Turn-Arounds

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 15621

The two women took the fork but after entering the forest anew they quickly discovered that there were many more trails, a number of paths and no main road. "It's just a maze, dammit!" cried Andrea.

"Stop your whining, little girl. We must think logically. The person we seek is Mother Shipton, have you heard of her?" "No." "Well, if she be an old woman then she would doubtless be surrounded with the aid of family. In my land the elderwomen are highly respected and cared for."

"But this isn't your land," objected Andrea. "Here it is different. Old, young, man, woman...it doesn't matter. What matters is Blood and Name. This mother is obviously not of royal blood, and that alone means she is nothing."

"What?" Astra could hardly believe her ears. "You mean that only a Family's bearing brings loyalty? I knew that men held an unnatural authority in this land, but to hear that all the people are divided into only peons and elite is absurd!"

"You must have strange ways, Astra, but ours are far from absurd. I am a Lady of the Court; my learning, my training, and lifestyle are deserved from my father's lineage. We keep order in this fashion, and I find it most natural. The peasants are not treated poorly, they are not beaten unfairly nor kept from their own pursuits, as long as the good of the fiefdom is served first."

"Well, obviously your lands have not been served, for they are now overrun with evil men."

"And that is why we must leave this foolish search for some old peasant woman who could be nothing more than a grandmother with a sharp stick, or a lot worse. We must go to Caemlyn!"

Astra looked at Andrea. She analyzed the situation. The customs of this land made her own sense of logic untrustworthy, she realized that now. But she was also afraid of not finding a magic-user; the words of the traitor Lucien still gave her the chills. She did not know what the dragon-mage had done to her, and that ignorance left her worried. But Andrea did speak sense. "So be it, Lady of the Keep Undone, we shall travel to your King's house, but how long shall it take us?" "Too long," mused Andrea. "We need horses." And so they began their trek through the edge of the forest towards Caemlyn.


Back at the edge of Chante a tracker came out of the forest. He looked at the nearby shrubbery, he investigated the footprints in the dirt, he sniffed at the bark and leaves nearby. Then he headed straight for the hut closest to the woods. Without knocking he entered, only to find a one- room shack with no occupants. He investigated that place thoroughly but found no trace of the twosome he had been following. Then he searched outside again. The sound of singing caught his ears and he walked towards it until he spied a young woman pulling weeds from a garden, with her was an older man.

"Who are you?" asked the man as the tracker approached. He did not answer, instead he began asking his own questions.

"Where are the two people who came from the forest?"

"And who are you for me to tell?" said the man with indignation, and a bit of fear. The tracker walked deliberately towards the young woman and grabbed her by the arm. "Stop it!" cried the man.

"You wish to know who I am?" said the tracker. "I am death; your death...her death. Where are the two who came from the forest?"

"Oh by the gods, leave her be!" cried the man. "She is an innocent."

"There are no innocents," answered the man as he pulled out his knife.

"No!" cried the man. "They're gone, they are... back into the forest! They... they... asked about... oh, by the gods... they asked about the Fell One, and then they left us. They are gone, I swear it!"

The tracker put down his knife but did not let go. "Who were they?" asked the tracker. "Huh?" "Who were the two who came from within the forest?" "I... uh... don't you know?"

The tracker put the knife quickly to the woman's throat, "The question isn't if I know, but if you know."

"Alright! It was the Lady Andrea Croix and her bodyguard." The tracker shoved the woman to the ground and then left, back into the forest.

Once gone, the woman who had spoken to Andrea earlier came from out of another hut. "This is getting worse," she said as the man cleaned off the stains from his daughter. "I did what I could... I sent him to Mt. Cicatrice, not into the forest." "But he will not be fooled forever."

  1. Two women without a horse between them...
  2. Schemes, counter-schemes, and plots within plots...

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4/8/2001 5:12:03 PM

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