he next few days were quite pleasant for the family.

The Paladins were respectful and well-mannered, and provided a room for Tugg and Semla, and another for the children.  Torok lived in a large dormitory with seven other apprentices, but was allowed to visit his family for an hour or two a day, and saw them at meals.

He was by far the largest of the Paladins in training, and taller and stronger than any of the Paladin leaders either.  Tugg still had a few inches in height on him, and was broader through the shoulders, but Torok was growing.  Father and son engaged in some playful wrestling, and were well-matched, though Tugg with his years of experience had hand to hand maneuvers that Torok couldn't counter.

Tugg and Tambor were accepted and allowed to go where they wished, with a Paladin for escort.  No one but the Paladins and initiates were allowed in some holy areas, such as their cathedral and near the leader's quarters, but the barbarians could walk freely through the halls, inspect the kitchen and grand hall, enter the training areas and dormitories, and watch the apprentices and journeymen work out on the practice fields.

Tambor loved the place, the huge sparing rooms with their racks and racks of practice weapons, the outdoor archery range, the jousting runs, the huge stables with hundreds of very healthy horses, the armories with cases of gleaming weapons and armor. He had no desire to be a Paladin, and that talent was not inherent in him, but it was a very fun place to visit.  He was allowed to spar some with the younger initiates, and could hold his own with boys several years older, though mostly through his brute strength and speed, since he lacked their training and technique with sword and shield.  There were no practice axes or heavy mauls or polearms, which he could have had an advantage with, using them to simply smash through a shield.

There were odd things about the Paladin academy though.  There were no women there at all.  Not even any of the servants, who were all male, mostly older men, with numerous boys too young or unskilled for Paladin training.  Semla and Saraha weren't exactly shunned, but it was clear that most of the Paladins were very uncomfortable with them around, and they could not leave their quarters without a Paladin escort. Saraha wore long pants and kept on her heaviest breast plate, which wasn't very form fitting.  Semla wore a long dress over her splinted leg, and both mother and daughter kept mostly to their rooms.  Semla was heartily bored, with nothing to do but read, and nothing worth reading.  The Paladins seemed to disapprove of her even knowing how to read, but they did at least bring her some books.  These were mostly dry history tomes, or textbooks explaining agriculture, animal husbandry, or the basics of blacksmithing.  She couldn't read her own books, since they were all very rare tomes of spell craft.  These were left locked in their wagon, after the sight of the Sorceress persecution in town.

Of the execution of sorceresses in the town, none of the Paladins would speak.  Torok claimed to know nothing about it, that he wasn't allowed to leave the academy.  He did admit that most of the Paladins and common people of the district distrusted witches and sorcery, but didn't seem to believe that public torture and murder could be happening.  When Tambor asked about the Auras paladins used, which seemed like magic, Torok scoffed.

"But Torok," Saraha said the afternoon of the fourth day, as Torok visited them in their rooms, "Paladins have auras to deal lightning and fire damage, and to move faster, along with the ones that boost combat skills.  Sorceresses use Fire and Lightning spells, and..." 

"Enough!" Torok shouted.  "Our Auras and holy combat skills are pure and noble.  Witches wield their dark magicks for their own gain, and for the purposes of evil!  They are no better than dark Necromancers!" With that he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Saraha and Tugg looked at each other with dismay.  Tambor, sitting on the bed, was shocked, such rudeness to your elders, especially to your parents, was unheard of among the Tribes.  Semla, in a reading chair with her leg up on a footstool, was beet-red in the face, and as Tambor looked a single tear ran down one cheek.  He almost expected it to boil away from the fury inside his sister.

"Tugg, I don't think we can drag him away from here." Saraha said.

"No, Torok like Paladin.  Mind full of poison, they must teach some evil here."

Tambor stood up and paced around, very upset.  He couldn't believe his brother was so changed in just a couple of years.  Sorceresses were rare in the Tribeslands, and generally mistrusted, but open hatred of them was uncommon.  And Necromancers weren't seen as such evil dark forces.  Some were, but others Tambor knew battled evil, using the dead bodies of the demons as their weapons, which had always seemed very clever to him.

Saraha sighed deeply.  "I fear we may have to leave him here, though I hate to abandon my son to these fools.  He doesn't like to think about the torture of any suspected woman in this area, and there are no women here to set a positive example.  He has his head filled with their lies and sermonizing, and can't think straight."

It wasn't until the next evening that they found out where such poisonous ideas were coming from.

______________________

The Dark Lady entered the dining hall from the rear, during the meal.  The family was together at a small table in the corner, eating quickly while Semla and Saraha tried to ignore the covert stares of most of the boys.  Lots of the younger ones were around Semla's age, and she felt their eyes on her always when she was out of her room.  They wouldn't meet her eyes, except when she looked quickly and caught one of them, and then there was always an uneasy mixture of desire, hatred, mistrust, and perhaps even fear.  They took her for an Amazon, like her mother, and she was doing nothing to correct that misconception.

The dining hall was always quiet, as the apprentices and journeymen talked among themselves, and the elder paladins ate in silence at the head table.  The low voices and tinkle of plates and utensils were the only noises usually, so it was very noticeable when these suddenly stopped, cut off with a few strangled gasps.

Tambor looked around, and saw that all of the apprentice Paladins were staring at the doorway.  He turned in his chair and joined them in a stare, at the woman who was standing there.

She was tall, taller even than Saraha, who was a typically statuesque Amazon.  This woman would be taller than all of the Paladins other than Torok, Tambor thought.  She was dressed all in black, steel toed thigh high boots, tight leather pants, a black belt with silver studs, and a very bust-enhancing leather bustier that showed no cleavage at all, extending all the way to a high neck.  Her hair was jet black, close cropped, and she even wore black lipstick.  She was without any weapons or armor, but her expression was one of complete confidence and superiority.  Tambor thought she surveyed the room like a lion scanning a herd of antelope.

She did not enter, merely stood in the doorway, and a moment later an old man in gleaming silver plate mail walked beside her, entering the dining hall.  Tambor recognized him from some portraits he'd seen on the walls, this was the Archbishop himself, Lord Cromwell! He was the ruler of all the Paladins, and equivalent in rank to the Duke of this territory. Tambor didn't know what much of Paladin customs, but his sister had told him rulers in this and most lands were always the first to enter a room, with all others following at least a step behind.

At the sight of him, all of the Paladins were immediately on their feet and at attention, and Tambor's family stood up as well out of respect, Tugg holding one of Semla's arms as she balanced on one leg.

The Dark Lady lead the Archbishop to the head table, letting him sit at the head, and taking the seat next to him.  Once he was seated the Paladins sat down as well, but did not resume eating until Cromwell had been served, and began to eat.  The leaders of the Academy seated near Cromwell tried to speak to him, but he waved them off and sat in silence, eating lightly and listening only to the Dark Lady, who leaned over to whisper in his ear several times.  Cromwell didn't look around the room at all, only at the table and food before him, nor even at the striking woman who sat at his side.

Semla was fascinated to see a woman here, especially one dressed so, and she noted how the Paladins seemed mesmerized by the Dark Lady.  The eyes of the young men were on someone else for a change, but they didn't look at the woman in black with lust or anger, as they did her.  It was more with reverence and fear, Semla thought, as they though loved her, but were terrified as well.

After a quarter hour the bell rang to end the dinner hour, and once Cromwell waved them away, the room emptied immediately, even the servant boys seemed to be hurrying to clear the tables.  Tugg, Saraha, Semla and Tambor rose to leave once the Paladins had streamed out, but as they moved towards the door the woman in black was suddenly before them.

Her eyes were not black, but a very pale light green, and they were directed solely at Semla.

"You are training as an Amazon, my child?" Her voice was silky, almost a purr, but Tambor found that he didn't care for it.  She sounded like she was gloating about something.  Behind the woman Cromwell waited, with four senior paladins flanking him.

Semla answered immediately, and sounded calm, "Of course milady, my mother is an excellent teacher."

"What ever happened to your leg?" The woman said, noticing that Semla stood awkwardly, and grasped her father's massive arm for balance.

"She broke it some months ago, running in the forest.  It's nearly healed, but must be kept in the splint for another few weeks, to be sure it's strong enough to not break again." Saraha said.

The dark lady never took her eyes off of Semla, even as Saraha spoke, and Semla tried to meet her gaze evenly.  The woman was beautiful, but very unnerving.

Tambor waited, not aware that he was holding his breath.  For some reason he half-expected the woman to scream at his mother, scream that bitches didn't speak unless spoken to, as that pig of a one-eye had on the road a few days before.

The dark lady was silent for a moment, then still looking into Semla's eyes, she said, "Pity there's no magical way to heal it, why you'd be back on your feet immediately.  Wouldn't that be nice, if some Sorceress could just wave her hands and make it all better?"

One of the paladins let out a short cough at the "Sorceress" mention, and Semla began to open her mouth, though she had no idea what she would say.  Tugg beat her to it, "Hah!  If it meant daughter healed, I would let Lord of Terror cast spell.  No reason to be scared of Sorceresses."

Still keeping her eyes on Semla, who was becoming very uncomfortable under the steady green gaze, the woman in black said, "Why, no one is frightened of Sorceresses, we just like to talk to them.  To ask them some questions.  It's a pity they so seldom give us the answers without persuasion."

Saraha had had enough of this.  She picked Semla up as if she weighed no more than a long bow, holding her daughter in both arms.  "My daughter needs her rest, and to get off this leg.  If you'll excuse us."  Without waiting for answer she left the dining hall, two of the Paladins behind Cromwell moving to the side to let her by.

Tugg and Tambor followed, leaving the woman and five paladins in silence.  Tambor expected the dark woman to say something, but she kept her silence.  When he looked back a moment later, she had come out of the Dining Hall and was watching them as they walked down the long hallway, towards their rooms.

_______________________

The next afternoon Torok came to talk to his family. He did not apologize for storming out yesterday, and he stood in the doorway, not willing to enter and sit down.  Once Tambor and Semla had come into their parents' room, he said, "I think you should leave here immediately."

"I think you should come with us." Saraha said.  "This is an evil land. They torture and murder women here, and your teachers allow it to happen."

Torok's face turned red and he turned to go.  Tugg was at his side immediately, and he grabbed his son by the arm and pulled him into the room, slamming the door behind him.  Torok struggled for a moment, but Tugg simply bear-hugged him and then threw him at the bed.  Torok stumbled into the foot of the bed and tripped, sprawling onto it.  He was on his feet in a flash, an orange aura appearing under his feet and he turned to face his father.

Tugg stood by the door, leaning his back against the wooden frame, and merely stared at his son.  "Torok, you fight family now?  What they teach you here?"

Torok looked around the room, at his mother and sister, then at Tambor last. His younger brother was standing by his sister, shock on his face as he looked up at his brother.  Torok trembled for a moment, then leaned back into the wall, the aura around his feet flickering out.  "You should all leave, the Countess was asking about you last night after dinner."  He shuddered, "Asking me, about Semla, mostly.  Her training."

"Torok, come with us.  This is no place for you.  There must be other ways to get Paladin training.  There is evil here, and you will be caught up in it."  Saraha said quietly.

Torok looked fierce again. "Because you don't understand our ways, you call it evil?"

Tugg laughed, "And what do you call Sorceress and Necromancer?"

Semla spoke next, "Torok, these people would tell you to kill your own family if they thought we practiced sorcery.  You heard the same legends as I did as a child.  You know Sorcery turned back the tides of evil many times.  You think that's changed today?  There have been good and bad magic-users, just as there are good and bad Paladins."

Torok stared at his boots.

"Torok, we brought you here for training, since your natural gifts were as a Paladin.  You could have been a good Barbarian.  Many Tribesmen use swords, and some with shields. But you'd have been half-trained, wasting your talents with Auras.  We wanted you to gain skills and knowledge, and if you want to live on your own, far from your family or the Tribes, that's up to you.  But we don't like the evil thinking here, the hatred and murder of women, and the lies they tell about sorcery."  Saraha tried to keep her voice light.

"We are leaving this place soon, as you say.  I don't feel safe here, and Semla and I don't like being cooped up in these rooms, to keep us away from these silly men in their armor with their swords who are so afraid of women, or anyone differnet than they are. You are better than this, you don't want to spend your life doing just what they tell you, or living in some cold stone Monastery with no women."

Torok said, "I have only begun to learn my true potential here.  I don't have to agree with all of their teachings, I can think for myself."  He sounded like he was trying to make himself believe it.

"You stormed out of here yesterday, and you tried to do so again today at the first mention of anything contrary to your new teachings."  Saraha tried to capture her son's eyes with hers as she spoke, but he kept his gaze on the floor.  "You've only been here for a few years, and you are already so changed.  If you remain until you are a man you'll learn more combat skills, that's true.  But I fear the evil ends you'll use them for."

Torok drew breath sharply at the last comment by his mother.  He looked at her, but couldn't hold her eyes and looked around.  Seeing only pity and understand in the eyes of his brother and sister was worse, and he leaned back against the wall heavily, torn in indecision.

Before anyone else spoke, there was a knock at the door. Tugg opened it and saw three Paladins there, all in their customary full plate mail. "Where is Torok?  He's needed in the training room."

The lead Paladin leaned his head in and saw Torok, who was still looking down at his feet.  The armored man tried to push the door wider, but Tugg had one hand on it, and held it still. "Family talking now, Torok come when he is ready."

The Paladin lost his grin and spoke in a flat voice, "He is required now." As he spoke he leaned into the door a bit more firmly, but it did not move an inch.  One of his fellows joined him leaning, and the wood creaked, but Tugg did not show any sign of strain as he held the door with one arm.

"Torok come when he is ready." With a half smile, Tugg closed the door even as the third Paladin joined in leaning on it.  Their boots slid across the stone floor helplessly as the door swung shut and closed, leaving them in the hallway.  Tugg leaned against the door heavily, and looked over at his son.

"Well Torok, what you do?"

"I... I must go.  I will think about this tonight.  I will think about this with a new perspective." He walked towards the door.  Tugg stood aside, and as Torok reached for the door handle, Semla spoke,  "Torok. There was not one living woman to be seen in that town, or any of the villages on the way here.  The only two women we saw were locked in stocks, lying in pools of their own blood, being tortured to death.  This is the master you serve."

Torok opened the door, looked back with anguished eyes, then hurried down the hallway with the three paladins flanking him.

_______________________

That night in the Dining Hall there was no sign of Torok.  Tambor asked one of the younger Paladins, and was told that Torok was confined to the barracks for the night, the standard punishment for being late to a class.

After dinner Tambor went out to walk around, and headed straight for the Barracks.  The door was open, and the young men inside didn't notice him for a moment.  Once one did he said, "You can't be here alone!" and closed the door in a hurry.  But not before Tambor counted seven in the room, none of which was his brother.

He hurried back to his parents' room, and walked in to find Tugg, Saraha, and Semla sitting at the small table, deep in conversation.  Saraha looked up and beckoned him over, "I don't want you out walking around here alone. They have one of my sons already."

Tambor hurried across the room, and told them what he'd seen in the Barracks.  Tugg sat in thought for a moment, then stood up quickly.  "Tugg track. Tambor stay here.  Pack things, we leave soon."

Saraha joined him in the hallway, closing the door behind her.  "I am not sitting in that room a minute longer.  We will find Torok and have his answer, then we are leaving, night or not."

Tugg smiled, he had known his wife would come.  He lead the way and they walked down the hallway towards the Dormitory section of the great building.  Tugg could track anything in the wild, but it was much harder indoors, with so many people around.  There were no footprints or clear smells to follow, of course, but for people he'd known a long time, he could locate them just by feeling for their presence.  His son was a clear beacon in the darkness, even behind closed doors.

They moved past the dormitory, into the officer's quarters.  There were no guards in the halls, which was odd, they'd never seen this area without regular patrols.

The halls were eerily silent, no voices or crashing of practice weapons to be heard.  Only their soft footsteps echoing off the stone walls broke the total silence.

As they moved down another long hallway and Saraha began to grow worried.  They were outside some of the rooms of the leaders, and it might look odd if they were found here.  It was odd that there were no guards. Tugg lead on, around a corner, and stopped outside a thick metal door.

"Torok inside, with one other person."  He sniffed and listened at the door.  Saraha didn't hear or smell anything, and she was a very skilled tracker, but she knew Tugg had abilities beyond hers. "Woman, Tugg think.  Smell sweat."

Saraha quickly extinguished both torches in the hallway near the door, deepening the shadows.  There was still light from torches down the hallway, but if it were dark in the room, at least this way the light coming through the door wouldn't give them away.  She spoke very quietly, into Tugg's ear. "The only woman here is that Assassin, and we're not leaving that Magekiller with Torok."

Tugg tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked.  He pushed it open, expecting a barrier or a bar, but there was nothing.  He could have broken anything blocking the way, but it would have ruined their surprise.

He slid in, Saraha beside him, and eased the door shut.  They were in a narrow hallway that appeared to open into a larger room off to the right, about eight feet in.  Moving silently, they walked to the corner and peeked around.  Saraha gave a slight gasp at what they saw, but her noise wasn't noticed by anyone.

The Dark Lady and Torok were clearly visible on a bed, with a bright light shining down on them, and the rest of the room in darkness.  Torok was sitting against the headboard his legs out before him.  He was naked and clearly aroused, and the Dark Lady was kneeling over his legs.  She wore nothing but a very short leather dress around her waist, her full breasts uncovered. Saraha noticed that even her nipples were dark.

The Assassin stroked Torok's legs, and ran her fingers up his stomach and chest, then leaned over to nip at his neck and face with her lips and teeth. Torok was motionless aside from his heaving chest as he breathed rapidly.  His eyes were closed and he seemed to be trembling.

"Tell me you understand, Torok." The woman straddling their son said.  "You know the truth, about the witches.  They must be destroyed."

She was crouching over his legs, leaning against him as she bit at his chest, at his nipples.  Torok moaned and rolled his head, muttering.

The woman leaned back, then suddenly grasped his erection in her hands.  Torok twitched and moaned more loudly, and an intense grimace came over his face.  The Lady stroked him slowly as she spoke, "You must swear to me, you must take the oath.  Then, and only then, can you truly have me.  I can not love a man who does not share my beliefs. The witches must be hunted, they must be destroyed.  All your leaders here know it, all agree.  Do not let silly stories you heard as a child keep you from the truth."

Torok moaned as her hands worked on him, and Saraha pulled back, pulling Tugg with her.  "What do we do?  If we stop this will he hate us?  Will we push him to their side?"

Tugg frowned deeply.  "She very beautiful woman, and he not see any others here.  He trust the wrong person."

With that Tugg stepped into the room, leaving Saraha grabbing at air as she tried to stop him.

"Torok!" Tugg's voice boomed in the room, and his son jerked upright, his eyes wide open.  The Assassin leaped over the bed, away from Tugg, hatred in her eyes.  Tugg snatched at the hanging curtain that circled the overhead chandelier, and kept its light from filling the room.  He yanked it down, setting the light to swinging, then grabbed an end table up and hurled it to the left, at the wall.  The heavy wooden table smashed into the wall, and rather than shattering on the stone, it broke a hole, and most of the wall collapsed.

Torok stared in shock at the half dozen Paladins visible behind the crumbling wall.  They had been watching events through spyholes in the wall, and were shocked motionless at being so suddenly revealed.  Cromwell was there, as were the leaders of the Academy.  All were in their full armor, swords and shields at their sides.

Suddenly aware of his nudity, Torok pulled the curtain Tugg had yanked down around him, and tried to stand up.  He stumbled and fell though, his legs wobbly.

The Assassin hissed and screamed, "Bring them in!"

As Tugg and Saraha stood in the hallway, Torok lying on the floor and looking from them to the Assassin to the spying Paladins, a door opened on the other side of the room and three Paladins burst in, one holding Tambor, the other two carrying Semla.  All had sabers drawn and held to the children's throats, one on each side for Semla.

"Release children!" Tugg boomed, fury seizing him.  He howled deeply, several war cries in rapid succession, and Saraha felt her strength and life increase dramatically as Tugg's magical warcries boosted her energy and life. She grabbed at her husband, holding his arm with all her strength.  It was like seizing a boulder in an earthquake though, she knew she could not hold him still if he wanted to advance.  Tugg was fast, but there was no way he could reach the men before they cut Tambor and Semla's throats.

Cromwell came through the crumbled wall, and spoke, "You see what your family are Torok? Spies.  Serpents in our midst!"  He picked up a book and threw it onto the bed.  "See that? Taken from their wagon, along with these!"  He threw another three books onto the bed, along with most of the armor and weapons they had brought for Torok.

He looked at the equipment, knowing it at once.  Picking up a book, he flipped through a few pages and threw it down in disgust.  "Sorcery!"

The Assassin claimed the stage next, her nudity now covered by heavy scale mail. Each of her hands held a long weapon, the one in her right with three blades, the left one a single long double-edged sword.  She moved like lightning, slashing at Semla's clothing, cutting it away.  

"This one is the witch!  She may look like an Amazon, but see the coloring!"  There were small blue tattoos around Semla's stomach, marking the lines of power up from her legs towards her breasts.  They went from there down her arms, Saraha knew, for she'd inked them herself, hating it all the while.

The Paladins in the room broke into an uproar, all shouting at once and surging towards the captive child.  They might have torn her apart right there but for the Assassin.  She stepped in front of them and stopped their advance with a word.  Tugg stopped too, just as he was going to leap into them and take his chances.  He was wearing just leather clothing and had no weapon, but that was forgotten at the sight of his children in danger.

The Assassin held everyone still as she turned her attention to Torok.  He was was still on the floor beside the bed, his nakedness forgotten as his wide eyes moved from the forbidden books, to his tattooed sister, to the Paladins, to his parents.  Saraha felt tears welling to eyes, he looked so lonely and confused.

"Torok." The Assassin said in a sultry voice.  Nothing has changed here.  I can still be yours, and you can still rise to be the leader of us all one day.  This is merely your first test, your first sight of a real witch.  She must be killed, you know that.  Take that sword and do what must be done.

"Torok!" Saraha shouted.  "These people are devils, evil.  They hide and watch this bitch have her way with you, teasing you into confusion, offering her body for your soul.  You think she's not done the same to every Paladin here?  Corrupting them, enslaving them.  Now she threatens to murder your sister and young brother!"

At this the Assassin motioned to the guard holding Tambor.  He set the boy down, and pushed him.  Tambor raced around the bed, to hide behind his father's leg.  "See Torok?  We mean no harm for the innocent.  Your sister is a witch, that much is undeniable.  She has the marks, she has books forbidden in this land, full of unspeakable knowledge.  I suppose your trusting family told you all about her leanings when they arrived?  That you knew she was a witch?"

She paused, "No, of course they didn't.  They lied to you and deceived you.  They want only to take you away from here, use your Paladin training against us, use you to further their own ends.  They care nothing for you!" Her voice was a hiss.

Semla screamed, "Torok, I love you, don't let them hurt me?  I wanted to tell you, but you seemed so angry and confused!  We would have told you once we were away from this place.  I didn't want to be a Sorceress, the urge is just inborn in me, and I couldn't deny it."  One of the Paladin's holding her drove a knee into her back, fury on his face at her words.

The Dark Lady smiled.  "She confesses!  Her life is forfeit!  Now Torok, you are either with us, or against us.  Justice must be served!"

Tugg was burning with inaction.  He wanted to snatch up one of the weapons from the bed and kill anyone who would touch his family.  But he knew if he did, Torok would see and be lost to him.  Could he lose a daughter to save a son?  Tambor was still behind him, trembling, and Saraha released her hold of his arm.  "Do what you must, my husband." She said quietly.

The Assassin saw this, and whirled, her blade a blur.  "The girl dies!" But she was not fast enough.

Tugg's arm was a blur as he pulled a stack of throwing knives from a pocket on his vest and let three fly.  The first two were thrown at once, and they crossed the room faster than the eye could follow.  Both hit their targets, straight into the mouths of the two Paladins holding Semla.  The men reeled backwards, blades protruding from the backs of their necks.  They dropped Semla, and she ducked as the Assassin's blade sliced through the space her face had been just a second before.  Tugg's third blade was just as accurate, and was aimed at the Assassin's face.

With a blur her other blade came up and blocked the knife with the flat of her weapon.  The thrown blade was deflected, and spun across the room to sink into the back of a chair, knocking it over with the force of the impact.

Tugg leaped over to Semla, and as he landed he was already loosing another War Cry.  A reddish ring of light exploded out from him, striking all the advancing Paladins and the Assassin.  They were rocked back, hurt and stunned for a moment.  Tugg grabbed his daughter from the floor and leaped back across the room, to where Saraha had armed herself with a short spear and shield taken from a weapons case in the room, and was smiling savagely.

"Come Torok!  We go!" Tugg said.  Torok was still standing there, his eyes wide, but he followed his parents, with a long look back over his shoulder.

They raced out into the dark hallway, and down it at full speed.  Saraha was holding Semla, Tambor was right at his father's heels, and Torok brought up the rear.  The stunning Warcry had long worn off, and there were crashes and noises of pursuit from behind then.

"Straight to the stables, we take anything with four legs.  They hid our horses, and wagon too slow."  Tugg said, his breath not even strained despite the exertion.

Down the long hallway he led them to the left, and then back right, where they entered a large room.  Three Paladins appeared at the far door, obviously guards.  The alarm bell was sounding by now though, and there were shouts behind them, so the men looked surprised, and then determined.  They began to draw their weapons when Tugg threw knives at them while still on a dead run.

Two of the men were too slow and got a knife in their throats.  Tugg was not throwing anything backwards to stun now, these were meant to kill.  The third guard managed to lean to the side, but the blade got him six inches to the right of where it had been aimed, shattering his collarbone.  His right arm suddenly hung limp, the sword dropping from his grip. He hung onto his shield, but the pain was too great and he fell back out of their way, his Aura flaring to life as he cried out in agony.

They leaped over the two dead guards and ran down another hallway, then turned left, and Tugg went through a locked outer door like a battering ram, the wood smashing before him.  Outside now, the cool, misty night air felt wondering on their hot bodies.  The stables were to their right and they reached them in seconds, Tugg leaping right over the high gate and landing on a stableman who was just drawing his sword.  The Barbarian crushed the man into the hard-packed earth, the brittle crunching sound as his ribs shattered reminiscent of a footstep on frozen grass.

Torok grabbed at the gate, but could not open it.  "It's locked!"  The fence was a dozen feet high and tipped with sharp spikes, and Tugg had vanished into the stable building to get them horses.

"Stand back!" Semla shouted, and as her brother backed up, she concentrated for a moment, then as power rippled through her, she let a series of icy balls fly.  They hit the locking mechanism with perfect accuracy, and Tambor stood amazed, feeling the chill in the air as the subzero projectiles passed a foot from his face.  Saraha's teeth chattered as she held her daughter through this, for the waves of power coursing off her were very cold.

After half a dozen shots hit the gate, Semla stopped, and Tambor punched the lock, his Bash protected him from harm, though it did sting a bit. The lock and the metal bars around it shattered at his punch, the cold having weakened them. They ran between the opening gates, Torok a bit behind the others, grave doubts on his face at his sister's display of magic.

There were torches visible on the grounds now, as men raced out of the building, looking for them.  None were near the stables yet, but they were approaching, and more and more men were pouring out the doors of the academy.  Saraha looked back and despaired.  There were hundreds of Paladins here, and with their Vigor auras to boost their speed, they could catch any escaping horses.

Tugg appeared, already mounted, with four horses behind him, their reins in his fist.  "Semla, you ride with one leg?  We not escape with two on horse!"

She nodded and Saraha all but threw her into a saddle.  Tambor was an expert rider and leaped onto his saddle with no assistance. Saraha was mounted just as quickly and turned to see Torok swing up onto a horse.  Tugg and Semla were already galloping for the far gate, and Tambor was hot after them.

"Torok, you did what you had to do, family comes before false religion.  We ride now and we need Vigor from you, if we are to escape.  Do you know that Aura yet?"

Torok nodded, and the yellow-orange aura appeared beneath their feet.  He was off like a shot and an instant later when the Aura shared to her, Saraha almost laughed with delight at the speed her horse managed. They quickly caught up to the other three riders, as they were just leaving the far gate, the lock smashed open and the entire wrought iron fence badly warped by Tugg's fist.  Saraha galloped out, her hair streaming in the breeze, and wished she could forget the miserable expression on Torok's face.

______________________

They rode all that night, only stopping to rest the horses and drink from a creek twice.  Semla managed with only one leg in the stirrups for several hours, but eventually the pain became to great and she had to ride in front of her mother, sitting sideways.  Tugg could have just held her, but he was so heavy they'd switched horses several times so his mount wouldn't drop off the pace, and two on his horse would be a problem.

The second day they kept going, heading due East, away from the Monastery but also away from their home.  The Paladins might be looking for them that way.

The evening of the third day they sat in their camp, a small fire the only light.  Tugg, Tambor, and Semla were asleep, rolled up in piles of hay they'd quickly gathered from a dying autumn field.  Torok and his mother sat up late talking.  Saraha was worried about Torok, he was very quiet in the day and seemed to be having a lot of regrets.

"Torok, you are still feeling guilty?  You didn't kill anyone, or hurt anyone but those guards.  It was this or they would have killed your sister, and probably killed the rest of us when we attacked them in vengeance.  We can get you Paladin training elsewhere, from a sect that's not poisoned in their thoughts.  Paladins do not normally oppose sorcery, after all."

Torok knew she was right, but still he couldn't help thinking of what he'd done, what he'd become.  Oath-breaker.  Traitor.  He knew the punishment for his crimes, and that he'd sworn to carry it out on his comrades.  Or himself.

A flicker of black in the darkness was all he saw as the Dark Lady teleported out of the blackness, appearing behind his mother and striking her across the top of the head with a club before Saraha could even blink.  There was a sudden gush of blood in her blonde hair and she toppled over.  Torok froze halfway to his feet, his cry stuck in his throat as the Assassin fixed him with her eyes, her triple-bladed claw pressing against his mother's throat hard enough to dimple the skin.

"Silence, Paladin, or she dies.  As will your brother, one second later, and your sister a second after that."

Torok looked and saw two other Assassins standing over his siblings, their huge hand swords gleaming in the dying campfire light.

"You didn't really think you could run from us, did you?  Know you not that we can track as well as Barbarians, when our quarry is a mage?"

"What now?" Torok asked.  Different auras flickering beneath his feet, matching his indecision.

"The witch was promised death, and she must have it.  You will come with us, return to the academy, or else all these will die.  And you with them..."

Torok was nearly speechless.  What could he do?  "Must she die?"

"Witches must be dealt with, especially when they are young, before they grow into their power.  This one has great potential, it shines from her like a comet in the night sky.  We could have tracked you to the ends of the earth, with this one in your company."  The Assassin standing near Semla lowered her blade, the triple points of it just an inch above her soft throat.  Torok could almost see the holes they'd make when they were driven down, passing straight through her white flesh, pinning her to the earth for the few seconds she'd live, long enough to try to scream through a punctured throat.  Would she see?  Would she know he'd killed her?

"Hold." Torok said quietly.  The Assassins' looked at him.  "Spare my brother and mother, I will come with you, and bring my sister."

"She must die, Paladin." The Dark Lady said.

"Is there no other way?  If she dies, I will not come with you.  Spare her, and I will aid you, with my Auras you can hunt down other Sorceress, and even the Vijzerei mages of the East."

The Assassins looked at each other.  The Dark Lady, the one who had come to the Paladin Academy just after Torok had arrived, who had enslaved them all with lust and dark oaths, who had no name known to any man, stared at Torok.

"If you swear to me, swear it now, swear loyalty and unquestioning fealty to me and my order's mission.  I will spare this one's life.  And you must show us you are worthy, you must manifest Salvation.  Resistance to the elements is our greatest protection from the mages, and few Paladins can manage it.  You have only two years of training, you should not have progressed that far yet, but they say you have great natural talent.  Prove it, or all here die, and you may stay behind to mourn their corpses."

Torok swallowed, concentrated for a moment, and said, "I agree to your terms." At his words a multi-colored aura appeared beneath his feet, and then quickly shared to the three Assassins.  They looked down, then at each other, and smiled widely.

"Swear fealty to me.  For life." The Dark Lady said, her voice like iron.

"I swear it.  I swear loyalty to you and your order's ends, as long as I shall live.  But you must spare my sister's life, and the rest of my family now, and never pursue them again."

"But of course." The Dark Lady said, with an evil grin.  She flashed across the camp, to Semla's side, and quickly smashed her club down on the girl's blonde head.  There was a crunch, and Semla moaned in pain, but was knocked unconscious by the blow.

"Damn you!" Torok said, too loudly.

"I sword I wouldn't kill her, I didn't say I'd let her go free." The Dark Lady replied.  She turned to her sisters, "Take the girl, sell her to Morango, be sure she's kept under lock and key.  The long passage on his ship, and then a few months in a brothel will break her spirit completely.  She'll be no threat to our order." The other two assassins laughed and picked up the girl effortlessly, vanishing into the night.

Torok trembled with rage, his fury at this deception so great that he couldn't decide if he hated himself or the Dark Lady more.

"Don't be so sullen, Torok.  This way she's safe.  Left with her parents, she'd have continued training, and she has great natural talent, just as you do.  In ten years she'd have come after us, after you.  It's better this way.  Now come along, before anyone here wakes up and you have to watch me kill them all, with the help of your auras, of course.  Remember your oath, young Paladin?

Torok's auras flickered, before switching to a blue glowing cloud over his feet.  The Dark Lady turned, just as the Holy Freeze hit her. She shivered at the cold and tried to run, but her movements were suddenly very slow.  As her eyes widened Torok snatched up the long wooden spear his mother had been sharpening as they talked, and switched to Vigor.  He held the spear out and Charged, moving at the chilled Assassin faster than a horse could run.

The Dark Lady screamed, and tried to teleport out of the way, but her Dragon Flight was too slow, and the spear caught her in the left side.  The weapon had no metal point, but needed none to pierce her soft flesh.  Torok's momentum carried them on, smashing into a massive tree, the spear driving deeply into the trunk, pinning the Assassin directly through the torso.

"Oath-breaking dog!" She howled, and slashed at Torok's face with her claws.

He was too close, too furious to dodge, and the blades tore into him, slicing an ear off cleanly, the other cutting deeply into his throat.  Ignoring the pain, Torok lifted one fist and felt the fury of Zeal come into him.  He punched, and punched, and punched.  His fist was a blur, and it battered the breast, neck, and face of the Dark Lady, driving her back into the tree, smashing bones in her face and his hand, pulping her flesh.  She was not dead though, and her claws continued to slash, cutting one eye from his face, cutting his left hand to the bone as he tried to block her, slicking off his right thumb, even as his arm continued to piston into her.

Tugg was suddenly there and he yanked Torok back, out of reach of the pinned spider.  She was beaten but still trying , slashing at the air, her face too mauled to see that her target was gone.  Torok fell back, his face a tangled bramble of flesh.  Tambor and Tugg stood over him, the screeching of the battered but still living Assassin ignored behind them.

"Father, I'm sorry, I tried to save her.  To save you all..." Torok gasped, his shredded mouth making the words hard to understand.  "The other two Assassins, they took her to a slaver, Morango. Find him. Save Semla."

With this his strength gave out and he fell still.

Tambor gasped, then ran back to his mother. She was conscious, sitting up and holding her aching head to stop the bleeding. Tugg had checked his wife first, seeing that she was hurt, but not dangerously. He turned to face the pinned Assassin, trembling with rage.  She was not dead, though her face was beaten to a pulp and she was stuck to the tree like a bug on a pin.  The spear Torok had driven into her had missed all vital organs, and she had enormous vitality, and might have survived yet, despite all the damage Torok had done.  She could not free herself from the spear, though she was clawing at the shaft weakly.  Torok had dealt her enough damage that she was stunned and groggy from the pain.

"Tugg finish the job." He rumbled, watching the bloody Assassin working at the spear that pinned her.

Not wanting to get into range of her claws, Tugg looked around for a moment, and selected a young tree, the trunk as thick as a man's leg.  He grasped it at head height, and pulled with his might, bending the tree like grass in a wind.  The trunk screamed, then snapped off near the ground, the roots too firmly entwined in the stony soil to be pulled free.

Tugg moved his grip up several feet, so he was holding the tree about a dozen feet from the broken trunk, his hands near the lowest branches.  He planted one massive boot on the trunk, and grunted as he leaned back, snapping the trunk just above his boot.  He threw the upper half of the tree to the ground, and picked up the trunk, his fingers sinking half an inch into the rough bark.  His fury was giving him unbelievable strength.

He now held about eight feet of tree trunk, both ends jagged and dripping sap, the wood in his hands thicker than a fence post.  With a snarl he turned to the Assassin, and swung his crudely-fashioned maul at her pinned and struggling form.

The first blow crushed her ribs, driving her back into the tree trunk with a crash.  The second swing stopped her movement entirely, as her skull was flattened.  The third broke both of her legs, and the fourth split her skull completely.  Tugg was beyond caring, beyond knowing that his enemy was completely destroyed, and he continued to strike until his target was hardly recognizable as human, and had fallen to the ground in a wet heap, the skewering spear shattered by his attacks.

With a broken sob, Tugg, threw down the blood-splattered tree trunk and collapsed at Torok's side, his arms around his wife and youngest son.  All three sobbed in sorrow, broken over the death of Torok and loss of Semla.

After a few minutes Saraha pulled herself together, and got to her feet, turning away from her son's corpse.  Tugg stood beside her, and Tambor clung to her leg, his hot, tear-streaked face pressing into her side.

"We hunt them now, wife.  Track Assassins before they are too far ahead.  No one can hide Semla from Tugg!"  He paused a minute, looking off into the forest with concentration on his face.  "Tugg knows where she is... but it feels far.  So far away..."  His voice was rough with grief and worry.

Saraha nodded in agreement, though her heart was screaming.  She knew her husband could track anything, but Assassins were legendary for their speed, stealth, and cunning.  They had probably used a portal if they were so far away already, and it was two or three days ride from their camp to Southport, a harbor city to the East.  If the Assassins had taken their daughter there, and sold her to slavers, she might be on a ship and off to distant lands by the morning, too far for even Tugg to find her.

Yes, that's the end.  Tragic, isn't it?

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