 
                               Chapter 3
 
Chapter 3
 
 
 
            The group was somber as they walked through the forest. 
The light-hearted mood of the day had died with the noble creature of
the realm.  They had taken only enough time to carve off and cook a
sufficient amount of the dragon’s carcass to provide them food for
their journey.  None of them was looking forward to having to eat
something they had spoken with.  Survival, however, was more important
to them than their sensibilities.
 
            Kate had cried for a solid hour after Dan-Eger’s death. 
Don had sat beside her, holding her hand and cradling her head on his
shoulder.  He hadn’t said anything, for there was nothing to be said. 
Julie had cooked up the meat, trying not to remember what, or rather
who, it was, and had then packaged it in the empty bags they had been
carrying.  Hopefully it would keep long enough for them to get to
Castle Ballor.
 
            There was no talk of remaining in the clearing.  Not only
did it harbor a bad memory for them all now, but soon the predators and
scavengers would be out in force, and there was no way they could fend
off any sort of attack.  They moved along the path Dan-Eger had pointed
out to them, hoping that their gloom would fade with distance.  No one
spoke as they went, and there was no playfulness or light-heartedness
in their collective gait.
 
            When they stopped for the night, everyone was trying to
find excuses not to eat dinner.  It was only when their hunger could no
longer be tolerated that they broke out what everyone agreed to call
“rations”.  The only bright spark of the night was that dragon meat
tasted surprisingly good.  Even after being carried for a couple of
hours in food sacks, the meat was still tender, and slightly warm.  It
helped them to distance themselves from the event that this meat did,
in fact, taste like *food*, rather than like some kind of abomination.
 
            After the evening meal was finished, the boys gathered for
a meeting to discuss what to do.  Gone, for the moment, was their
joking and plotting about their sisters.  It had been brought home to
them that death was prevalent in this land.  One incident could be seen
as a fluke, but two in two days was more than anyone could pass off.
 
            “So, Don,” Paul started out, holding his pebble in his
hand,  “Do we listen to the dragon?”
 
            “We’re still heading more or less north, which is also what
the scroll told us to do,” Don pointed out.  “I don’t see that we have
any reason not to.  Gill?”
 
            “Dan-Eger didn’t have any reason to lie.  All he wanted was
a quicker death.  I say we keep going.  He said three days, but I think
it’ll probably take us four, with our group’s lack of hiking
experience.”
 
            “Shit.  That means we still have to find more food to eat.”
 
            “We’ll need to do that anyway.  We can’t live on just
meat.  We’ve got to find people to trade with, or find some vegetables
growing wild.”
 
            “Agreed.  Keep your eyes open, okay?”
 
            “Yeah,” Paul confirmed.  “We’ll do that.  It would also be
useful if we could manage to obtain other supplies.  Rope, for
instance, and a better first-aid kit, things like ointments and
liniments and that sort of shit.”  The pebble in Paul’s hand was
rocking slightly back and forth now, though Paul’s hand was steady.
 
            “Right.  I don’t know where we’d get any of that stuff
before we get to the castle, but we’ll keep our options open.  Okay,
since you guys screwed up last night’s guard rotation, what do we do
now?”
 
            “Katie is still upset, Don.  You need to keep close to
her.  She’s the frailest of us, emotionally as well as physically.  We
can handle the watch duty for you.”
 
            “That’s hardly fair, Paul,” Don pointed out.
 
            “Depends on how you look at it,” Gill replied.  “You’re the
one doing all the thinking.  They say that higher brain functions are
the first thing to go when you start to get fatigued.  We can’t afford
for you to not be thinking straight.  That could get us all killed.” 
Paul nodded in agreement.
 
            Don acceded to the inevitable.  “All right, but if you guys
get to the point where you’re getting dog-tired, I’m taking over a
shift, dammit.”  There was general agreement with that point.
 
            “Guys?  I hate to bring this up just now,” Paul said
quietly.  The stone in his hand was now a good inch away from his skin,
but he hadn’t yet noticed it.  “But we should talk about the girls.”
 
            “What, precisely, is bugging you, oh levitator of rocks?” 
Don had noticed the pebble, and wanted to point it out to the other two.
 
            “Huh?  Well, shit!  I didn’t even know I was doing that! 
Cool!”
 
            “Looks like you got your powers after all,” Gill said. 
“Congrats.  Now learn how to use the damned things so we’ve got more
than Mr. Wizard over here!”  Don pushed him playfully.
 
            “Well, son of a bitch,” Paul said quietly, closing his hand
around the pebble.  “Anyway, to answer your question, I mean, we agree
that the girls are acting funny.  They’re all far more cooperative, and
even downright infatuated with us.  What do we do about that?”
 
            “We take advantage of it!” Gill insisted.
 
            “I don’t have a problem with that, but how do we go about
it?” Don wanted to know.
 
            “Carefully,” Paul said.  “The last thing we need is to make
the wrong move and to piss them off.  It would split this group right
down the middle, us against them.”
 
            “Small steps, like Gill said last night.  We take small
steps.”
 
            “There is something we could do, but it means less security
for us.”
 
            “What’s that?” Don wanted to know.
 
            “We could move farther apart at night.  Try to put bushes
or trees between us.  It’ll give us a little bit of privacy, so that if
we do get anywhere, well… I think the girls will be more open if they
don’t think everyone’s watching,” Paul explained.
 
            “I agree,” Gill said.  “The security thing isn’t all that
big a deal.  I don’t even know why we’re bothering with it.”
 
            Just then, a wolf howled.  It was a high-pitched, soulful
howl that was soon joined by a countless number of others.  Don
shivered and turned to Gill.  “*That’s* why.”
 
 
 
            After the meeting broke up, Don walked over to Kate, and
helped her to her feet.  She stayed very close to him while they walked
a short distance off the path and sat down together by a large tree
that shielded them from the others.
 
            “Donny, why are we away from the others?” she wanted to
know.  Her voice was brittle and a little shaky.
 
            “Just to give everyone some privacy, sis.  We don’t want to
start getting on each other’s nerves too soon, or this will be a really
nasty trip.”  She shook her head, and then leaned against him, her head
resting on his shoulder.  He slipped his arm around her and she moved
in close.  He could feel her breasts pressing against him, and he had
to calm himself.  *Not now.  She is way too stressed to touch her
now.*  Instead, he looked up at the sky, studying the stars there.
 
            Katie noticed his interest.  “What is it?” she asked.
 
            “I was just wondering if I could make out any
constellations.  You know, like the Big Dipper, or Sagittarius or
something.”
 
            “Why?” she asked curiously.
 
            “Well, I really think we’re in a game world, but I’m
wondering how closely it’s modeled on Earth.  I mean, are we in Zemlia
Nov’s equivalent of North America?  Or are we in Australia?”
 
            “Does it matter?  We’re going home, right?”
 
            “No, it doesn’t really matter, but it was keeping my mind
occupied.”  *Instead of thinking of dead dragons,* he didn’t add.
 
            They sat for some time in silence before Kate yawned.  She
smiled at herself.  “It sure feels like it’s been a long day.”
 
            “Yeah.  You can lie down and go to sleep if you want.”
 
            “I think I will,” she said.  She leaned up and looked her
brother in the eyes.  “I love you, Donny,” she said, and kissed him on
the lips.  He kissed her back, and caressed her arm.  They broke the
kiss, and then she lay down, her back turned to him.  He sat and looked
at the stars, hoping for… what?  He didn’t know.
 
 
 
            Several yards away, Julie and Paul were sitting together
between some bushes.  Paul was playing with the pebble he had been
carrying, levitating it in his palm.  He showed his sister, expecting
her usual polite but disinterested reaction.
 
            “That’s so neat!” she exclaimed quietly.  “What else can
you do with it?”
 
            “I don’t know.  This is the most I’ve tried…  It’s the
first thing I’ve been able to do since I got here.”
 
            “Try to make it float over to me,” she said from a few feet
away.  “C’mon, you can do it!”
 
            Paul concentrated on the pebble.  It wobbled a bit, but it
hovered through the air over to where his sister was sitting.  She
caught it, and uttered a little squeal of glee.  She hopped up, and
stepped over to her brother.  She unceremoniously plopped herself into
his lap, and put her arms around his neck.  She laid her head on his
shoulder and murmured, “My brother, the magician.”  He didn’t bother to
correct her.
 
 
 
            Gill had taken first watch, and he paced silently along the
path.  Occasionally, he would step off the path in the direction of one
or the other of the sibling pairs, or he would walk to where his sister
lay, sleeping.  There was no trouble, and he didn’t even hear the
wolves again.  After four hours, he rousted Paul, who woke up quickly
and seemingly well-refreshed.  Gill bid him a good night, and returned
to his sister.
 
            Gill studied Susan as she lay on the ground, her back to
him, her head lying on her pack.  He noticed how beautiful she was, and
how her clothing clung to her.  She was wearing a heavy, light-green
tunic and forest-green, tight pants.  Her boots were hanging from a
nearby branch to keep bugs and animals out of them.  He couldn’t help
but think about what he’d love to do with her.
 
            Lying down next to her, Gill rolled onto his side, very
near her back.  He could smell her and, even having gone so long
without a bath, she still smelled great to him.  He placed his hand
gently on her hip, and then slid it carefully down onto her abdomen. 
He left it there as he laid his head down on his own pack.
 
            It was only a few seconds later that he felt a soft hand
rubbing his crotch.  He almost moaned out loud, but he knew that would
bring Paul running, and he didn’t want company just now.  Susan showed
no signs of being awake.  In fact, it sounded as if she was dreaming. 
He dared not move, except that soon her other hand grabbed his hand,
and moved it from her abdomen up to her tit.  She pushed his hand
against her body hard, and then let go of it.  He did not move his
hand.  Instead, he gave her tit a gentle squeeze.  To which, Susan
responded in her sleep by rubbing his crotch again.  He squeezed again,
and then he rubbed his thumb over the bump in her shirt that was her
nipple.  She moaned very softly in her sleep as he did this a few
times.  Her hand slipped off his crotch, moving around to the front of
her own body, but he didn’t dare look to see if it had gone where he
thought it might.
 
            Deciding not to press his luck too far, Gill stopped
caressing his sister’s breast.  But he decided not to remove his hand. 
She had, after all, put it there herself.  He pressed himself closer
against her, and then he fell asleep.
 
 
 
            When morning came, Susan awoke first.  She immediately felt
Gill’s hand resting on her breast.  The flash of anger that came was so
brief, she barely noticed it.  Instead, she focused on the pleasant
feeling his hand gave her.  She knew that she had been dreaming about
him last night.  She couldn’t help but believe that his actions had
initiated her dream.  She couldn’t know it was the other way around.
 
            Gill woke up shortly after she did, and, seeing she was
awake, he froze.  He knew he was dead.  If she was upset, she would
kill him for touching her like he was.  Still, she wasn’t moving at
all.  Finally, getting up his courage, Gill leaned up on his free arm,
leaving his hand where it was.  He leaned over and kissed his sister on
the cheek, to see how she would react.  

            “Morning, Susan,” he said, and she mewled at him.  Susan
was not a talkative individual in the morning, and that was as close as
she had ever come to a pleasant “good morning” to anyone.  Seeing he
was in luck, he gave her tit a final squeeze, and then released it,
rising to go take care of morning business.
 
            As she rolled over to watch him go, she wasn’t sure whether
she was glad his hand was off her, or if she really wanted it to be
back where it had been.  She closed her eyes and thought about it for a
while, but could come to no definite conclusion.  *Why can’t I think
clearly anymore?  Everything seems to be foggy.  The only time things
make sense is when I’m fighting something, and then it’s as if my
senses had been sand-blasted.  What’s going on with me?*  Her thoughts
would normally have caused her a great deal of grief, but right now she
just couldn’t seem to muster the energy to be upset about it all. 
*Well, I suppose Gill or Don will work things out.*
 
 
 
            It wasn’t long before the group was once more on its way. 
Kate and Don took the lead as usual, with Paul and Julie in the
middle.  Gill and Susan had dropped back to rear guard, at Don’s
suggestion.  This way, there would be someone to protect the two
non-fighters in the middle.
 
            Gill took every advantage of being the last person in
line.  He walked side by side with his sister, making almost constant
contact with her now.  Susan said nothing at all, but the slight grin
on her face led Gill to believe that she was enjoying his touching.  As
they walked on throughout the morning, he moved his hand from her
shoulder to her back, all the way down to her ass.  She shivered at his
contact with her butt, and stepped a little closer to him as they
walked.  He left his hand there for the remainder of the morning,
pulling his sister in a little closer, so that they were touching
sides.  Her arm automatically came around his back and rested against
his side.  They walked silently on, enjoying the feel of each other’s
bodies.
 
            When they finally stopped for lunch, it was in a small
meadow.  The path continued on the far side, and was still the only
passage through the forest.  A rabbit tried to scamper away from their
group, but Susan’s quick aim took the small animal down.  It would be
additional food for their journey, and at least something different
from the… meat… they were carrying.
 
            Also growing in the meadow were several wild vegetables. 
Most notably, there were wild tomatoes growing.  While Don and Julie
picked some of these, Kate flew up over the tree tops again to see if
there was a nearby water source.  Seeing a river not too far away, she
returned to the group.  Gill and Paul went together to fill the group’s
water gourds.  Having found several vegetable types, and with a new
supply of water, the group felt they were fairly well stocked for the
remainder of their journey.
 
            The group was just getting under way after lunch, about to
head out of the meadow, when they heard something running toward them
down the path.  Several somethings, as a matter of fact, as they heard
the yelps and whines of an uncountable number of animals.
 
            *Wolves,* Don thought.  The group backed into the meadow’s
center, with Don at the lead.  Susan and Gill were right behind him,
with Paul standing between the fighters and the two remaining girls. 
Kate peered out from behind Paul, wanting to see what was coming, but
afraid to find out.
 
            The noise grew closer, and it was quite obvious now that
they were, indeed wolves.  Don tensed, forming the spell for a
fireball, but holding the “starter ball” in his hand, the spell not yet
finished.  It glowed bright blue, ready to be released or extinguished
at his command.
 
            Finally, the pack broke into the meadow.  There were at
least a dozen of them.  It took everyone a moment to realize that they
were not alone, however.  On the backs of the wolves, holding the reins
of some kind of harness, were Elves.  Shorter even than Kate, they were
frail-looking individuals, thin and spindly.
 
            “Hiyahoa!” called the leader, and the group came to an
abrupt stop.  Several of the riders had to readjust their seating, the
wolves had halted so quickly.  The pack of riders spread out, so that
they could more clearly see the group before them.
 
            Don and his friends did not move, merely waiting to see
what trouble this was.  Susan had an arrow strung, but it was pointed
at the ground.  Gill’s sword was out of its sheath, but was also not
raised.
 
            “Haialani,” the lead Elf said, obviously to Don.  Don, not
understanding, crooked his head at him in a way that said, quite
clearly, *Huh?*
 
            The leader, having had the experience before, understood. 
“You are new to Zemlia Nov?”  

            “Yes.  We’ve been here only three days,”
 
            “Magician, could you put your spell away?  It’s making
Secotr here uneasy,” the Elf said, indicating the wolf he was riding. 
Don nodded, and closed his hand around the fireball, extinguishing it. 
Don’s group relaxed slightly, spreading out a bit, but neither Gill nor
Susan put away their weapons.
 
            When Kate came into sight, there was a small stir among the
riders.  The lead Elf pointed to her and said, “Elf or Elfling?” 
Seeing her confusion, he said, “Are you from here?”
 
            “No,” she said meekly, shivering behind Don.
 
            “This is my sister,” Don advised.
 
            “Ah.  Welcome, Elfling.  And welcome to the rest of you. 
We mean you no harm.  We are the WolfRiders of Sheridan.  My name is
Koatri.  You were sent here, by magic?”
 
            “Yes,” Don answered.  “What in our world is called a game. 
My name is Don, and this is my sister Kate.”  The others introduced
themselves, though the WolfRiders did not reciprocate.
 
            “We are searching for a thief.  Have you seen a tall man,
wearing a green cloak?”
 
            “We haven’t seen any people since we got here,” Kate
responded.  “Only a dragon, and this ugly green…”
 
            “You’ve seen a dragon?” one in the back interrupted. 
Koatri looked at the rider, who hushed.
 
            “Yes,” Don answered.  “His name was Dan-Eger.  We had to…
kill him.”  This caused a general stir among the riders, who settled
only after several nasty looks from Koatri.
 
            “Tell me,” he asked, “how were you able to kill a creature
with the size and power of Dan-Eger?”
 
            “He was already dying.  He asked us to end his suffering,
which we did, in return for some information.”
 
            “I see.  Human, it often takes dragons years to die, even
after being severely wounded.  You have done the dragon a great
service.  He would not have been able to fend off the predators and
scavengers who would have slowly picked him apart while he still
lived.  Tell me, did he say how he had come to be so gravely wounded?”
 
            “He said he’d had a fight with another dragon. 
Dan-Gel…something, I forget.”
 
            “Dan-Gelmer,” Paul chimed in.  He had a better memory than
Don.
 
            “Dan-Gelmer?” Koatri said in worry.  “Dan-Gelmer rules this
forest now?”
 
            “That’s what he said,” Don confirmed.
 
            “That explains much that we have seen over the last two
days.  Human, I suggest you make your way out of this forest as quickly
as possible.  Dan-Gelmer will not like that you have eased Dan-Eger’s
pain.  You have interfered with his revenge, you see.”
 
            “Oh.”
 
            “Where are you headed?”
 
            “We are trying to find Vernior, the Yellow Dragon. 
Dan-Eger told us that Iamor, the wizard at Castle Ballor, might be able
to tell us.”  Don was volunteering so much information on the hopes
that, if Dan-Eger had misled them, the Elves might say something.
 
            “Yes, that makes sense.  Iamor is perhaps the wisest man in
Zemlia Nov.  I should warn you, however, that he is a little…
eccentric.  You may find him slightly mad.  But he will be able to tell
you more than any other human.”
 
            Kate spoke up, “Do you know where we could find Vernior?”
 
            “No, Elfling, I do not.  No Elf has ever seen Vernior.  The
Yellow Dragon does not make itself known to anything it isn’t about to
eat.  Or so the story goes.  The path you are on will take you to
Castle Ballor.  It is, however, well more than a day’s walk from here. 
Perhaps more than two, depending on your group’s speed.”
 
            “We know.  We have provisions.”
 
            “Very well.  Now, we must continue our search.”
 
            “Hey!  This guy… what did he steal?”
 
            “A magic Elf-crystal.  It is blue, and about this big,”
Koatri said, indicating with his hands that the crystal was about six
inches across.  “If you encounter this man, do not trust him.  He will
take from you whatever he can.”
 
            “Thanks for the warning,” Don said.  Koatri nodded, and
then nudged Secotr with his knees.  The wolves leapt as one, past Don
and his friends, and down the path they had spent the morning coming up.
 
            “At least we know we’re on the right track,” Gill said,
sheathing his sword.
 
            “Always good to have confirmation,” Paul agreed.
 
            “Right.  So, let’s get moving, okay?  And watch out for
mysterious guys wearing green cloaks.”
 
 
 
            The afternoon passed uneventfully, and the group made good
time through the steadily thinning forest.  The sun shone through
larger and larger breaks in the trees, allowing the group to feel its
warmth.  The mood of the group had lightened from the previous day’s
unpleasantness.  Knowing now that they had saved Dan-Eger from months,
or even years, of torture, made the whole situation sit easier in
everyone’s mind.
 
            They finally stopped for dinner after the sun had set. 
They were in a large enough clearing to make a fire, which they did,
but only to warm their dinner.  As soon as they had finished the meal,
they extinguished the fire, remembering Koatri’s warning about
Dan-Gelmer.  There was no point in making it easy to find them. 
Besides, as the group split up, the fire would be pointless anyway.
 
            Gill and Susan sat together in a small copse of younger
trees.  They were several yards from the clearing, and also several
yards from either of the other two pairs.  They sat quietly, side by
side, Gill’s arm around his sister’s waist.
 
            “Gill, how much longer are we going to be here?” she
asked.  He noted that her tone, rather than being demanding, had taken
on a much softer manner, and she wasn’t insisting that he do something,
she just wondered if he had information.
 
            “I don’t know, Suse.  We haven’t even made it to the
castle, yet.  And then we have to find Vernior.  I’m afraid we could be
here for a while.”
 
            “What are we going to do?” she asked, seemingly scared at
the prospect.
 
            *This isn’t like her.  She’s usually so take-charge.* 
“We’ll just have to work it out.  Don’t you worry, we’ll make it.”  On
impulse, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.  She returned the
kiss passionately, her tongue quickly making its way into his mouth. 
His hand immediately found her tit and squeezed.  She moaned against
him, and pressed her body inward.
 
            Finally, they broke off the kiss.  As much as he hated to
do so, Gill had to stop her.  “Shit.  I have guard duty now.  Maybe we
could continue this later.”  Susan smiled seductively at him, and he
kissed her again, quickly, before getting up to go off for his turn at
watch.
 
 
 
            It was a restless four hours for Gill.  He figured he was
right on the edge of making it with his sister.  She’d seemed ready to
do just about anything with him, and then he had to go stand this
stupid guard duty.  *Damn it all to hell anyway!*
 
            By the look of the moon, it was time to get some sleep. 
Gill headed off to wake up Paul.  He found him cuddling Julie in his
arms, both of them fast asleep.  It was a shame that waking Paul up
would inevitably wake Julie: she looked so cute when she was
unconscious.
 
            Reaching down, Gill lightly shook Paul’s shoulder. 
Instantly, Paul’s eyes opened and snapped upward, locking on Gill’s
face.  The swift reaction startled Gill so badly that he backed away.
 
            “Shit, buddy, it’s just me!”  Paul had not moved, but it
was obvious that he was ready to.  Julie, meanwhile, slept on.  Paul
relaxed once he realized who was in front of him.  He didn’t understand
his own reaction, for he was usually a bit slow to awaken.  He had been
sound asleep the moment before Gill had touched him, and wide awake as
soon as Gill’s hand touched his cloak.  *Well, I’ll figure it out
later.*
 
            Paul nodded to Gill, who moved off in the direction of his
own bedding area.  *Where I almost got laid by Susan, dammit!*
 
            Gill reached the copse where he and Susan were sleeping,
only to find her not there.  *Maybe she went off to the bathroom,* he
thought.  As he turned to sit down, something leapt from behind a tree,
tackling him.  Before he had any chance to think or react, he was lying
on his back on the ground, and his attacker was on top of him.
 
            Gill started to bring his hands up, hoping to throw off the
attacker, but she leaned down into him.  Her lips locked tightly to
his, her tongue thrusting insistently into his mouth.  Gill lost the
ability to think as her hands pressed against his chest, finding and
undoing the fasteners on his tunic.  She had them undone in record
time, and her fingernails scraped against his chest in a most pleasant
manner.  He grunted as she sat back, her butt in contact with his
crotch.  She rocked in small motions, grinding herself against him,
hardening his cock to a full erection.
 
            Gill looked up at this woman.  Until now, he had not been
able to process enough thought to consider who she might be.  He was
not entirely surprised to find that it was Susan.  He was *extremely*
surprised when he realized that she was naked again.  The moonlight
glinted off her fair skin, revealing in stark lines her curvaceous form.
 
            Gill’s hands reached up and groped his sister’s tits.  She
moaned softly as she felt his palms slip over her nipples.  She arched
her back, pressing herself into him, enjoying the feel of his touch. 
For his part, Gill was in shock, going on some kind of instinct.  He
didn’t understand his sister’s behavior, but he was certainly not going
to fight over it.
 
            Soon, Susan reluctantly removed herself from Gill’s reach. 
She slipped further down his body, and started to undo his pants.  It
took her no time at all before she had them off his hips, and she was
staring at the object of her desire.  Gill’s cock was hard, and ready
for action.  She bent over and licked the tip of it, tasting the precum
there.  It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted, but she
knew there was something better.
 
            Her mouth descended, Gill’s prick slipping between her lips
inch by inch until she had taken him fully inside her.  Gill was in
paradise.  His sister’s lips slid along the skin of his dick lightly,
sending tingles throughout his body.  Her tongue played along the
underside of his shaft, and she began to suck at him strongly, as if to
pull the cum from his balls.
 
            Susan’s talented mouth did not take very long to bring Gill
to, and past, the point of no return.  He grunted to let her know he
was about to come, but she didn’t even slow down.  Her mouth continued
its delicate dance on his shaft, and Gill finally let loose, his cum
spurting into her mouth, where she swallowed every bit of it.
 
            Gill was certain they were finished, but as Susan removed
her mouth from his cock, her hand took its place, stroking him to get
him back to full hardness.  She looked up at him, a wolfish grin on her
face.  It was clear they would not be finished until *she* had been
satisfied.
 
            Once Gill’s cock had returned to full staff, Susan stopped
her hand’s motion.  She held his dick in place as she moved over him. 
Straddling his waist, she positioned his dick at her entrance, and
slowly sank down onto it.  She moaned out as she reached bottom, not
caring if anyone heard her.
 
            Susan wasted not a second before she began to move on her
brother’s cock.  Her body slipped up and down lithely, her pussy
gripping Gill’s prick in velvet tightness.  Gill ran his hands up her
sides, and then pulled her down to him, their lips locking in a
passionate kiss, their tongues dancing together as they moved.
 
            Gill rolled over, putting himself on top.  Susan’s legs
came up to lock behind his ass.  They continued to kiss as Gill rammed
his dick into his sister’s cunt.  Faster and faster they pounded.  Gill
broke their kiss so that he could take one of his sister’s nipples into
his mouth, lapping at it, and then biting it, sending shivers of
pain-turned-pleasure throughout his sister’s nervous system.  Her pants
and moans filled the night as the two slammed together, rising closer
and closer to their climax.
 
            Gill changed the angle of his thrust ever so slightly, now
rubbing himself against his sister’s clit more directly.  He got an
immediate reaction as Susan heated up another notch, starting to use
her legs to pull him into her more rapidly.  He continued to molest her
tits, switching from one to the other as his cock pounded away at her
pussy.
 
            It wasn’t long before Susan finally hit the edge, and cried
out in orgasm.  Her body shuddered and pitched beneath Gill, who held
on, continuing to thrust into her.  The rippling of her cunt muscles on
his dick sent him soaring as well, and he came inside her, which pushed
her even higher.  The two grunted and moaned for long moments before
they settled to the ground, spent.
 
            After he had regained his senses, he looked over at his
beautiful sister, and he couldn’t resist reaching over and kissing her
softly on the lips.  She reciprocated, sliding her hand along his jaw. 
They broke the kiss, and then lay together, spoon fashion, his
softening dick resting against her ass.  They fell quickly to sleep
that way.
 
 
 
            In the morning, it was hard for the other boys not to razz
Gill about his noisy performance during the night.  It had awakened
*everyone*, and so there was no chance of keeping it a secret.  Susan
couldn’t look at anyone, especially Gill, without blushing.  They all
decided, though, that it was best to keep quiet until the situation had
a little more distance.  Gill still walked beside his sister, though,
and his hand rested comfortably on her waist.  She no longer made any
protests about his touch, and she leaned against him from time to time
as well.
 
            They were making good time, and as they reached
mid-morning, it was clear that the forest was coming to an end.  The
tree line ended abruptly just ahead of them.  They were in high
spirits, for they figured the castle couldn’t be too far off.
 
            Without any warning, the ground beneath the group started
to slip sideways, very quickly.  They were all thrown off their feet. 
Suddenly, green tendrils whipped out from somewhere to the side of the
path, wrapping themselves around Gill’s legs.  Gill screamed, and
reached for his sword.  Paul was beating at the tendrils, but had no
luck.  Kate had scrambled away, and was waiting ahead of them on the
path.  Susan was trying to hold on to  her brother to keep him from
getting pulled into the brush, where there was obviously some nasty
plant life.  Julie screamed as Don grabbed her arm, pulling her away
from the danger, and toward his sister, Kate.
 
            Finally, Gill got his sword loose, and took two quick
swipes at the vines.  They fell to the ground, limp.  They didn’t even
retract, but just lay there.  Quickly, he pulled the vines off his
legs, and jumped up.  He gave his sister a hug for helping him,
discreetly squeezing her ass at the same time.  She blushed, but smiled
at him.
 
            “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Paul opined, trying to
steady his nerves.  No one argued, and they quickly cleared the edge of
the forest.
 
            As they stepped out into the bright sunshine of the grassy
plain, the path before them was still obvious.  This seemed strange,
since they had met only one other group in their four days of
traveling.  However, as it was the only path available, unless they
wanted to blaze a new one, they chose to follow it north.  As Don
started walking again, Paul caught up with him.
 
            “Hey, that back there was a little close, ya know?” Paul
said.
 
            “Yeah.  Damn good thing he’s got that sword.  And it just
shows that I really need to learn the spells in this book.  I didn’t
even think of using one… and I can’t think of one that would have
worked.  I need time to study.”
 
            “True.  Maybe we can take a timeout when we get to the
castle.  Where’s the save game button, anyway?”  Don laughed along with
him.  “Look, that last attack was too close for me, man.  What say we
walk a little further apart?  That way, one trap won’t get all of us
involved, and there’ll be someone to help get us out of it, y’know?”
 
            After a little thought, Don nodded.  “Not a bad idea.
 Okay… what, ten yards far enough?”
 
            “And how the hell am I supposed to measure ten yards?  Let
me check… no… nope, no tape measure…”  Paul kept dramatically patting
his pockets.  

            Don rolled his eyes.  “Take ten steps, Goliath.  That’ll be
roughly ten yards.  So, ten paces between each group.  You’re right,
we’ve been lucky so far.  And tell Gill to keep an eye out behind us,
just in case.  Now that we’re out in the open, anyone who’s interested
can see where we are.”
 
            “Gotcha.”  Paul stopped, and watched as Don walked ten
steps.  Then he started walking again.  By this time, Gill and Susan
had stopped with Paul.
 
            “What’s up?” Gill asked just as they started moving.
 
            “We’re putting some distance between ourselves.  So that we
don’t get caught all in one trap like almost happened with that plant. 
You okay?”
 
            “Yeah, fine.  All right, how far back should I be?”
 
            “Ten paces.  And Don says to watch out behind us, in case
we’re being stalked.”
 
            “Right-o,” Gill answered with humor, stopping to let the
others get ahead of him, and then taking up the rear guard.
 
 
 
            The remainder of the morning passed uneventfully.  The path
they were on now stretched, unbroken, ahead of them, and behind them,
in a straight line across the plain.  It was eerie, for they had seen
no movement, not even animals.  They stopped to eat lunch at a spot
where there were at least some large rocks to sit on.  Nothing else
differentiated this spot from any other they had seen.
 
            Paul was amusing his sister by “juggling” some rocks using
his telekinetic ability.  She sat in awe of him, even though it was a
simple, and useless, trick.  It did make him feel that his powers were
stronger than he had tampered with, however.
 
            After they had rested and eaten, the group once more began
its interminable journey across the plain.  They noticed that even the
grass was starting to become sparse, and they wondered just what they
were heading into.
 
            It was a peaceful afternoon, the sun was warm, but not hot,
and a cool breeze blew across them from the west.  The silence of the
land was disconcerting, but each of the pairs of siblings countered
this through idle chatter, talking about nothing in particular.
 
            It was getting close to sundown when Don and Kate stepped
into a widened area of the path.  The area was a large, circular
space.  As he stepped into it, Don felt a shiver, and it seemed to him
that the sun darkened for just a brief instant.  He shook it off, as
the world immediately returned to normal.  As he pondered what it had
meant, his feet crossed the center of the circle, heading for the path
on the other side.
 
            Suddenly, both Don and Kate sunk a solid foot into the
ground.  Don yelled, and nearly fell.  Kate, without thinking, unfolded
her wings and pulled herself free.  She hovered over her brother, who
was slowly slipping further into the suddenly deadly ground.  She
grabbed his arms, and tried to pull him free, but he was too heavy for
her small frame to lift.
 
            As he started slipping deeper into the earth, Don started
to panic.  His mind was clouded, and he could only think of his
imminent death.  The others had stopped at the edge of the circle,
which was clearly delineated now that the trap had been sprung.  None
of them could reach him: he was well beyond the reach of even Paul’s
staff.
 
            Kate continued to hold his hand, hovering over him.  He was
trying mightily to pull himself free.  She noticed that the more he
struggled, the faster he slipped down.  “Donny, stop moving!  The more
you move, the more it sucks you in!”
 
            Don was nearly past the point of hearing her.  His mind
remained clouded: he couldn’t rationalize.  He was buried nearly to his
waist by now, and was flailing around, trying to get out of the muck.
 
            Kate didn’t know what to do.  Then, suddenly, from
somewhere deep inside her, an idea emerged.  She didn’t know where it
came from, but instantly knew she had to try it.  Leaning down from her
position above him, she whispered in his ear.  “Donny, baby, if you’ll
settle down for me, I promise I’ll give you a blow job when we get you
out of this.”
 
            Don was so startled by his sister’s words that he froze. 
It was as if her words could cut through the fog in his mind.  The
image of her blowing him was shining in his thoughts.  “You promise?”
he asked wearily.
 
            “Mm-Hmm,” she answered sexily.  She had already noted that
he wasn’t moving.  She stayed right next to him, to keep him calm.  It
seemed that only her promise had managed to settle him, and she wasn’t
going to chance leaving him.  Looking over at the others, she hollered,
“Well, do something, would ya?”
 
            The group at the edge of the path was looking on in
dismay.  None of them had any clue what to do.  Gill stood, his fists
clenched.  “If we had a rope, we’d have a solution!” he huffed.
 
            “Well, we don’t,” Paul said.  Just then, something in his
mind clicked.  He couldn’t tell what it was, but suddenly his hands
were acting of their own accord.  He had enough sense of what was
coming that he hollered, “Kate!  Let him go!”
 
            Just as she released Don’s hand in surprise, a ball of
energy flew out from Paul’s hands.  The ball engulfed Don, and threw
him well clear of the dangerous pit.  Don landed ten feet on the other
side of it.  Kate flew to check that he was all right.
 
            Meanwhile, Paul had also been thrown about ten feet, and
was lying on the ground, holding his head in pain.  Julie ran to his
side.
 
            “Paul?  Paulie!  What’s the matter!”
 
            “Oh, fuck my head hurts,” he muttered.  Suddenly, he rolled
over and puked.  It appeared that his entire lunch ended up on the
ground.  He heaved well beyond dry, and could barely stand when he was
finished.  Don, who had found a safe path around the trap, helped his
friend stand up.
 
            “What the hell happened?  I mean, thanks for saving my ass,
but what did you do?”  Don asked.  As soon as he’d left the circle, the
cloudiness of his thoughts seemed to have immediately dissipated.  He
could only conclude that the strange feeling he’d had was a warning
about the magical nature of the area.
 
            “Dunno.  I didn’t really have much control over it.  It was
like my subconscious took over… used my psionic powers to save you…
but… oh shit,” Paul dropped to his knees and tried to vomit again. 
There was nothing left to come out, but his body was wracked with
spasms.  

            Everyone waited while Paul tried to get past it, but it
wasn’t happening.  “My head feels like someone used it for a soccer
ball.”
 
            “Can you walk at all?” Don asked.  “I’d like to at least
get away from this immediate area.  Whoever or whatever placed this pit
here, will probably come looking for whatever got caught in it.
 
            Julie held Paul up on one side, and he used his staff on
the other.  Their going was slow, but they only walked for another
hour.  The sun was down, and it was time for them to rest.  Everyone
needed a break from the stress and tension of the day.
 
            When the boys gathered for their nightly meeting, Gill
said, “Has anyone noticed that the closer we get to this castle, the
more dangerous stuff we run into?”
 
            Don shook his head.  “It could be coincidence, or it could
be that Iamor doesn’t like visitors.  Dan-Eger didn’t say anything
about that.”
 
            “He didn’t tell us that Dan-Gelmer would want to hurt us,
either,” Gill pointed out.
 
            “True.  Well, we don’t have much choice.  Besides, Koatri
didn’t warn us about Iamor.”
 
            Gill had to agree with that.  “I guess.  Well, now what do
we do?”
 
            “Paul, I’m taking your shift tonight.  You need to take it
easy.  How’s your head?”
 
            “Still fuckin’ cloudy.  I can’t seem to shake the cobwebs
loose.  And it feels like someone’s playing a drum set in my left ear.”
 
            “Well, you rest.  And, Gill?  Try not to keep us all awake
this time, okay?”  There was mild chuckling as Gill turned beet-red.
 
            “Shit, guys!  You know we talked about little steps… we
didn’t discuss what to do if she tries to rape us!”
 
            “You lay back and enjoy it, what else?” Paul asked with a
grimace.  The chuckling hurt his head.
 
            “Well, she’s kind of embarrassed about it.  I hope there’ll
be a repeat performance sometime, though.”
 
            “Don’t worry about it.  And I’ll take first watch.  You
can… uh… entertain her early this evening.”  They chuckled again as
they separated to go to their respective sisters.
 
 
 
            In fact, Susan was extremely uncomfortable with herself. 
*How could I have attacked him like that?  Just throw him to the ground
and raped him?  He’s my brother, and I’m supposed to love and care for
him!  My needs are less important than his.*  These were highly
modified thoughts, of course, for her mind had been fully enraptured by
the game.
 
            Gill came and sat down beside her.  He ran his hand along
her side, letting it rest at her waist.  She leaned against him,
settling her head on his shoulder.  “I’m sorry, Gill,” she said quietly.
 
            “For what?”
 
            “For last night.  I shouldn’t have assaulted you like
that.  I should have asked, spent more time… it’s just you had me so…
horny… that I couldn’t resist.”  *Horny* was not a word in Susan’s
vocabulary up to this point.  Gill noticed.
 
            “It’s okay, Suse.  If you’d asked, I’d have said yes, so
we’re cool.  I got a little bruised from the first fall, but it was
worth it,” he added with a smile.  She snuggled herself closer to him
in the growing chill.  Once more they could not start a fire for fear
of what it would do to the surroundings, and once more it chose to be a
cold night.  *Doesn’t this place have anything like seasonal weather?* 
The two cuddled together, holding each other.
 
            “Don’t you have to go do guard duty?” she asked.  Paul had
always asked for the second shift.
 
            “Not yet.  Don is taking first shift.”
 
            “Don?  I thought we were letting him get his rest.”  Gill
took note of how she had fully adopted the decision as “ours” instead
of “yours”.
 
            “Paul needs to recover from that little incident.  Don
figures he can use the sleep.  We should be okay.  Hopefully, we’ll
reach the castle soon.”
 
            “I hope so.  I don’t like it out here.”  Her voice was
small and childlike.
 
            “Don’t worry, Suse.  I’ll protect you.”  It was a macho
thing to say: he could no more guarantee her safety than his own. 
Still, it made her feel better, and she hugged him tighter, which was
always a good thing.
 
 
 
            Don took the first watch, and Kate, who refused to sleep
alone here, stood it with him.  They walked far enough away from the
others that soft conversation would not be heard.
 
            “Thanks for helping me calm down back there, Katie.”
 
            “No trouble, big brother.  Are we going to get to Castle
Ballor soon?”
 
            “I hope so.  Maybe tomorrow.  I’m pretty sure it’ll be
either tomorrow or the next day… if we’re going in the right
direction,” he added, voicing his own fears.
 
            “You think we’re not?” she asked, suddenly frightened.
 
            *Shithead.  She doesn’t need more to worry about!*  He
smiled his most reassuring smile.  “I’m fairly sure we are.  This was
the only path, and neither Dan-Eger nor Koatri told us to veer from the
path, so, I figure we’re going where we’re supposed to.”  *I hope*.
 
            They stood guard quietly until the moon passed its zenith.
 
            “Come on, it’s time to wake up Gill.”  Together, they
walked over to where Gill was laying with Susan, their bodies slightly
tangled together.  Don knelt down and shook him lightly.  Gill’s eyes
came slowly open, and then he nodded to see Don standing over him.
 
            After waiting for Gill to fully wake up, Don and Kate
headed back over to their selected spot.  It was absolutely no
different from any other spot, except that it was where they had set
down their stuff.  Don slumped down to the ground, and immediately lay
down, looking up at the stars.
 
            When he felt his sister undo his robe, he looked down at
her.  “Katie, what are you doing?” he asked quietly.
 
            “Fulfilling my promise,” she said matter-of-factly, as her
hand reached into his briefs.
 
            “Promise… oh…” he sighed, as her hand withdrew his dick. 
She placed light, feathery kisses along his shaft as her hand lightly
stroked it to hardness.  Once he had come fully erect, she planted a
sloppy wet kiss on the head of his dick.  Then, her lips parted and
slid down onto his shaft.
 
            Don was in heaven.  He had never had a blowjob before, and
now that he was experiencing one, it was hard for him to imagine
anything being better.  He felt it as Kate’s lips slipped up and down
on his shaft, lightly teasing the skin on his cock.  Her tongue danced
along the underside of his shaft, arousing him even more.  Her soft
hand continued to stroke him, while her mouth moved on his prick.  Her
other hand began to fondle his balls, gently rolling them in their sac.
 
            He reached down and ran his fingers through his sister’s
silvery hair.  Its silky texture was wonderful, and he enjoyed every
moment of touching it.  He ran his fingers along her pointed ears, and
she murmured on his cock.  Her Elven features were extremely
attractive, and he thought his sister was the most beautiful creature
he had ever seen.  And right now, she was driving him crazy with a
wonderful blowjob.
 
            Kate’s mouth started to move faster on Don’s cock, her
tongue sliding more insistently against his shaft.  Her fingers
encircled the base of his cock, stemming the tide of cum she knew would
be arriving soon.  She could feel the pressure building inside him, and
knew that he couldn’t hold out forever.
 
            Don was right on that very edge, and he couldn’t hold back
much longer.  “Katie,” he whispered, “Katie, I’m gonna… gonna… ungh!”
he never got the final word out as he came, his seed bursting forth
into her mouth.  For her part, Kate never missed a beat, continuing to
suck, and swallowing every last drop of her brother’s cum.  She
continued to suck until his orgasm passed, and then she let him slip
from her mouth.  She licked and kissed his dick until it was fully
clean, and then she carefully reinserted it into his briefs.
 
            “Don’t want our friend to catch cold,” she said with a
giggle.  Then, without giving him an option, Kate slid herself up his
body.  “It’s cold out here, Donny.  Can you button us together again?”
 
            After the experience he’d just had, Don was in no position
to deny his little sister anything she desired.  He undid the extra
fabric from his robe, and wrapped it around her, fastening it with both
of them inside.  This time, he had the good fortune to be able to roll
them onto their sides.
 
            Kate’s arms slipped around him, and she snuggled up close. 
She kissed him warmly on the lips, her tongue just gently slipping
across his lip before returning to her mouth.  Breaking the kiss, she
said, “I love you very much, Donny,”  She laid her head down on his
chest, and closed her eyes.
 
            “I love you, too,” he whispered back, but he never knew if
she had heard him.
 
 
 
            The morning came far too early for Don, who had grown used
to being able to sleep through the whole night.  Waking up with his
sister in his arms was fair compensation, in his mind.  He kissed her
good-morning, and they necked for a little while, before Don undid his
robe to let her up.
 
            Taking care of morning ablutions was an interesting
problem, as there were no trees to hide behind.  Eventually, the boys
and girls merely separated a short distance, and took turns hiding
behind the others.  Even as close as they’d grown, there are some
things that people just don’t want to know about.
 
            After breakfast, but before they were ready to leave, Don
took out his magic book.  He started thumbing through the pages.  Paul
saw what he was doing, and came over to sit beside him.
 
            “How’s your head?” Don asked.
 
            “Better, but it’s still fuzzy in there.  What’re you
looking for?”
 
            “Nothing in specific.  Just a spell that would be easy to
learn, to kind of play with, get the feel of the magic.  Something
other than the ones I’ve already used.  I’ve gotta know this book
inside and out.  If it weren’t for Kate… and you, of course, I’d be at
the bottom of that bottomless pit now.”
 
            “Ah.  Well, just don’t expect me to pull that particular
rabbit out of my ass again, okay?  The penalty for it is hellacious.”
 
            “Yeah.  That’s why I need to learn the magic more.  But
this damned book is so disorganized, it’s like trying to read an
encyclopedia where all the letters are scrambled.”
 
            “Why don’t you just start at the beginning, and do them one
by one?”
 
            “Hmph.  I don’t suppose that’s a bad idea.  Maybe they’re
organized so the easy ones go first.”
 
            “Could be.”
 
            “Thanks.  We need to get moving, though.”
 
            The group moved out at their usual pace.  It didn’t take
long to realize they needed to slow down a little bit, as Paul was
having a little trouble keeping up.  No one grumbled about it, but Don
was a little concerned.  They made a mid-morning stop so that Paul
could rest, and he immediately sat down.
 
            “You gonna make it?” Gill asked sincerely.
 
            “I’ll be okay… I feel better now than when I got up, but I
feel kinda weak.  It’s getting better, but it may take all day to clear
out at this rate.”
 
            “Just relax.  We’ll park it here for… well, for a little
while.  Must’ve left my watch with your measuring tape,” Don quipped. 
Paul smiled at him.  

            Don headed back over to Kate, who was sitting on a
boulder.  He sat next to her, and pulled out his magic book.  Flipping
to the first page, the spell was supposed to move small objects from
one place to another, for a maximum of twenty feet.  He shrugged, and
picked a rock on the ground to focus on.  He memorized the spell, and
set the book down.  Adjusting his hands just so, he chanted the spell
carefully.
 
            But apparently not carefully enough.  There was a brief
flash of light from his hands, but when his vision cleared from that,
the rock was still where it had been.  He grumbled to himself, and was
about to say something to his sister…
 
            Where was Kate, anyway?
 
            Frantically, Don started looking around for his sister.  He
was just about to call her name when something tugged at his ear.  His
natural reaction was to shoo away the bug, but his thought process
kicked in, and he stopped his hand mid-flight.  Slowly, ever so slowly,
he turned his head to the left.
 
            Flying, not a foot from his head, was the cutest little
fairy he’d ever seen.  She looked a little miffed, however, at being
changed from a five foot tall Elf into a fairy.
 
            “Donald White, you change me back right now!”  Her tone
would have been funny, if she wasn’t so obviously upset.  She didn’t
need this in her life just now.
 
            “Hang on, Katie,” Don said in something of a panic. 
“That’s not what the spell was supposed to do.  I’ve gotta find what
spell I *did* cast, so that I can find the counter-spell to fix you. 
Just calm down, and let me look through the book.”
 
            “Easy for you to say,” she harrumphed, settling onto his
shoulder.  “You’re not six inches tall!”
 
            “Now, Katie, don’t exaggerate,” he said lightly.  “You’re
at least eight inches tall.”  He could tell she giggled a little, and
it was good to hear.  At least she wasn’t taking it too badly.  He, on
the other hand, was truly upset.  He thought he’d cast the spell
correctly, but it didn’t work.  This was the second time he’d screwed
up a spell.  Would he never be a decent magician?
 
            Gill came over to see what had transpired.  “Hey, Don,
where’s… Katie?” he said upon seeing the fairy.  She just nodded her
head.  Gill looked at Don and said, “What, she wasn’t short enough for
you?”
 
            “Go away and let me read!” Don fumed.  Gill walked away
chuckling.
 
            They spent the rest of the morning sitting there.  Don read
through the entire book, but found no spell that would change anything
into a fairy.  He didn’t find a spell that would change a fairy into
anything else, either.
 
            “Shit, Kate.  I’m sorry,” he said, broken-hearted.  “All I
can say is that hopefully Iamor will have some way to fix you.  I’m
just a bungling magician at this point.”
 
            Kate could see the hurt in his eyes.  She rubbed her small
hand against his cheek.  “It’s okay, Don.  I know you’re trying.  We’ll
make the best of it.”  Maneuvering closer, she whispered in his ear,
“But you’re not getting another blow job until my mouth is big enough
to handle it!”  She giggled in a tinkle of bells, and Don grinned.
 
            Paul was rested, and they had eaten lunch, so the group set
off again on their trip.  Kate rode on Don’s shoulder, and Don led the
way.  He kept his eyes open for further traps, but none were spotted. 
The dry, grassy plains gave way to rockier territory, with some scrub
brush and stunted trees.  It was hard to believe that anything would
grow here, but some plants were striving to make a go of it.
 
            The day passed without further incident, and they had made
reasonable progress by the time the sun fell.  The land was clearly
rising into mountainous terrain, but their path was still clear before
them.  When they stopped, everyone settled together for dinner.
 
            “How are you doing, Paul?” Gill asked.
 
            “Fine, now.  My head finally cleared, and I actually feel
pretty good.  You won’t need to take my shift tonight, Don.”
 
            “Okay, if you say so.  Hopefully we’ll reach the castle
tomorrow.  That little delay I caused cost us a few hours.  How are we
doing on supplies?”
 
            “If we get there tomorrow, we’re fine.  If not, we need to
find more food.  And that doesn’t look like an easy task, here in these
rocks,” Gill said.
 
            “Well, you keep your eyes open.  If it’s edible and
running, kill it.  If it’s edible and growing, pull it.”
 
            “You got it, chief.”
 
            The group all settled in for the night.  Gill climbed onto
a large boulder to keep watch over them.  Don settled in, and Kate
slipped down onto his cheek.  “Good night, big brother,” she said
softly.  “I love you.”
 
 
 
            The next morning, the group was up with the sun.  Everyone
was anxious to get this journey over with.  They wolfed down their
breakfast, and took off early, in hopes of making it to their
destination by day’s end.
 
            The going was far rougher now, and the path wound up and
down broken hills of rock.  Paul struggled the worst, with his bad
knee, but even he was determined that they get where they were going as
quickly as possible.
 
            As they reached mid-day, they debated whether to stop for
lunch.  They were standing just below a ridgeline, and discussing it.
 
            “We can’t go without a noon meal,” Gill insisted.  “It
would slow us down in the long run.”
 
            “He’s right, Don,” Paul agreed.  “As much as I want to get
there, too, we need the energy supply.”
 
            Don sighed.  “Well, okay… first, let’s find out something,
okay?  Gill, why don’t you go up to the ridge, and see what it looks
like on the other side?  Maybe that’ll help us make up our minds.”
 
            Gill climbed up to the top of the ridge, and took a brief
look.  His hand motion indicated that the rest of the group should join
him.  As they neared the top, he said, “I don’t think we need to stop
for lunch.”
 
            As they all crested the ridge, they were looking down into
a lush valley.  In the middle of the valley sat an old, but well-kept,
stone keep.  Its moat contained clear, fresh water, and its drawbridge
was down, indicating that visitors were welcome.
 
            “Welcome to Castle Ballor,” Don said quietly.  “I hope.”
 
 
 
 
 
