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Tony rode her wonderful Greystone along beside the wagon, chatting with Belster as he rolled and bounced along The back of the rig was full of supplies-food and drinks, sos and other implements they&039;d need to rebuild Belster&039;s tavern in Dundalis, which they had just agreed would be named Fellowship Way

The pair were in a fineCaer Tinella after a leisurely teek journey frorateful farhts beside a fire under the starry sky

For Pony, the weight on her shoulders had lessened as soon as she had left the turmoil of Palmaris behind her Now she didn&039;t have to worry about politics and secret alliances, didn&039;t have to consider the implications of her every move Up here, she was not Jilseponie, hero of the demon war, slayer of evil Markwart Up here, she was Pony, just Pony, the sa and happy in Dundalis with Elbryan before the cooblins; the saer to protect the folk and the lands fro her horse carefully through the throngs of people crowding thehisOften, she would take him out across a field beside the road, for no better reason than to let hiht a saddle with her, but more often than not, she rode Greystone bareback

She went off on yet another such jaunt, heading across a long, narrow field She spotted a downed tree lying in a tangle of brush, its trunk sus pended round

"Ho, what are ye thinking?" Belster called, seeing her s wide, even from twenty feet away

Pony didn&039;t answer other than to urge Greystone into a canter and put him in line

She heard Bolster&039;s complaints that she was a "crazy child," but they seemed to come from far away as the wind roared past her ears And then she heard nothing as she took the horse in, so intense beca his muscled neck and shoulders, and Pony rose to a half seat, her hands resting on his neck, her legs claht about Greystone&039;s flanks, her body in perfect balance As soon as they landed, she turned her horse back toward the road, where she spotted Belster, the portly innkeeper shaking his head and giving one great resigned sigh after another

"Ye&039;re to get yerself killed, girl," he said as she trotted past

Pony just laughed and asked Greystone for a canter, aiain

And then a third ti

Pony caught up to him a few minutes later where the road wound around a small hillock

"Caer Tinella," the innkeeper announced, pointing north to where a feather of smoke drifted into the air

Pony slowed Greystone to a walk, cooling hi Greystone to the back of the wagon and taking a seat beside Belster

"Done yer fun, then? " the innkeeper asked

"Just beginning," Pony replied, "especially if ht"

"Ah, the wo to a dear friend of Pony&039;s, a soldier froarrison who had helped her when she had been separated from Elbryan

Pony had seen the woman only once since the last battle I Danube, Colleen Kilronney had been well on her way to recovering fro her battles beside Pony But still, when Pony had at last found her after the deaths of Elbryan and Markwart, Colleen was scarred, physically and within her heart She had resigned her position with the Palarrison, despite a plea from her cousin Shamus-another friend of Pony&039;s-and fro, all that Pony had gleaned fro north to Caer Tinella

It didn&039;t take Pony and Belster long to find Colleen; the first villagers they encountered directed thee on the northeastern side of town Pony left Belster behind, riding Greystone quickly to the place, then juerness and excitement diminished considerably when Colleen Kilronney answered, for she seemed now a mere shell of her for, but now her shoulders sagged Once her eyes had flashed with eagerness for battle, but now they seelazed Even Colleen&039;s red hair seemed duller, as if the whole woman had faded

Pony held her hand out, and Colleen, a wide s on her face, reached for it, with her left hand, holding her right arht to her side

"What have you done?" Pony asked, hugging her friend, but taking care not to pain her obviously injured right ar a sword," Colleen replied, still e, offering her a seat at a s beside her friend "Ye&039;re looking well," she said "Are ye gettin&039; past the pain? "

Pony sighed "Will I ever?" she asked Colleen put a hand on Pony&039;s shoulder-again, her left hand-and rubbed her

"Letinto her pouch and bringing forth the soul stone

"Oh, but they&039;re lettin&039; ye keep one now? " Colleen asked "Or did ye just take the thing? "

Pony helped her to slip her tunic off, and she winced in sympathetic pain when she saw Colleen&039;s wound, scabbed now but a vicious slash across the top of her biceps

"Teeks old," Colleen explained "Thought I was to lose the arer over the woman&039;s lips, then dropped her hand down onto the cut, rubbing the tender flesh At the same time, she peered into the soul stone, deeper and deeper into the swirling gray of the heic She made a connection to Colleen&039;s wound, sent her consciousness into the woman&039;s torn muscles

And then Pony took the injury back to herself, absorbed it with her being She felt apain, but held to her purpose, enveloping, absorbing the wound, and then using her own strength and the soul stone to heal the tears and make the scars into healthy flesh once ering a bit to try to get a sense of the woeneral health She wasn&039;t thrilled hat she sensed there, for it see was somehow depleted, worn out

A moment later, Pony opened her eyes to see Colleen already flexing her ar it in small circles, apparently without pain

"I was thinkin&039; o&039; comin&039; to ye for just thather smile, "but I expected that ye&039;d be too busy for helpin&039; the likes o&039; meself"

"Never that!" Pony assured her She wrapped the woain, and this time, Colleen returned it with both ar well," Pony reain

"I took more of a beatin&039; than I knew," Colleen confirmed "I&039;m just needin&039; the rest, is all"

"And the neound?" Pony asked "It does not seemouthed son of a drunken powrie," Colleen replied, "a arrison, same as meself, and we never did like each otherbut trouble, I tell ye We had a bit of a disagreereeood," Colleen admitted

"Where can I find him? " Pony asked

"Just provin&039; hi the notion away "And so he was, but if I&039;d&039;a catched him in me better days-"

"It will heal," Pony promised

"Mendin&039; already, and hardly hurtin&039; since ye went at it with yer geht that ye should wait a bit in town, so that ye can put Seano&039;s heart back in his chest after I&039;h, but for Pony, it was bittersweet The Colleen she had first met in Dundalis would indeed have paid back Seano Bellick-or any nized that Colleen would not prove to be much of aPony, for Colleen had taken that initial, and lingering, beating during their flight from Palmaris, from Markwart and De&039;Unnero, only for the sake of Pony

"Will ye be stayin&039; long? " Colleen asked "Or are ye runnin&039; right out for Dundalis?"

" I wish you would join ot me own home here," Colleen said with a shake of her head "We been through this before Ye got yer own place and I&039;ve got ht even set hts on Dundalis for a home But not now"

Pony didn&039;t press the point "I&039;ll need an introduction to the mayor, or whoever it is that leads Caer Tinella"

"That&039;d be Janine o&039; the Lake," Colleen replied, "a fine woman But what&039;re ye thinkin&039; to do that ye&039;re needin&039; to bother her? "

Belster O&039;Coreat shout at the sight of Colleen, then stalked across the rooo north with us? " he asked Pony

"I already told her that I&039;d not be runnin&039; across the wilds with a drunk like Belster O&039;Comely beside hed heartily Their coave Pony pause Colleen and Belster didn&039;t know each other all that well, yet they seeht there be sos there, buried beneath a jovial facade?

"But ye will cos, I will!" Colleen replied

"Good enough then," said Belster "I&039;ll put a bottle o&039; et it now, and we&039;ll ested, but before Belster could reply, he found Pony shaking her head

"I need to speak withJanine," she said

"So ye said, but ye didn&039;t telltent," Pony explained, "to tend to all those in need"

"For whatever ails them?" Colleen asked skeptically "Boils and corns, a cut here and a sore belly there? "

Pony nodded, and Colleen&039;s expression was one of incredulity

"The it? " she asked

"The monks have no power to stop it," Pony said

Within the hour, Belster and Pony had set up a tent in the small square at the center of Caer Tinella, and word had been sent out through the town and to the neighboring town of Landsdown Folk ca in, slowly at first, only those who already knew Pony and her exploits But as it beca, the line at the tent grew and grew

So many folk of the tns came-mostly with minor injuries or ailments, but one with a serious tear near the knee and another quite sick froht at Colleen&039;s and continue the healing for a second day

Pony and Belster caused quite a stir in the region and caught the attention of all, including a trio of rough-looking fellows, for the boughs

That quiet watcher paid heed to the other three and heard much of their suspicious remarks, particularly when one said, "She should be south, far south ofPalue"

Late the second afternoon, Pony and Belster loaded up their wagon and set out again for the north The weather was clear and war the sights and smells of the summertime forest And indeed, it seemed obvious to Belster that his companion was in a much better mood now than when they had set out from Palmaris

"Findin&039; a bit o&039; heart, are ye?" he asked her as the late-afternoon shadows stretched across the path before the

"With the gemstones, I mean," Belster explained "Ye did yer ith irl"

Pony shrugged, adh, she did consider the innkeeper&039;s words, and carefully She felt good about the work she had been doing since leaving Pal a bit of difference in the world-though not on the scale that Brother Brau the world itself, for that, she had come to believe, was beyond anyone&039;s control But what she was doing noas changing a little corner of the world, the lives of a few, and with beneficial results So yes, Pony&039;s htened considerably

They declined the offer of soht descended, and instead went a bit farther down the road, out of sight of any houses When Pony spotted a son up for the night and untied the horses, setting theraze, while Belster prepared a fine iven the up at the stars and listening to the night songs of the forest

"This was our ti Bolster&039;s attention frohtbird&039;s ti the sunset and the last glows of daylight, watching the stars growing brighter and et easier," Belster promised

Pony looked up at the stars and blinked back her tears She could only hope so

She fell asleep soon after, but as on every night since Elbryan&039;s fall, she had a fitful, not restful, sleep When she opened her eyes to find that it was still dark, she was neither surprised nor alar, had awakened her

Greystone nickered-not a quiet, restful sound but one with a slight elelanced over at the tethered horses To the untrained eye, everything would have seemed fine, but Pony&039;s warrior instincts told her that so was amiss Perhaps it was the way Greystone now stood, htest provocation Or httime sounds, or lack thereof, about her, the forest creatures watchful

Pony stood up quiedy, staying low in a crouch and strapping her sword, Defender, to her waist She reached for her soul stone, thinking to fly out to scout the area, but before she could even begin, she noted a edeliberately toward their cas screauard Why was anyone out at this late hour? And ould anyone be alone on the road north of Caer Tinella at any time of day? Or was this ood distance, while the approaching man was in front of her; and yet the horse had apparently sensed his presence

She kept all those disturbing thoughts in proper perspective, buried them beneath the confidence of years of battle experience, and she slowly rolled onto her side, not wanting to present a clear target to any archers whounder her so that she could get up in a hurry, and put her hand on her sword hilt

The for so-a battle-ax, perhaps-in one hand

"That will be close enough, sir," Pony said suddenly, and thehed and brought his arainst the flat of a

"Stay down," Pony instructed hilancing all about, expecting that he had allies nearby

"Are you the friend of the fool Kilronney? " the ood idea of who this ht be

"And if I am? " Pony replied, as she neatly kicked at one of the srabbed it up, giving a shake so that the breeze brought a flare of life to it By the time she had taken two steps, the end of the branch was afla her a better view of the ht have, a fine view of her