"I told you, it''s that way! Why don''t you listen to me?" Abad heard Firtz''s voice well before he saw them. The dwarf was very loud.


    "You old coot, this is the trail. You''re just lost! Stop fussing and follow me." A-Nis sounded tired.


    Abad smiled at their voices and walked toward them. He emerged from a thick clump of bushes into a small grove, where he found the elf and dwarf arguing. They both stopped mid-shout to glare at him.


    "Girl, why didn''t you tell me someone was coming?" The dwarf hefted his axe. "You know I''ve got bad ears!"


    "Because you decided to yell for the last twenty minutes. How could I possibly hear anything else?" A-Nis drew her bow and knocked an arrow.


    "Hold, friends." Abad held his hands up. "I mean no harm."


    "Do I know you, boy?" The dwarf squinted at him. "You seem familiar."


    "No, you don''t, but I know you, Firtz Proudhelm." Abad bowed. "And you, A-Nis."


    "How do you know us?" A-Nis hissed. She drew her arrow back. In response, a caw called overhead. Just as he heard the flutter of wings, he performed a subtle gesture behind his back. Angra hissed, but she alighted on a branch overhead.


    "It''s my familiar, my friends. She''s a touch protective. Come, Angra. Say hello." He held his arm out. Angra flew down and perched on it.


    A-Nis''s eyes grew wide. "That''s the biggest Raven I''ve ever seen. It''s as big as a buzzard!" She lowered her bow. "May I approach it?" Her eyes sparkled as she fished something out of her belt pouch. A piece of jerky appeared in her hand. She waved it at the familiar, clicking her tongue as she did.


    Abad held his arms out and shook his head. "Unfortunately, she''s rather temperamental." He felt her talons dig into his arm. He did his best not to yelp. "Maybe in time, she''ll trust you enough to come close on her own." Angra loosened her talons, took off, and landed on a nearby branch.


    A-Nis looked devastated. Abad had never seen the woman so obviously disappointed about anything. He hadn''t realized she liked animals so much.


    Firtz wasn''t amused. "So, a mage appears in the middle of an uninhabited forest in the damned Reach and says he knows us?" The man''s grey eyes scanned him. "I''m not buying it. Explain yourself, mage. Who are you?" His stance grew wider.


    Abad was about to say his name, but he hesitated. Kasimir had found him through his name last time. Did he want to go down that road again? Perhaps in this life, he could find the old mage and find and different path. If not, he might be able to battle him in better circumstances than the last time. "I''m Tel-Arun," he bowed. "I''m an amateur scholar and mage of some small power. There''s a temple of Yslene out that way," he said as he gestured behind himself. "I was conducting research out that way and happened across real heroes. Goddess be praised." He lifted his eyes to the sky in mock prayer. A small smile broke across his face. It was hard for one to believe in a being that one personally knew.


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    "Yslene?" Firtz eyebrows knitted together. "No one''s worshipped her in centuries. At least since my grandpa foug—"


    "Is this really the time for your stories, Firtz?" A-Nis shook her head. "Please to meet you, Tel-Arun. It''s not often you see a sun elf this far from the Tower."


    "Indeed." Abad smiled. "I''ve been away for some Saern for some time. I''ve found the Reach holds many spots of interest, and I suppose I''m too curious for my own good."


    Firtz drove his axe into the ground. "Well, as interesting as all these elf matters are, we''re hunting a monster. Big thing, like a cat. You seen it?"


    Abad unslung his pack and reached within. He willed the skull from the vault and pulled it out of the bag. "You mean this?" He tossed it to the ground in front of the dwarf. Both of the adventurers stared at it in shock.


    "Why... well... yes." The dwarf looked him over. "Some small power, my foot. That was no simple beast."


    Abad laughed. "As much as I would love to take credit, I managed to find it this way and decided it was interesting. Something else got it." Abad froze as the words left his lips. He hadn''t  thought of it before. What had killed the creature? The trolls? Trolls would have eaten the body. The boy? The wounds didn''t match up. It couldn''t be the fey''ra. Helia didn''t claim them until after Abad destroyed <b>[Final Law]</b>. Was there something else out here too? The thought unnerved him.


    "Something else?" A-Nis looked at Firtz, who shrugged. "I don''t like that."


    Firtz nodded. "I knew something felt foul out here. It stinks of mist and evil." He reached down and picked up the skull. This is good news at least." The dwarf looked at Abad. "Even if we won''t get the credit or crystals.


    "If you lot help me back to town, I''d be happy to share the bounty. I don''t know that I could face a creature that defeated a beast like that one," Abad lied. "Plus, it''s rather heavy."


    Firtz knelt and picked up the skull. "Did you get sent out here by the adventurer''s guild too?"


    Abad shook his head. "No. Fighting isn''t in my temperament. I just thought the skull was interesting is all. I''m happy I took it. Saved you the trip."


    Firtz looked to the sky. "The Goddess works in mysterious ways." He clapped his hands, stashed the skull in his pack, and grabbed his axe. "This will give us a few days to ourselves. What say we celebrate properly tonight? Maybe head out tomorrow?"


    A-Nis nodded, but before she could speak, something dawned on Abad. He shook his head. "There''s a wagon heading back from the Tower of the Moon. If we hurry to the Silverway, we might just catch it in time."


    "In time?" A-Nis asked. "For what?"


    "To catch a ride back." When he noticed Firtz''s lack of enthusiasm, Abad added, "and likely get paid for our time."


    "Ehh, there''ll be other wagons. Might take until the Old King''s Way, but there''ll be more wagons."


    "Yeah, but the one I speak of has been given quite the job from the Mage''s Guild. They''ll need protection on the way home. From the look of you two, you seem more than capable of helping them out, far more than I." Abad looked up at Angra on the branch above them. A wave of emotion struck him. "It would be a shame to make the wrong choice and regret it."


    Angra cawed in solidarity.


    A-Nis laughed. "That''s a fun trick. I heard familiars only mimic intelligence, but yours seems like it has a will of its own." She gazed at Angra.


    "That''s because she does," Abad said, his tone sincere and final. "She''s far more than a simple familiar. In all the realms, there''s only one like her." Abad could feel her black eyes considering him.


    "I had no idea that was possible..." A-Nis gazed a while longer at the crow, then shook her head and looked at Firtz. "Tel-Arun is right. We should take the opportunity if we have it. They sound like they''re in need, and we need the money. Even with this skull, it''s not like we''re rolling in crystals or anything.


    Firtz nodded. "You''re right, lass. We ought to do what we can. Let''s get back to the other string bean and head back to the road."


    The elf smiled. "Sounds good to me." She looked at Abad. "Come on. Let''s get going. My sister is a little ways back at camp."


    ***


    "Look around for wagon tracks. I know for a fact that