Reverend to herd all of you into the crypts to witness the staged crimes that he had arranged to pin on Guardian Moore." 

The Headmaster nodded thoughtfully. "I'll see to it."
-------

Bellany was treated like royalty at the ball following the tournament. Her stunning victory in the rapier event was one reason but the other was even more surprising. Bianca Bristol was spreading stories about Bellany's heroism in the crypts. As James Jordell put it, it was absolutely astonishing! The ball was held at Hartmoor Manor and although Deborah Hartmoor was a firm believer in chastity, the Barony of Hartmoor was an ally of Avengene, and tonight Bellany's alleged indiscretions were overshadowed by her heroism.

Talk about the politics of Leland's plot was as common at the ball as dancing. Some of the young ladies still managed scornful looks and maintained that no lady should know swordsmanship, but most of the young women were awed by Bellany's decisive victory over a championship swordsman. She was assured over and over that the ladies could not believe that Bellany had beaten the champion from Liaern. Bianca Bristol's endorsement of Bellany's fearlessness in the face of the horrors of the crypt brought her at least as many compliments as her victory with the rapier, even though the true horrors that they had faced were not revealed. The change in Bellany's social status was positively disorienting.

Some things did not change; Bellany spent most of the evening on the dance floor, but she did engage in more conversation than at any previous ball. There were endless questions about her skill at arms and whether she thought Marquis Avengene had put Leland and Herrington up to the murderous plot. Her answer was that she knew Lord Avengene would deny it, but she admitted she was unsure that a former lieutenant in Avengene's army and a spell-casting priest of the Vindicator would have come up with such a plot on their own, particularly since they seemed intent on escaping to Avengene. Before she could get too deeply into political discussion, however, another young man would always manage to squeeze a request for the next dance into the conversation.

Dancing had become so automatic that Bellany no longer had to think about the steps. Instead she thought about what sort of investigation Baron Bristol would likely conduct concerning Leland's plot and how she wanted that investigation to affect her. She thought of many scenarios and their likely outcomes. By the end of the ball she had come to the conclusion that although she might be able to assume her true identity, take credit for Bianca's rescue and be pardoned in Bristol for killing Evangeline, it would be too much of a circus. All of the Barons and their important servitors would want to know about her. With so many people knowing about her, the likelihood of Avengene finding out where she was and who she was skyrocketed. She knew some handy bits of magic but she had no doubt that a competent assassin or two could easily take her down, and Avengene had more than enough money and resources to field assassins if he knew where to send them.

Instead of revealing her secrets she decided to continue to keep her identity as Bellany Norwit intact, at least for the time being. Yet she wanted the Bristols and their allies to know that she was with them in their opposition to Avengene in case she should ever be caught while in the County of Jordell, the Barony of Bristol, or the Barony of Gransward. She decided she would write Bianca a note as Brianna towards that end. When the ball was over Bellany went back to Vargrend's and had a little fun with Mary.

Later that night she had even more fun with the members of the Medusa Club but she left a little early to take care of some business. On her way back from the Medusa Club meeting she stopped off at the Constable's office. It had been sealed by Mayor Eagan's people pending an investigation of the constabulary and their involvement in the plot of Leland and Herrington. Bellany found a locked window that she was able to open using telekinesis. She found the stock of wanted posters and took a modest stack of Brianna Barter posters and a bit of sealing wax. She felt that the posters would make good stationery for her letter to Bianca Bristol.

Once she was back at Vargrend's she took the time to cast Ghostly Whispers and Detect Magic.

"I am sorry I have been neglecting you, Lady Elaine. It has been such a busy night."

"Goodness yes, Lady Lust, I could not believe all of those men at the Medusa Club! They are surprisingly fond of you considering there is a veritable herd of them, and all of them between your legs!"

"I know the fear of young women might have done you more good, but it is lust that fulfills me. Yet you cannot say there was not plenty of ambient emotional energy."

"Oh yes, a deluge of emotional energy, primarily lust, lust and let's see, lust!"

Bellany giggled.

"Did you enjoy the ball?"

"Yes I did. You are a practiced dancer and so fluid. I enjoyed dancing along. Balls were not quite so grand in my day, but we did have them and on occasion I stole a dance with Alistair."

"How sweet, I would like to see if I can locate and cancel Reverend Leland's spell of Banishment Versus Ghosts for you and the other ghosts. I lacked the energy for a Cancel Magic spell earlier, but I think that time and the Medusa Club have remedied that situation. I was thinking about how to handle this whole plot and the inevitable investigation. There may be a priest of Mortaebius with the investigative team. There will also be two barons, a count and countless people involved, not to mention the crowd of parents, relatives and commoners that will be coming to the championship tournament.

After thinking about this for a while I believe the best thing that I can do is continue to keep a low profile, yet I would like to get a little credit. What I would like to do is split the credit and let my true self, Brianna Barter, take most of it. I will need the help of you and the other ghosts and the ghouls. I need everyone to think of me as two different people in case any priest of Mortaebius brought by Baron Bristol to handle the ghouls unwittingly attempts to blow my cover as Bellany Norwit the better to get me killed as a result of his investigation."

"I see your point. Once you have rid us of this banishment I am sure Baladus would like to talk this situation over with you."

It took her a couple of tries, but she was able to cancel the spell of banishment that Leland had cast on the dais. Afterwards she went down into Baladus' chambers and sat at the classroom desk.

"Baladus and Alistair are you around?"

"Let me see if I can fetch them. I think they may have retreated into the land of the dead, but your aura exists both here and there. I think I may be able to locate them and bring them back using you as a gate. Think about me, it will help connect us."

"I will do that, Lady Elaine."

Bellany spent the next few moments reviewing all of the time she had spent with Lady Elaine, from the moment she first met the ghost in the library until nearly the present time. After about twenty minutes Lady Elaine, Guardian Baladus and Guardian Alistair all appeared in or near Bellany. Once back they spread out.

"Guardian Baladus, Guardian Alistair, I am so glad Lady Elaine was able to find you!"

"It was quite an extraction, actually. That blasted warding spell of Reverend Leland made it very uncomfortable here so close to the land of the living. Alistair and I made use of my altar to Mortaebius to retreat to the land of the dead. Lady Elaine was able to find us and lead us back to your presence within the land of the dead. She told me about your thoughts concerning maintaining your cover as Lady Norwit. I concur. It is easy to get caught up in grabbing as much glory as possible when you do something heroic, but in your position, you cannot afford such things. Now what was this about taking some credit as Brianna Barter?"

"I felt that if I wrote a letter to Bianca as Brianna that it would explain where the spells of darkness and the control of the ghouls came from and take suspicion off Bellany Norwit. With no pieces missing from the puzzle, my hope is that the investigators would not go out of their way to search for spell-casters. I was wondering would it be possible to hide my ghost hand from a Detect Magic spell using an illusion?"

"Yes, at least from a cursory sweep. You must be careful, however, because the illusion itself is magic. If you do not do it right it will make the ghost hand more visible instead of less. Mental illusions can be very effective if you are successful with them, because in that case the person looking sees what you want them to see rather than what is really there. Unfortunately it is usually difficult to target and cast when you are being examined for magic. We can work on those issues tomorrow night if you wish."

"Yes, thank you Baladus. The other thing I wonder is if I can get you ghosts to stretch the truth by breaking me into two different people. Bellany who helped motivate the peers to overcome their situation and Brianna who hid in the shadows and cast Remove Fear on them."

"I would be glad to help you maintain your secret, but I think the simplest idea is usually best. We can simply be elsewhere if the investigator attempts to contact us. Perhaps we will extend our vacation in the land of the dead. It would be very difficult to summon us from there, particularly if the caster of the summons does not know us. I have some spells that should bolster our resistance to being summoned, as well. If we cannot be summoned, no one will be able to tap us for information.

"In the unfortunate event that we are summoned then I will coach the others in lies that are difficult to detect because they are essentially true. I might say that I talked with Brianna Barter briefly and that I tried to dispel the fear spell on Lady Norwit as she seemed the most resistant of the group but I failed to accomplish more than a brief effect. Miss Barter had much better luck removing the magical fear caused by the ghouls from the peers. You see the art of lying while under magical scrutiny is to tell the truth, but to omit certain details such as the fact that Brianna Barter is another name for Bellany Norwit. You would do well to remember that when the investigators question you.

"Tell the truth so that any lurking spell caster does not detect your lie, but tell the truth in such a way that the conclusions reached by your questioners will not reflect the whole truth or the real truth. We will work on the details and on illusions tomorrow evening. Judging by the readiness of your pen I take it you are going to compose the letter to Lady Bristol from Miss Barter. I recommend brevity."

After some discussion, Bellany wrote the letter on the wanted poster and recited it to Baladus and Elaine:

Dear Lady Bristol,

When Mortaebius sent me to the Bristol Academy I was unsure of the reason. Recent events have made it clear. I attempted to interfere as little as possible with your life. The Lord of Death does not endorse sheltering others from the wisdom provided by the trials of life.

Shortly after discovering your situation in the crypts I freed you and several of your friends from the rigor of the ghouls without revealing my presence or squandering more power than was advisable given the uncertainty of the immediate future. I was pleased that you and your fellow captives were able to handle the situation thereafter until Leland arrived.

When Leland and his deputies took you I was monitoring your situation. I provided the darkness and commanded the ghouls to secure your freedom. I cannot say that I regret repeating history when I put an end to Reverend Leland's life. Had I allowed another second to pass, the spell that he was casting might have compromised your rescue.

Mortaebius does not often intervene in mortal affairs so directly. His reasons for doing so are worthy of contemplation.

As you see from my stationery, my enemies do not afford me the luxury of showing my face anywhere for long. Therefore I must bid you farewell.

Sincerely,

Brianna Barter

P.S. The ghouls are secured in the windowless cell at the end of the cellblock beneath the academy. I hope we will not require their services, but when war threatens it is important to keep all options open. Please see that they are placed with a qualified priest of the Shroud.

-------
"That should suffice very nicely," Baladus said before raising a finger and disappearing through the wall. A few moments later a signet came rolling out from under the door to Baladus' inner chambers. Bellany recalled Baladus' key had come from under the same door when she had been obliged to borrow it, and she had returned it there using telekinesis at a later date.

"Use this Seal. It is a rather generic seal used by members of the Order of The Shroud for ages. You may leave it in the desk drawer when you are finished with it."

Once finished, Bellany placed the letter in Bianca Bristol's mailbox in the Academy library. She then went down to the dungeon to visit the ghouls to teach them to think of Bellany Norwit the schoolgirl as a separate person from the mistress they adored.

After returning to her room Bellany had so little time before Mary was to wake up that she decided to go over the ranged version of her Life Drain spell once in bed. She had already applied range to fear and remove fear and hoped that applying it to a spell as familiar as Draining Touch would be an elementary exercise. She preparing the spell for a test later on and when Mary did not awaken as soon as she had expected, she set her book aside and got perhaps a half hour of sleep before her roommate woke her.

-------

Deacon Brown, the young man who had carried Reverend Leland's staff in the crypt, had remained apart from the conspirators when they decided to flee. Brown gave the Sunday sermon at the chapel of the Vindicator. He was not yet a priest but since he had been accepted to seminary, he was the best alternative that could be found on short notice. Quite appropriately, the sermon was about the dangers of excessively zealous faith and the importance of applying the morality of the Vindicator first and foremost to oneself before expecting it of others. Bellany would have preferred it if the sermon had been less heartfelt and more poorly delivered. Unfortunately it turned out to be a brilliant piece of damage control work. The faithful had their faith strengthened by tribulation rather than waking up to see what their leaders were really up to. Had she not ducked into the stables before church to successfully test her Drain at Range spell, her mood might have been dampened even further as she listened to the sermon. 

Abraham Steefl caught Bellany just after the sermon.

"Milady, could I speak with you for a moment in private," Abraham whispered in her ear.

"Of course, Abraham," Bellany whispered. He pulled her through the church, and into the presently deserted kitchen.

"Milady, I ah, am not sure how to ask you this," Abraham stammered.

"You know you can ask me anything, Abraham. I will not be offended."

"Um, well, as you know, I am bound for paladin training at the Academy of Righteous Wrath and Reverend Althas the healer who came after my jousting accident encouraged me to join the Order of the Searing Light."

Bellany tried not to show that she was disappointed that Abraham was still bound for paladin school, but she realized that the visit Abraham received from Brianna Barter when he was dead and near dead could easily have been written off as a strange dream. Brown's sermon had no doubt converted any desire Abraham might have had to leave the church due to Leland's plot into a desire to police the church from within. Bellany could hardly expect Abraham to be different when all of the others among the faithful surely did fine damage control for themselves on the matter of Reverend Leland's plot by making it seem as if it were simply one isolated group that let zeal run away with their morality.

Abraham continued.

"Uh, it is a celibate order, but I am troubled. It is impossible for me to make the decision whether or not to join. I have never been so close to death as after my recent injury, and it made me take pause to consider. I am a virgin and I have no idea what I am giving up. I realized that I do not want to die wondering. You said before that you could not be faithful to one man, that it was part of the damage done to you by the orcs. Uh..." 

Bellany grinned impishly, "Would you like to experience the love of a woman before giving it up?"

Abraham blushed. He looked both embarrassed and confused as if he had expected to be turned down at that point. "Yes, I was afraid you would be angry at me for asking."

"Not at all, it was sweet of you to think of me. The problem is going to be finding a place where we can have a little privacy."

Abraham smiled in spite of his astonishment and opened the door to the church parsonage. "I think I have a solution for that if you would not mind, uh..." He motioned for Bellany to come with him.

"Deacon Brown is going to be tied up for a while shaking hands, asking after family members and answering questions and comments that people have in the aftermath of his sermon. I told him I was going to take you for a walk and tell you about my plans. He has to study for exams so he is counting on me locking up when I return. Reverend Leland is gone and the new priest is not yet here, so no one is using the parsonage. I took the liberty of changing the bedding and drawing the drapes."

He led Bellany through the parsonage to the bedroom. Bellany had to smile that she would be deflowering Abraham in Reverend Leland's bed. Somehow it made up for some of her disappointment about Abraham not losing his faith.

Bellany nodded. "It looks like you did a fine job cleaning this room and boxing up the reverend's articles in preparation for the next parson. I am going to need a hand with my dress. It buttons in the back."

"Uh, yes... thank you. I got up early to make sure everything was done before the sermon."

Abraham's hands shook slightly as he unbuttoned her dress. His lust was racing down her spine and making her nose tickle.

"Achoo!" Bellany sneezed as quietly and daintily as she could manage. "Excuse me; I must be a little sensitive to the dust kicked up earlier by the cleaning, but you really did a beautiful job."

"Thank you, I guess dust and cleaning cannot be separated completely, although I did air the place out."

Abraham finished unbuttoning her dress.

"Mother wants me to wear linen underwear but I am naughty and like the silken underthings that come with my ball dresses from the Jordell seamstress much better. There is nothing like the feeling of silk against one's skin. Just untie the laces at the bottom of my bustier and loosen them as much as possible all of the way up. Lacing it up all over again takes longer than just slipping out of it with the laces loosened."

Abraham carefully loosened her laces.

"It is flattering that your strong hands are shaking in anticipation."

"I have been dreaming of you since the first day I saw you last summer. I can't quite believe this is really happening. I thought you would politely decline and then I would feel like a fool, and that would be that."

"Nonsense, I cannot be faithful to a single man since the orcs, but that is because I have no resistance to any man I am fond of or find attractive. You have been sweet to me and have defended my honor in spite of my lack of virtue since the day I got to school. I realize you were doing your knightly duty, but you did it with feeling and I am fond of you because you have always been a great friend. I realize that the blade of an orc wrecked your face, but that is not all that women look at. In addition to a noble personality, you have a wonderfully strong, masculine body. There is plenty there to catch a lady's eye."

Bellany got out of her dress and laid it over a chair. Next she turned towards Abraham and started pulling her bustier up.

"Please pull my bustier up over my head," she said extending her arms daintily upwards.

Abraham removed the garment and laid it on the empty dresser. He inhaled deeply as he beheld her breasts still quivering after escaping the confining lingerie.

"Your body is without peer."

Bellany smiled and stepped closer. "I am happy you find me exciting. There is something pleasant about the caress of a man's lust as he looks upon me."

She began unbuckling Abraham's belt.

"You can take off your tunic. I will work further down." Bellany smiled lustily while Abraham blushed. She squatted briefly to unbuckle Abraham's shoes before standing to work on the buttons of his breeches.

"There, that is much better," Bellany sighed happily when they were undressed.

"You have much less hair than I," Abraham marveled. 

Bellany smirked. "I would have hair on my legs and crotch but I shave it before I wear silk stockings and lingerie as I did last night for the ball."

"I guess I do not know a lot about ladies' fashion." Abraham blushed.

"I would not expect you to. I shave more off than most, but I enjoy the smooth feeling between my legs."

"And the feeling of silk against your skin," Abraham added breathily.

"You catch on quickly," Bellany smiled.

"I have a special interest in the subject."

"It is a shame we cannot take all day with this, but Vargrend's prison for girls does not afford me that much freedom. I guess we will just have to make do with the time we have," Bellany sighed as she embraced Abraham and kissed him. He was a bit awkward at first but caught on quickly. As they kissed he caressed her back and rump, and then pulled her down onto the mattress on top of him.

"I remember falling on top of you once before," Bellany purred as she reached under her, grasped Abraham's erection and slipped it into her.

Bellany squeezed him with a wave of contraction that glided up his shaft from base to tip.

Abraham gasped, "Oh gods!"

"If you decide to get married rather than join a celibate order, don't be disappointed if your wife cannot grip you. Just as a green lancer might not have the muscles to hold his lance steady, a virgin wife may not have any muscular strength between her legs. I have had an awful lot of practice at this and my internal muscles are very strong rather than very dead as in the case of most virgins."

Abraham turned over so that he was on top of her and began thrusting in earnest. "You are like heaven inside."

Bellany smiled, her hips moving, thrusting her clit against Abraham's pubic bone for the sheer pleasure of it.

Abraham's breathing quickened as Bellany's wet, gripping tunnel made his cock swell with his impending orgasm. He bucked like a pony and then grunted breathlessly as he began to spend. Bellany pulled firmly on his lust to lift his orgasm to a greater peak of pleasure, but she let down before she had taken more than a paltry amount more energy than he would have given naturally. After grunting softly for some time, he turned over so that she was again on top. He grinned blissfully. 

"Gods, that is a lot to give up!"

"That is why I am not even contemplating becoming a nun. I think it would be a waste of my talents."

Abraham smiled. "Is it as pleasurable for women?"

"Yes, although we tend to be a little slower to reach our peak and that means we get the short end of the stick when time is lacking, or even when time is plentiful if a man has never bothered to consult with his mate as you have now."

"I take it you have advice to impart?" Abraham caressed her idly. 

Bellany shivered. "I could do a whole lecture on the subject, but I doubt Headmaster Bristol would go for it even if I told him it would do a world of good towards ensuring happy marriages." Bellany squeezed Abraham's largely flaccid cock within her just to add a bit of punctuation. All the while she massaged his muscular thighs.

"What is your advice?"

"You just have to last longer than I do, which I realize is no easy feat between my thighs. If you can come more than once in a given session you will naturally slow up a bit with each shot. Eventually you will reach your peak after me rather than before me. Some men develop a degree of control with practice. Since it is obvious that you care about your lady's pleasure, I am sure you would become an accomplished lover in no time."

Suddenly Abraham's gaze wandered. "I am so sorry Reverend Leland had to die, but at least his death is serving a noble purpose in renewing our faith."

"And in supplying us with a bed, although this is probably not exactly the purpose he would have had in mind." Bellany kissed the tip of Abraham's nose. "Somehow I like the poetic twist. It is going to be a joy to take my time making love with you, Abraham, and it is a miracle that you were able to get us any time alone. I had no idea you could be so devious, but it is for a good cause. There is no sense in your spending a lifetime as a celibate priest wondering about what you missed, but never knowing. Besides, I can feel you growing inside me. With luck I will peak first this time, but you needn't stop if I do. I do not need rest afterwards. That is a need that seems to be confined mostly to men. I, on the other hand, am insatiable..."

-------

It was afternoon before Bellany walked into her room with a pleasant smile on her face.

"You look happy, Bellany. Where did you go?"

"I am happy. I had to go to church, of course, but afterwards I was helping Abraham Steefl with some last-minute research he needed to do in order to determine if he wanted to join a celibate order of paladins or not."

"Bellany!" Mary squealed and then she whispered, "You slept with him, didn't you?"

"Haven't I told you that you should assume I have slept with everyone?"

"But you have not!"

"Well you cannot blame me for trying to remedy that!"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Did he enjoy it?"

"Mary, do you really have to ask?"

"Oh gods, I know he did. Aren't you afraid you will get the reputation of a slut?"

"It is a little late to worry about that. Besides, I prefer to think of myself as a free spirit. Speaking of free spirits I did not see you at church this morning."

Mary shrugged. "Since Reverend Leland was not there to herd us, I decided it was the perfect time to try a different church."

"Oh really? Which one did you go to?"

"I went to the temple of Amorra, goddess of love, of course."

"Oh, that was a good choice! I swear Mary, if Avengene keeps this up and there is a war, worshippers of the Vindicator will be in serious trouble here in Bristol. They could be chased out of Bristol or worse. I hope that will not happen, but the same sort of thing has already happened to non-Vindicator worshippers in Avengene. If your family insists on worshipping the Vindicator they should move to Avengene for their own safety."

"Yes, only I know they will not move. I have finally accepted the fact that the Vindicator is not a good fit for me. The Priestess of Amorra was very helpful and she just seems so much less of a fake than Leland."

"Leland was a genuine snake and we now know the full extent of it. If you ask Bruhnhilda Daelrath, priests of the Vindicator are often a bit off. Yet it would be a mistake to blame what Leland did entirely on his religion. Perhaps you have already figured out that it is highly unlikely that a secretly spell-casting priest of the Vindicator and a 'former' lieutenant in Lord Avengene's army were working together on this plot without the Avengenes' knowledge or consent. If it were not for my mother being an Avengene I would have headed for another church myself. Switching to another church shows that you were thinking. Although I can honestly say that today is the one day I would not have wanted to miss church."

"Bellany!" Mary squealed as she slapped Bellany's rump.

-------

This ends, The Man In Rags, chapter 69 of The Chronicles of Rapina.
The story continues in chapter 70, Conventional Wisdom.

Copyright 2008 by Rapina