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Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next exciting chapter in this fascinating saga from Cianna. It is entitled

And Then There was Nick, Part 2

Background music by Smartsound

“All right, spill the beans.”

Cianna had kept quiet as long as she could. When she and Nick left the Soltown tavern after their near run-in with the men from Rats Nest, they turned left, past a small scattering of houses and shops, and towards the woods where they would find privacy. Cianna waited for Nick to speak, but he seemed lost in thought, his gaze slowly surveying the woods before them.

“Nick?”

“Hmmm? Oh, sorry. Was just wondering what those men were up to.”

“Why should you care?”

“No reason, really. I just wouldn’t want to see anyone get hurt.” Cianna stopped walking and stared at him.

“What?” he said, noting the exasperation on her face.

“You are a walking mass of contradictions, do you know that?” she said. “First, you want to be part of whatever those men have going on, now you’re worried about people getting hurt. Which is it: are you a good guy or a bad guy, a gentleman or a cad?”

Nick chuckled. “I think you will find, milady, that all men are a bit of both.”

They walked a few more paces in silence.

“Cianna, there are reasons you need to be careful about who you make friends with in these parts, especially when you travel as a woman alone.”

“I told you….”

“Yes, yes, I know. You can take care of yourself. And I don’t doubt that for a minute. I saw you in action the day we met, remember?”

Cianna smiled at the memory. Returning to Aelasar’s Forest after one of her reconnaissance missions, she made a quick stopover in Brittany to stock up on supplies. There, on the waterfront, she found a rather inebriated Nick lying on the ground with a grizzled old man holding a knife to his throat while another went through his pockets. She dispatched the pickpockets with ease, took Nick to a nearby inn, and sobered him up.

“I should have left you there,” she said, laughing. “Would have served you right. But that was nothing, Nick. I really am quite capable of taking care of myself. I’ve trained long and hard to get where I am, and I carry the title of Lady Marshal to prove it.”

Nick whistled. “Lady Marshal is it? I’m in even grander company than I thought.”

Cianna bristled, then relaxed with a laugh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound so grandiose. But I am extremely well trained, and I am experienced in actual fighting, too. More than you’ll ever know.” The last part was said as a whisper.

She averted her eyes so Nick wouldn’t see the sudden pain there, but it had seeped into her voice, as well. Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Cianna cut him off.

“Tell me about those men,” Cianna said. “The ones you said belonged to the Baron.”

“No, they don’t belong to the Baron. Baron Drocis Fondorlatos has only one interest and passion in life and that is the pursuit of magic: black, white, good, bad, ancient, modern. He doesn’t care, as long as it brings knowledge and power with it. He does, however, own the town of Rats Nest, where he lives. It’s a pretty lawless place, since the Baron turns a blind eye to whatever goes on there. There are only two rules in Rats Nest: don’t mess with the Baron, and pay your taxes on time. After that….” Nick shrugged.

“He sounds a bit intimidating. Is he a powerful wizard then?”

“No one really knows, Cianna. He keeps to himself. Rarely ventures out. It makes one wonder what he wants all of that knowledge for, though.”

Nick plucked an apple from a roadside tree and offered it to Cianna. She shook her head.

“So, what interest did you have in those men in the tavern?” she asked as Nick bit into the apple.

“I was hired to trail them. My, uh, ’employer’ has had several supply caravans robbed in the last few months and whenever it happens, these two men seem to be around. They’re also suspected of strong-arming a number of merchants in the land, extorting coin and supplies from them in exchange for not burning down their businesses.”

“That’s awful!” Cianna cried. “Why are they allowed to get away with that?”

“People are afraid, Cianna, so they won’t bear witness against the men who are robbing them. They don’t know who’s behind all of this. It could be the Baron. It could be the Novian Elves. It could be anybody at this point. And without proof, well, I may not like them, but I’m generally against hanging innocent men.”

“So, you’re trailing them in order to…?”

“To find out who’s employ they’re in. If we can take care of it from the top, it cleans out all the layers underneath. There’s no point in killing just two men when there are 30 more who can take their place.”

Cianna was lost in thought for a moment. She kicked a rock with her boot and watched as it skipped down the dirt road. A gentle breeze blew across the road bringing the smell of flowers and food from the tavern behind them.

“So why the pretend drunkenness all the time, Nick? Are you trying to throw them off guard?”

“Who says it’s pretend?” Nick laughed. “But yeah, people tend not to take much notice of drunks. They blend in to the background more or less, which is a perfect place to eavesdrop on conversations.”

“You weren’t really drunk that day at the waterfront, though, were you,” she demanded.

He grinned, and for a moment he looked like a young boy engaged in a game of Dueling Knights. He didn’t answer, and Cianna smiled back at him.

“What will you do now? You’ve let them get away. You’ll lose the trail.”

“Oh, I didn’t let them get away, Cianna. They haven’t left yet. In fact, they’re in these woods watching us right now.”

As he finished speaking, a pair of rugged men emerged from behind a small grove of trees about twenty yards ahead of them. Cianna instinctively reached for the the hilt of her sword.

“Easy, girl,” Nick whispered beside her. “Wait till they’re closer.”

They watched as the two men sauntered toward them, their drawn daggers glinting in the sunlight. Beyond them, Cianna could see a town guard sprawled on the ground. Unconscious? Dead? She couldn’t tell.

“Well now, boys, we meet again. Have you decided to take me with you after all?” Nick called out cheerfully. “Just let me get rid of the little lady here and I’ll be ready to go.”

“She’s going nowhere,” the taller man answered, exposing a missing tooth as he grinned at Cianna. “The two of you are coming with us.”

“And what if we don’t want to?” Cianna said, her hand still on her sword.

“Well,” said the man, “I guess we’ll just have to persuade you then.”

He swung his dagger in a wide arc towards Cianna’s face, just missing her cheek.

“Be a shame to mess with such a pretty face,” he said, leering at her. “You sure you don’t want to come with us willingly?”

In a flash, Cianna had her sword in hand and was bearing down on him. She could hear Nick behind her in a scuffle with the other one.

“You okay?” she called out to him.

“Yeah, I just threw some dirt in the poor sod’s eyes.”

“Nick, didn’t anyone ever teach you to fight fair?”

“Nope,” she heard him reply, laughing. “What’s the point in that?”

She grinned and turned her attention back to her attacker. “Now, let me show you what this ‘pretty face’ can do.”

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Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with a wonderful story from Cianna Danaan. It is entitled
And Then There Was Nick, Part I

Background music by Smartsound

Cianna jumped as the door to the Soltown tavern burst open with a clatter and a rush of cold air. The soft, plaintive melody she’d been absentmindedly playing on the piano died away. A youngish man, clearly the worse for drink, stumbled through the door. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, pushed his cloth hood off, and glanced around the room.

“Barkeep! Barkeep! Another round, if you please.”

“Ya haven’t had your first yet, mate.” The grizzled old man behind the bar said, laughing. “At least not here. But you’ve definitely had a few rounds somewhere else, by the looks — and smell — of ya.”

The scattered patrons in the tavern laughed, the young man joining in with them.

“But, isn’t this the Fire Lotus Tavern, good man? It’s not? Hmmm, I could have sworn I was in Owl’s Head.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “I seem to have lost a continent. Well, no matter, let’s remedy this problem on the spot. Barkeep, my usual, if you please.”

The barkeep beckoned with his finger. “Come here, my boy,” he said, a look of bemusement on his face.

The young man swayed as he ambled up to the bar, leaning across the counter so he could hear the barkeep. “Yes, my good man?”

The barkeep whispered, loudly, so the room could hear, “Seeing as you’ve never been here before,” he said, “I don’t know what your ‘usual’ is. Do you see my problem, mate?”

As the crowd laughed again, Cianna rose from her seat.

“He’ll have a whiskey,” she said. “You can bring it to my table.”

Everyone turned to look at her as she spoke, the young man turning a bit slower than the rest, trying to maintain his balance as he went. He looked at her in confusion for a moment. Cianna thought she saw concern pass over his face, but if it was there, it quickly vanished.

“Milady? Is that you? By all the Watchers in Adoris, it is! It’s you!” He turned to a hefty man sitting on a stool near him. “It’s her!” he said to the man. “The love of my life, the apple of my eye, the….”

Cianna strode forward and gripped the young man by the elbow. “Quiet, please, Nick. I don’t care for too much scrutiny in public.”

“Shhh, shhh, yes, milady. I understand, I do. I’ll be quiet. Quiet as a….as a….”

“Foghorn?” said the barkeep, stepping past them to place a whiskey on Cianna’s table. “Anything more for you, miss?” he asked.

“No, I’m good, thank you.” She handed him coin for the whiskey.

Cianna steered Nick to her table, helping him to maintain an upright demeanor. She pulled out the nearest chair and guided him into it. She looked him over with a smile lurking at her lips as she sat down again.

“So, we meet again. How are you, Nick?”

“Ahh, but it’s good to see you again, milady.”

“Stop with the milady business, will you? Cianna’s good enough for me.”

He raised his eyebrows, then took a sip of whisky. “Cianna it is, then. Only trying to be respectful to my lady love.” He winked at her.

“I’m not your lady love, Nick. We barely know each other.” She laughed at his pouting face. “It is good to see you, though.”

“And it’s grand to see you,” he said. “Your beauty brightens up the day. Puts the very sun to shame, and makes the moon cry in his cups.”

Cianna laughed again.

“Your laughter is cruel, madam. You break my heart.”

“Nick, I’m quite sure that you flatter all the young women this way, and perhaps even the older ones, too. The girl who takes you seriously will get her heart broken, I fear.”

“But, I do not mean to flatter you, milady, I mean to woo you — with love . . . and perhaps a little whiskey?” He held his glass out to her with a smile.

Cianna shook her head, still laughing. A movement at the bar caught her attention. Two men had entered the tavern and were ordering drinks. They looked rough, as though they had ridden for days without stopping. The conversations in the tavern had gone quiet. Even Nick seemed more subdued.

“Who are they? Do you know?” she asked. He held a cautionary finger to his lips.

“Well, look who it is,” he bellowed, turning suddenly in his chair and sending it crashing beneath him. He grinned up at the men from the floor. They scowled before turning their backs on him.

“Barkeep! Another round!” Nick called out, struggling to his feet. He rose and clasped both men by the shoulder, not seeming to notice their obvious annoyance.

“What brings you here, gentlemen? You’re a long, long way from Rats Nest. Is there something good in the works? Anything I can help with?”

“Shut up, you idiot,” said the tallest of the two. “Barkeep,” he yelled toward a back room, “make it quick with that order!”

“Stocking up, are you?” Nick asked in an exaggerated whisper, moving in close as if to hear a secret. “What’s in the barrels they’re packing up, boys? Come on, you can tell ol’ Nicky.”

The second man pushed Nick away roughly. The barkeep returned and took their money. “Is it all there?” the tall one asked.

“It is, damn you,” said the barkeep. “Now get out of my establishment. You’re bothering my customers. And tell the Baron not to send anymore of his…residents…to me. I don’t like doing business with the likes of you.”

“Boys, boys,” Nick called out as the two men headed for the Tavern door. “Cut me in on the deal, won’t you? I could use a job. And the Baron speaks very highly of me!”

The door closed loudly behind them. Nick stood still for a long moment, then returned to sit beside Cianna.

“What was that all about?” she asked. “Who are those men?”

Nick’s thoughts seemed far away. “They’re from Rats Nest. An island town off the Northwest Coast. Not a particularly nice part of the world, I’m afraid.”

“You mean they’re outlaws?” Cianna asked.

Nick grinned. “Well, I wouldn’t put it quite that genteelly, but yes, they’re outlaws.”

Cianna stood quickly.

“Hey, what…? Where are you going?”

“I have to catch up to them. I need to talk to those men.”

“Whoa, girl, hold on a minute.” He grabbed her arm. “You can’t go running after men like those. You’ll get yourself killed, or worse. Those are tough men, and they wouldn’t waste time being polite with you, if you catch my meaning.”

Cianna’s eyes blazed. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much. And you don’t understand. I must talk to them.”

“Okay, okay, sit down and explain it to me.”

“But they’ll get away! Let me go, Nick!”

He held firm. “Not until you tell me what’s so damn important that you have to chase after men like that. Besides, I can tell you where they’re going. You can follow them — if you still want to — when we’re done.”

Cianna struggled for a moment more, then sighed and sat down.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked, as she glared at him.

“Am I?” Nick furrowed his brow.

“You seem to have sobered up rather quickly.”

“Ah, yes, that.” He glanced around the room. “Listen, let’s get out of here. We need to talk.”

Without another word, Nick lurched to his feet. “Come, milady, let’s take a stroll around this fair town. I’m in need of fresh air and your charming company.”

“I’ll give you charming company,” Cianna muttered to herself. She rose and took the arm that was offered to her. Nick leaned heavily on her for support.

“If you fall flat on your face out there, I’m leaving you where you drop,” Cianna warned in a whisper.

“Ah, my angel, I do so love when you say sweet things to me.” Nick waggled his brows at her. In spite of herself, Cianna laughed.

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Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with another great story from Them Lock. It is entitled
The Hanging Tree
Background music by Smartsound

The elder dryad of Grunvald has long been dormant. Deep in the forest, nestled within her sacred grove, she had taken root and entered a cycle of hibernation that would last one hundred years. Her delicate frame had grown strong and tall, towering above the canopy in the form of a massive oak tree. Her presence enriched the very soil for miles around her, invigorating growth and warding off disease. Immobile but aware, the forest had grown vibrant and flourished around her and for a time she had known joy in its purest form.

She initially became aware of the outlanders presence when the first trees were felled, the distant harvest at the very edge of her realm stung her like a salted lash. She had reached out with her mind, sending forth the predators of the forest in an attempt to bring the intruders to justice. But one by one the creatures consciousness were lost to her, victims to the same axes that had murdered her wards. Saddened, the dryad poured her energy into the forest in an attempt to heal some of the damage. But the massacre had only just begun, as each day passed more and more axes tore at her forest as stones were driven into the soil in an ever expanding scab of roadways that delved ever closer. Nothing slowed the brutal advance, she had summoned thorns and brambles and swarms of biting insects to no avail. Day after day, month after month and year after year… she was losing ground.

It was twelve long years before the monsters reached her. Frozen in place, she stared down at them with fury as the horrid creatures took shelter from the sun beneath her boughs. If she could move she would eviscerate them, but move she could not. It was one week later when her heart splintered and broke. Her sacred grove, her children, her greatest loves were taken from her. Before her eyes axe and saw tore her babies from the earth, their bodies dragged aside, drawn and quartered. Her silent screams sent out a shockwave that caused panic throughout the forest, birds took flight and deer bolted, all life for miles sensed her pain and fled… all except the outlanders. In the days that followed, her wailing continued as, with horror, she looked on as the dismembered remains of her family were crafted into a great hall.

Like maggots in the rotting corpse of her grove, the outlanders grew quickly in number, a forest of human structures sprang up around her in cruel mockery of her loss. The green life that once surrounded her was replaced with cold, grey stone and the air was filled with the unbearable stench of burning wood. They had made her a captive, a centerpiece, a trophy of war displayed at the very heart of their lifeless, ugly settlement. The weight of foot traffic compounded the pain of cobblestones that bit deeply into her network of roots, causing her great pain and cutting her off from the outside world. As far as she could tell, all life had been wiped out. She was utterly defeated and so very alone, she had begun to will her own death to no avail.

As a stage was constructed at her feet and ropes hung from her boughs, the dryad could not help but wonder what fresh torment her captors had in store. A crowd of the stinking beasts gathered at her feet, jeering and calling out as a trio of outlanders were led to the ropes, hands bound behind their backs. In horrified amazement the dryad watched on as the creatures were hung by their necks from her limbs. She felt the life slip from their bodies as they dangled and twitched from the ropes… they were killing their own kind!. Over the years many such executions took place, and she grew to take pleasure from the act. After decades of tortured misery she had come to delight in the fear she sensed in the condemned. Sanity had long since abandoned her, she had forgotten her own name and all that came before her captivity. Now she had a new name, a name that gave her purpose… her name was Hanging Tree.

And then it happened. At first she thought she had imagined it, but no. Ever so slowly, over several days… she clenched her outstretched, woody hand into a fist. Ninety years had passed, her hibernation cycle was nearing completion. Her mind raced, the fires of hatred flared brightly within her, soon she would be mobile. In ten short years time she would tear herself free from this polluted soil and finally make her true presence known. Oh and how the outlanders would know her. She is rancor, she is retribution… she is Hanging Tree, and she will hang them all.