Three Knights & A Baby

OK" Exgete Nicator de la Forge said breathlessly as here readied his spell and drew the wand from the pouch at his side. "We go on three - I'll cover while you head for those rocks and then you cover and I'll follow. Make it fast, I'm not sure how many charges this thing has left"

"Right" Sir Corwin replied, equally breathless from their run for cover when whoever was lobbing fireballs in their direction had chosen to welcome them to this portion of the Lost Hills. "Just make sure which direction that thing is pointed in this time" he said as he ventured a glance over the protecting mound of earth they were crouched behind. "I wanna keep the back of clothes for a change" he went on; "Incoming!" he shouted in conclusion, ducking to the earth as a bolt of lightning struck the other side of the earthwork they were using as a shield casting a cloud of dirt and debris into the air covering them with filth.

"That wand was beat up and I couldn't tell which end was which" Exe replied defensively. This one is in much better shape" he continued. "You wanted to get rid of that cloak anyway" he finished.

"Yeah, but I wanted to finish wearing it first" Cor said as he wiped dirt from his eyes.

"Are we going on three or after three?" Ganzelle asked from the other side of Exegete. "Go on three or one, two, three then go?" He fumbled with his own supplies and equipment as he spoke. "I wouldn't want to jump out there by myself" he said, cleaning debris from his shoulders.

"On three" Exe replied. I'll get off a FB to cover you on two and then you'll go.

Cor peered at the wand Exe was holding in his hand and frowned as he eased the wand from Exe's hand and after turning it around, placed it back in his hand. "Hopefully we'll have time for a couple prep spells once were over there." he said. "Ready?" he asked looking at his two companions.

"Ready" Exe said, looking closely and suspiciously as the wand.

"Ready Bro" Ganzelle said as another LB impacted nearby, filling the air with the smell of ozone and smoke.

"One" Cor said as he readied himself for the dash to cover. "Two" he went on...

On "two" Exe darted up and fired off a FB from the wand as well as finishing the incantation for a FB of his own, aimed a two points close together were he believed the incoming fire was originating. He then ducked quickly behind the covering mound of earth once again.

"Three" Cor hissed and he and Ganzelle leaped from their hiding place and crouching, sprinted for the group of rocks some 30 yards away. Exe's FB succeeded in providing some cover, but the antagonist(s) in the far copse of trees managed to keep their wits and fired off another LB in their direction. It was a close race, with the LB hitting just behind the pair, fortunately with its impact hurling them in the proper direction. Corwin immediately scrambled to his feet loosed a FB back along the path of the LB. Ganzelle, tho a bit shaken but the trip, and especially the landing, joined him a moment later. Both he and Ganzelle, using their wands, fired off another FB and a moment later Exe hurled into the clearing behind the rock formation, skidding to a stop nearby.

"What took you so long" Ganzelle asked with a grin.

"I stopped to pick up a magazine" Exe replied, dusting himself off.

"They're gonna have to change their tactics now" Cor said. "These rocks'll make LB's ineffective, at least from their position." he went on.

"Who the heck are they?" Ganzelle asked?

"That one looked like yer last date's father" Exe replied, deadpan.

"Naw" Cor added, looking through his spell book, "His last didn't have no father" he concluded, closing his eyes in concentration. A moment later, a glow enveloped them all as his group spell took effect.

"Har de har har" Ganzelle said as he opened his own spell book.

"Heheh" was Exe's only comment, as he peered around the edge of the rocky outcropping that shielded them. Ducking back he continued "They don't seem to be moving much" he observed.

"If I was them, I'da moved when you moved " Cor said. "I bet they've taken a new position and will wait for us to show our hand."

"Not too hospitable of them" Ganzelle observed, finishing his own set of protection spells. "Go ahead and prep Exe" he said, standing up.

"K, thanks" Exe murmured. He sat down on the ground and opened his spell book, an ancient one recently acquired in a little traveled part of the Nightsedge dungeon. He was quickly immersed in several quick incantations that would serve as protection in the combat to come.

Just a few moments later all three Knights stood, protected and ready for contact. They gathered together in a huddle to discuss their strategy.

"If we stay together, we have a better chance of defeating whoever is out there" Ganzelle began. "We should wait here a bit and see what they do. We don't know who or how many are there" he went on. "I think we should be very conservative 'til we got more information" he concluded.

Exe nodded. "True, we don't know who or how many, but we also don't know here right at the moment. We need to reconnoiter and find them or I think we're in for a nasty surprise. I think we can reconnoiter best if we split up and be sneaky"

Cor shook his head. "They won't expect us to stay here" he said. I think it best we wait here and watch for some sign of where they went. Invised we should be safe enough in these rocks." he concluded.

The "discussion" continued for a couple more minutes. What convinced them to move was the LB that flew in and ricocheted around for a while in the rocky den in which they were standing causing them to dive for cover. Once it had spent itself and fizzled into nothingness they each raised their heads and looked at one another ruefully.

"I move we absent ourselves post haste" Exe put forth.
" I second that motion" Ganzelle piped up.
"Motion carried" Cor said as they all three dove from the cover of the rocks and lunged into the thick cover of the thickly forested hills.

Several minutes later they were all three standing over, what appeared to be, a hastily doused campfire and rapidly broken camp. The dying embers of the fire glowing darkly in the ashes and a wisp of smoke curling lazily into the air. The ground bore the unmistakable marks of hurried action with footprints headed in all directions. Sir Corwin knelt beside the former cookfire and looked at the surrounding scene with a practiced eye. "This is really odd" he remarked in an offhanded way. "Why would they attack us without warning, then pack up and flee the scene?" He shook his head. "Very, very odd" he concluded.

"Looks to me like four, maybe five horses and one or two pack beasts headed off at a run in this direction Exegete said from a point near where a trail disappeared into the woods. Two big stallions and three geldings from the looks of the hoof prints.

"What color were they?" Corwin asked, always amused at Exe's ability to read trail-sign. Exe just snorted in return.

"Hey!" Ganzelle called from another part of the clearing. "Look at this" he said. "There are scuffle marks here and it looks like someone was tied to this tree. See the places where the bark is rubbed away?" he asked excitedly.

Corwin stood and strode over to where Ganzelle was kneeling and examining the rope marks. You know," he said thoughtfully "I think you're right. I wonder who they had tied up here."

"Whoever it was, it apparently was someone that they didn't want anyone to know they had." Exe said, coming up behind them. "That explains the hit and run attack on us. They must have been nervous about who they had here and hit us to cover their escape, hoping we'd run away in the opposite direction."

"Could be" Cor said slowly, nodding his head.

Ganzelle stood to his feet and traced the evidence of the struggling captive across the ground to where piles of dung evidenced that place where the animals had been tied. He slowly walked along reading the sign as he went. He stopped short just shy of the place where the horses had apparently been tied and stooped once again, rising with a small white object in between his fingers. "Somebody lost a tooth in the process" he observed.

"Hope it was a bad guy" Exe muttered walking over and looking closely at the tooth. "It's a molar" he said. "That's take quite a punch to shake lose" he commented.

"Or a kick" Corwin said coming up behind him. "Whatever it was, whoever took it got dragged from here on." he added, pointing to deep heel marks in the dirt floor of the clearing.

The three Knights split up and walked over the entire camp, looking for clues as to the identity of their attackers and for some inkling of what they were doing in this part of the Lost Hills. "They entered this clearing from this direction Exe said after a bit. "See the marks of their passing through this narrow part of the trailhead?" he said pointing to some broken twigs and stripped branches on bushes near the outlet of a trail from deep within the Hills. "That's a harsh section of the Hills" he added. "Not much of a trail from there".

"Agreed" Ganzelle said from another part of the clearing. "I was in that area of Hills just a month or two ago and darn near got lost. I had a terrible time finding my way out again. It was tough even with a good map! For anyone to know their way around in there they'd have to spend a lot of time there or have a map from someone who does."

"There's only one group that I know of lives this deep in the woods in that direction" Corwin said. He began to scan the trees in the clearing abut 10 feet above the ground. It didn't take him long to spot what he was looking for. "There" he said, calling Exe and Ganz over to him. "A Drow Ward" he said pointing to an intricate symbol carved roughly into the living wood of a tree near the center of the encampment. "That one is one that guards an encampment against sprites and other nasty woodland spirits if I'm not mistaken." he said, having had some experience with Drow. "I'll bet if we go and look over the area just before we got attacked, we'd find another Ward, one of warning" he continued.

Ganzelle suppressed a shudder. "Drow" he said. "That explains a lot!" he exclaimed.

"Including the running away" Exe said. There were only four or five of them, not a clear advantage, so they hit us and then hustled away before we could regroup and fight back. They rarely attack with the odds being well in their favor." he added grimly. "I've been on the receiving end of several of those attacks." he finished, almost angrily.

"The question is..." Cor mused "is is this any of our business?"

The other two Knights looked at him in surprise. "Whaddya mean" they said, almost in unison.

"Dealing with the Drow is a delicate matter." Corwin said. "Most people think that they fight and move as they do because of cowardice, or some evil compulsion to crush and destroy. While that may certainly be true of some Drow, it is not true of most. The Drow do things as a group. If you deal with one Drow, you must deal with many others as well. To fight one Drow in any way but an arranged fight means that you must fight many Drow. It is their way." If we follow these Drow, it means that we will take on not just 3, 4 or 5. But that we will also take on any who are in the area, and perhaps even some that aren't!" He said earnestly. "When I was a kid, I remember a particularly creepy bully in my village, Danatine Creasebine. He had 9 brothers. If you crossed him, you crossed his brothers as well. I took quite a few beatings as a kid because of that. The Drow are the same."

"Danatine Creasebine" Exe murmured thoughtfully. "Wasn't that the name of that sap last year that we pantsed and turned into a . . ." he went on, silenced by a sharp look from Corwin.

"So, I think we need to decide if we are really ready to get involved in something big here, because nothing that involves the Drow ever turns out little." Corwin said, reinforcing the look in Exe's direction.

Ganzelle raised an eyebrow in Exe's direction and then turned his gaze to Corwin. "I see your point, but I still think we must attend to this matter. There is obviously something going on here that shouldn't be. I feel honor-bound, now that I am aware of it, to at least investigate and see what it is."

"They know we're here" Corwin added in a warning tone. "Following won't be easy." he finished.

"What's the decision here?" Exe said. "We're Knights after all, and as Knights we have a sworn duty to aid the weak and right wrongs, fighting evil at all turns." he said. "I don't want to be romantic or nuthin'" he continued. "But this is what we're about, ain't it?"

Corwin smiled. It had not been easy for him to play devil's advocate, but he had to know if the other's hearts were really in the chase. "Agreed then, we follow!"

"KORT!" Ganzelle yelled

"For the Good of the Realms!" Exe Cried.

"Find the horses" Corwin said dryly as he turned from the clearing to look for his mount.

Fifteen minutes later, the three reigned in their horses, having proceeded a goodly distance down the trail after the fleeing Drow. The trail-sign had been growing fainter and fainter over the past 100 yards or so and now it had disappeared altogether. Exegete looked bewildered as he dismounted and walked around, looking vainly for some sign of the path their quarry had taken. Ganzelle sat very still on his mount, eyes closed, seeking with his mind for some psychic evidence of the passing Drow. Corwin, eyes narrowed, looked around him and was startled to see some apparent movement of the trees. He looked twice at the thick foliage ahead of them, his hand straying to the pommel of his sword. "No" he thought. "There's no one there but there WAS movement!" A light clicked on in his head and he smiled grimly, almost in admiration of the cleverness of the fleeing Drow. "They've a Druid with them!" he announced to his two friends. "We must have been getting too close to them for their comfort." he went on. "The Druid's had the trees ad underbrush close behind them to slow our way." He shook his head. "We'll have to detour around and give their path a wide berth." he finished.

Exegete, who had remounted by now, shook his head as well. "Their captive must be significant for them to be this intent on keeping him and preventing us from knowing who it is." he said.

"I agree" Ganzelle said, walking his mount up beside the other two Knights. "I believe they have continued to the southeast." he said, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "We can move off to the side of the path they've traveled and avoid the tangled brush the Druid has left for us. I believe I can still keep track of their movement if we don't get too far to the side of their path." he finished.

"You sure?" Corwin asked in a concerned voice. "That always takes a lot out of you brother." he finished, his eyes showing real concern for the Mage.

Ganzelle smiled in return and reassured Corwin. "Sure bro, I'm up to it, thanks." he said. "I think we should keep to edge of where I cans sense them. They may believe this tangle will frustrate us, and perhaps dissuade us from following any further. That might give us the edge we need when we catch up."

Corwin pursed his lips as he thought. At length he nodded and said "OK, that's a plan" he concluded. "You let us know where we should go to keep our distance then." he said, receiving a nod from Ganzelle in return. "Awright then" he said. "Let's go. Exe, you take point and keep it as quiet as you can eh? Maybe we CAN surprise them."

They proceeded in line for some time, moving as rapidly as the need for quiet permitted. Their horses moved with near silence through the underbrush as if somehow sensing the need for quietness. Exe led the way, eyes pealed for any sign that the Drow had put out flankers or had any further Drow join them from this direction. Ganzelle followed, eyes nearly closed in concentration, a thin sheen of sweat evidence of the effort put forth to keep mental contact with the group of Drow that grew ever closer. Lord Corwin rode last, one eye on Ganzelle and one on his spell book as he sorted out and reorganized what magicks he wanted to be fresh in his mind when the caught up with the Drow. He also kept a weather eye on the trail they'd passed, looking for anyone approaching from behind. He knew that was a favorite tactic of the Drow, seeking to surround and the surprise and overwhelm a target. Ganzelle directed changes in their path from time to time as they rode onward. The skies began presently to darken as evening approached. The daytime noises of the forest fading to silence and the nighttime noise beginning to emerge as the air took on a chill the was fitting for the season of year. All three of the men drank occasionally from their canteens, as well as intermittently partaking of dried fruit or jerky as they moved along.

They had proceeded a good number of miles when a low whistle disturbed Ganzelle's concentration and snapped Corwin's head up from his study of his spell book. They both looked forward to see Exe, on foot now, moving toward them from the woods ahead. They dismounted as they waited for his to get to them, both stretching luxuriously to relieved the muscle aches of the longish ride. Ganzelle squatted down to stretch his leg muscles, knees crackling as he did. Corwin smiled as he arched his back. "We're gettin' old bro" he said softly with a smile. Ganzelle simply smiled in return, and stood to his feet, looking expectantly at Exegete.

"There's a camp ahead" Exe said. "Two cook fires that I saw." he went on keeping his voice pitched low. They're not making any effort to keep their voices down either" he went on. "Sounds to me like they think that they're safe." he finished, eyes on Corwin.

Corwin nodded. "Or that they don't care if we're still following." he said thoughtfully, scratching his cheek. "Did you get a good enough look at their camp to see if the captive is with there and where he is?"

Exe shook his head. "I was fairly close" he told them. "But I didn't see any captive. They're apparently picked up some help as well. There's two tents up, and a bunch of bedrolls laid out. I saw 8 Drow and I didn't see every part of the camp, but I didn't see no captive." he went on. "I think there's a stream on the other side of the camp and I head axes from that direction as well. I think were looking at a dozen now, at least." he finished, a frown on his lips.

"Tents?" Ganzelle asked slowly. His brow furrowed as he thought. "Tents?" he repeated in a questioning tone. "In the field? That don't make a whole lot of sense." he puzzled. A sudden smile split his face and he snapped his fingers, the volume of the sound startling in the silence. "Of course!" he exclaimed, the ducked his head as if he'd spoken too loudly. "The captive is a woman!" That explains the level of fear I've been sensing as we draw closer to them."

I'm sure of it, they've at least one woman hostage with them" Ganzelle went on. "And she's a valuable one too I bet! It's the only thing that explains all of the facts." he continued in a confident voice.

Exe looked thoughtful as he thought about Ganzelle's revelation. He shrugged and nodded philosophically. "Mebee so" he commented, "But that really only makes our job harder you know." he finished.

Corwin grimaced in agreement. "I guess our next job is to find out who and how many?" he asked, looking in Ganzelle's direction quizzically.

"Realistically, I guess we'll need to find that out and then decide if we even want to interfere." he said. "After all, he cautioned, "I don't think we need to get involved in an evil intramural affair here."

Corwin raised a questioning eyebrow. "I agree about taking care what we involve ourselves in, but then again, a lady is a lady is a lady."

Exe smiled at Corwin's consideration of that particular angle. His reputation as a ladies man was legendary in the ranks, tho he now had a fiancé and was quite devoted to her. It would figure tho that Cor would be concerned lest the ladies suffer any undue hardship. An attachment of the heart had certainly not reduced any of his gallant-ness. "You'd know best about that Cor" was his only comment, delivered with a twinkle in his eye. Exe's own loyalty to his own dear wife was less known but just as fervent.

Corwin only sniffed in response "Awright then" he said. "We need to do some scouting. Ganz, you still think they've not noticed us yet?" he asked.

Ganzelle closed his eyes in concentration once again, but only for a moment. "No" he said slowly, "The fear of the woman or women is all I sense right now. There is no alarm on the part of the Drow. Their emotions are quite strongly felt and I believe I would sense something form them if they thought we were near."

Corwin nodded in agreement. He knew how fiercely emotion the Drow could be, having reaped some of that emotion on several occasions in the past. "Okay," he said. "We'll leave the horses here and move in invised on foot. Exe, you head southeast and take a position at about 5 o'clock to them. Ganzelle, head to their Southwest and take a position at about 8 o'clock to them. I'll circle them and try for a position around 12 o'clock. Take no action! Observe and then meet back here." He looked each of the other two Knights in the eye. "Understood? This is a KORT action not a pick-up bar fight." he added, as if to underscore the need for obedience to his plan.

Ganzelle and Exegete nodded solemnly in response, each understanding their situation and the need for co-ordinated action if they were to have success in the matter. Each clasped the hand of the other in the traditional "good luck" gesture before action and then, once invis was cast, all three faded silently into the surrounding woods.

Time passed quickly as the three made their way stealthily around the Drow camp. The Drow were famous for their care and vigilance in security, being basically a paranoid group after all. Exegete's path took him to the side of camp across from the tents. He moved slowly and deliberately, choosing exactly where he placed his feet, taking care that no sounds resulted from his passage. Each branch and bush was considered, lest its motion be a clue to his presence. He took care to leave no footprints or other evidence of his trip as well. After several very long minutes, he found himself in a clump of trees near what appeared to be the main cook fire for the Drow encampment. The fire burned in the hasty pit dug for it and there were two large deer hocks spitted and hung over the fire. A table stood nearby with several cooking knives, and other implements spread on it. The remains of the deer lay in a heap on the ground near the table. Some ways away there several smaller fire pits dug, with wood laid out and waiting the coming of night and the colder weather. Sleeping blankets were laid out in a haphazard, untidy circle around the fires. Exe looked carefully around him looking for some evidence of the guards he knew were posted nearby. As yet he had seen none, but found that understandable. Drow knew of invis spells and were naturally stealthy, being creatures of the woods by nature. Still it seemed a bit odd, having seen so many just a scant half-hour before, that he saw no one at all. He cocked an ear and listened, but heard no sounds other than the normal sounds of the forest around him. His eyes narrowed and shook his head, a silent curse crossing his lips. He stayed still where he was for several more minutes before fading into the woods, his mind made up concerning what he had seen.

Ganzelle moved quickly and quietly through the woods to the position Corwin had assigned to him. The woods were somewhat thin here and he was able to make good time. He settled himself into a convenient nook in a thicket at the edge of the Drow camp. The tents were some 25 yards to his left and the cooking fire he could see was across the camp and somewhat to his right. He focused his attention on the two tents to his left. Now that he was closer, he could easily sense the fear coming in palpable waves from one of them, he thought the far one. He could also now sense pain from there as well. He grimaced. The pain would have to be intense for it to radiate like it was. He could hear sounds coming from the tents. Dull, but definite, they indicated a presence that Ganzelle took to be the cause of the pain. Anger welled in Ganzelle's heart as he realized that the captive was probably gagged to keep her as silent as possible, even during whatever torture was inflicted. The sense of pain he was feeling receded a bit after a moment, then renewed itself with vigor. Ganzelle grimaced and almost cried out at the pain and terror that rushed his way, his was in a torrent. He almost started form his place of hiding, restraining himself on with some effort. Corwin was right. If they were to have any success in this rescue, it had to be as a unit in a planned attempt. Heroics would avail nothing. He settled back into his place to wait and observe. Perhaps if he waited a few minutes, something helpful would show itself. He bit his lower lip in sympathy and began to plan how he would kill the Drow responsible for the pain and terror he was sensing.

Lord Corwin made poor time, having to lope wide around the far perimeter of the camp in order to finally close on his intended vantage point. After quite a long time, he arrived in a place that was well hidden, and spied a great vantage point across the camp, in a clump of trees heavy with foliage and underbrush. He quickly decided to try for it and, thinking a moment, deciding that it was well worth the risk. A moment's concentration later, a dimension door spell deposited him high in the trees, well hidden from any watchers. He looked over the camp, seeing all that the others saw and more. His heart sank as he looked around and took in the deliberately staged scene. Most telling was the roped horse corral nearby. Shielded by trees from almost any vantage point but his own, it was empty of horses. Corwin muttered a curse and began to climb down from the tree as quickly as he could manage, taking no care to hide his movements or maintain silence.

A bare few moments (and a skinned shin) later he stood at the root of the tree he had been in. He dusted himself off briskly and lifted his two index fingers to his mouth and gave short, shrill whistle, a KORT battle command to assemble on his person. He strode toward the center of the camp, kicking the various staged items he passed in disgust. He looked at the two camp fires and saw that they had been fed recently, but not less than a good 30 minutes ago. He knelt and gaze about the camp, noting Exegete and Ganzelle emerging from their assigned positions and coming toward him. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he pondered what he had seen. There was meat still sizzling in the fire, as well as a number of tuber roots that the Drow seemed to favor eating when they had time to cook them. The smell reminded him of baked sweet potatoes, but having tasted the tubers, Corwin knew that was as the resemblance went. He picked up as tick and poked at the base of the fire, causing it to crackled and spark noisily.

"Got any marshmallows?" Exe quipped as he arrived.

"I thought you said there were at least 8 Drow in this camp"? Cor asked, straightening up, throwing the stick in to the fire. "Where they at Bud?" he asked in a questioning voice.

"Dunno where they are now Bro" Exe began, looking around the camp. "They were hear a while ago is all I know." he finished.

Corwin frowned deeply. "You sure you weren't seeing things?" he asked. "Hard to imagine that they just decided to up and leave so sudden like. Did they hear you or did any of them see you?"

"Didn't nobody see me bub" Exe replied, sounding a bit miffed. I was so quiet, I coulda grabbed a fox with my bare hands. Had the chance too, but he ran when I passed him."

"You passed a fox?" Corwin asked, eybrow raising.

"Yeah, and don't point that eyebrow at me it might be loaded" Exe said, "Nuthing saw me but that fox, I'm sure of it!" he finished emphatically.

"You didn't think nuthin of seeing a fox in plain sight in the daytime?" Cor asked.

Exe looked blankly at Corwin for a moment then slapped his forehead. "Of course" he said in self-disgust. "The Druid!"

"Umm Hmmm" Corwin said absently.

"Not so mysterious now" Cor said as he turned, looking for Ganzelle. His brows furrowed as he gazed about the abandoned camp, for Ganz was no where to be seen! "Where'd Ganz run off to?" he asked Exe who was poking interestedly at some of the meet on the fire.

"Saw him coming in from over there" he said, waving vaguely in the direction of 8 O'Clock on the dial. He selected a morsel of meat from a spit perched on fire and licked his lips in earnest anticipation.

"Tell yer stomach to be quiet and put that thing down" Cor commanded, looking at what Exe was about to eat with some evident disgust. "You'll eat anything" he said shaking his head, a genuinely puzzled look on his face.

Exe stood, tho he didn't put the meat down, taking a bite of it instead. "We lived with my wife's parents for a bit when Patreya and I were first married. Her mom's cooking permanently changed what my taste buds consider appetizing. Haven't had a problem eating most stuff since." He said, mouth full and chomping busily.

"Gads" Cor said "Yer gettin as bad as Daggie" he commented.

"Now, no need for insults" Exe said, happily chewing on the bone.

The two were interrupted by the voice of Ganzelle calling to them from the vicinity of the tents.

"There's your huckleberry" Exe said, casting the bare bone away and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, staining it badly with grease.

"Patreya's gonna smack you when she sees that sleeve." Cor commented as he and Exe started for the area Ganz' voice came from.

"I'll just tell here you hogged all the napkins" Exe said happily, "she'll believe me". He finished as they rounded the corner of the nearest tent to see Ganzelle emerging from the entrance.

"What's up Ganz?" Cor asked

"It seems the Drow left something behind" Ganz said "You'll never guess what..." he finished, raising an expect eyebrow.

"I'll take impossible questions for 200 Alex" Exe said.

Corwin only grunted a smile and elbowed Exegete. "Tell us Ganz, gods only know what might be in a Drow tent."

Exe took a step forward and tried to look of Ganzelle's shoulder into the tent. "What's that noise?" he said, almost in Ganz' face. "If I didn't know better I'd swear it was a..."

"... A baby" Ganzelle finished for him, waving his hand in front of his nose and s\drawing away in alarm. "Good god Exe, what is the problem with your breath?"

"You wouldn't ask that if you saw what he just ate" Cor commented.

"A baby?" Exe asked. "A baby? What the heck is a baby doing out here?"

"What'd he eat" Ganz asked, taking a step away from Exe and the odor wafting from his oral cavity with ever breath.

"Something the Drow left. I think it was dead tho" Corwin said as he stepped toward the opening of the tent where a plaintive cry was just beginning to emerge.

"A baby?" Exe repeated "A baby?"

"Jeez Exe" Ganz said, retrieving a handkerchief and putting it over his nose and mouth. "Yer gettin as bad as Daggie" he finished, with a cough.

"Don't you get insulting either" Exe said as he shook his head in disbelief. "You did say a baby?" he asked, stepping closer to Ganz, who promptly backed up a bit further.

"Yeah!" Cor added. Daggie's a lot more discerning than Exe." he finished as he entered the tent.

"A baby?" Exe said, still having trouble with the concept of a baby found in a Drow camp in the Hills.

Ganzelle furrowed his brow and braved the foul wind between he and Exe. "Which part of baby don't you understand?" He asked Exe. "For cryin out loud Exe, you got six kids, I would think you'd have mastered the concept by now!" he finished.

Exe shook his head. "I just never expected to find a baby out here is all" he said. "I must be gettin old" he finished.

"Yer wife'll be glad to hear that" Corwin said as he emerged from the tent holding a squalling baby in his arms.

Exe just shook his head in disbelief as he looked at the child in Cor's arms. "You better not let your fiancé see you holding one of those" he said to Corwin. "Baby's are contagious you know" he added. "That's just how my wife and I had our first. We had friends over who had a child, She held it and I held it, and next thing I knew, bammmm!" He finished. "I know I was involved somehow, but it sure seemed to be out of my control." he finished.

"Remind me to review the birds and the bees thing with you Exe" Ganzelle murmured as he tickled the child under the chin. "Woochee coochee coochee coo" he said in a high, silly voice, receiving, what to Exe looked like an astonished look from the child.

"Woochee coochee coochee coo?" Corwin asked in an incredulous voice. "Woochee coochee coochee coo???"

"It's baby talk for 'don't mind the big goon holding you'" Exe said, snapping into father mode now that the issue of there being a baby here in the hills was clear in his mind. He tugged at the baby's foot and whistled a low, lilting whistle at the child. The child screwed up his face and bawled lustily as Exe's breath hit him.

"I don't blame you a bit" Corwin said as he turned the child away from the offensive odor.

"Shows good sense if you ask me" Ganz added, taking a small bit of herbs from his pouch and handing them to Exe. "Here Bud, chew on these a bit and that'll solve the breath problem."

"Harumph" Exe said, taking the herbs and popping them into his mouth and chewing lustily. "Well..." he said between chews; "For the child's sake" he said begrudgingly.

"Oh, the child thanks you" said Corwin sarcastically as he tried to quiet the baby. "Is this a girl or a boy" he asked as he tickled and cooed at the child.

"Didn't take the time to check" Ganz said as he joined Cor in the effort, succeeding only in increasing the volume and ferocity of the cries.

"Ain't there a way to tell without being indelicate?" Corwin asked; desperation at the crying beginning to grow in his voice.

"My momma could tell just by looking at a kid" Ganz said as he too redoubled his efforts at placating the child. He snapped his fingers and murmured an incantation and a shimmering, multicolored form appeared a foot or so before the child's face, unfortunately having the opposite affect that was intended, changing the cries of the child from discontent to fear and increasing their fury and volume even more.

"Shame your Momma ain't here" Exe said dryly. "At least she'd know enough not to dangle a picture of an BDA Warrior in front of a little baby." he said.

"Well it was the only thing I could think of" Ganz said defensively. "Besides" he went on in huff, "I didn't think kids this young could see too well. I figured all it'd be able to see was the colors." he finished defensively.

"Them goons scare me, and you thought it'd entertain a baby?" Exe asked sarcastically.

"You think you can do better?" Ganz said, his temper flaring a bit.

"Now now" Corwin said soothingly. "Take it easy! Let's concentrate on getting the kid to stop crying before we kill each other." He went on. "You know, I never realized just how irritating a crying child can be" he finished, shifting the child to a different position in his arms.

"Here" Exe said, "Lemme try" he continued, extending his arms toward Corwin for the child.

"Sure" Ganz said, still sounding a bit miffed. "Let him try and see what happens.

"Ok" Corwin said, "But I don't know what difference it's gonna make". He shifted the child's position a bit and the awkwardly handed the child to Exe who took the child expertly and securely in his arms, whispering nonsense syllables in the child's face.

"At least yer breath don't singe its hair anymore" Ganz said with a smile, over the sound of the child's crying.

"Something we're all very, very grateful for" Corwin said, the last two words very loud in the sudden silence as the baby abruptly ceased its protestations. "Wow!" He said to Exe. "You knock its lights out or what?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"I think the poor little thing is hungry" Exe said, a knuckle firmly grasped between the child's gums.

"Don't look at me" Ganz said, both hands outstretched as in self-defense. "I don't know nuthin about feedin no babies" he finished emphatically.

"Oh relax" Exe said "I'll feed it; we just need to find something for it to drink and something for it to drink from." he said, looking around. "Cor, you see anything inside the tent that might serve?"

"Didn't notice but I'll look" Cor replied, ducking back inside the tent. He emerged a moment later with a small pack in his hand that he was rummaging through as he moved. "Nuthin here" he announced, tossing the pack on the ground.

The child stopped sucking on Exe's index knuckle and made some rather contorted faces, then went back to sucking thoughtfully once again.

"The kid's gotta eat." Ganz observed "The mother must've made some provision for feeding him. Do you think she took them ... with her..." he continued haltingly, then blushed.

"Yeah, I suspect she did" Corwin said dryly. "Yo sure your old enough to shave?" he added with a smile.

"And you were gonna tell ME about the birds and the bees" Exe quipped deadpan.

"Awright, awright" Ganz said ruefully. "What're we gonna do about feeding the kid?"

A malodorous scent arose and surrounded the tree Knights, almost palpable in its pungence. All three Knights wrinkled their noses in displeasure. Exe beat both of the other two to the punch.

"First guy with a breath joke's a dead man" he said hurriedly.

Corwin coughed and placed his hand over his mouth. "Not even your breath could be this bad Exe" he said, "Now maybe your and Daggies together..." he finished with a strained smile, and stepped away from Exe and the child, looking alarmedly at the child's hinter regions.

"I suspect the discovery of male or female will be solved with the resolution of this new problem" Ganzelle said as he too stepped away, joining Corwin.

"I don't suppose either of you'd ..." Exe said in a hopeful voice.

"No, I don't you guess you better suppose" Ganzelle said firmly.

"I'll check the charter" Corwin began, "But last I heard that ain't in my job description" he finished hastily.

"Now I remember why I spend so much time at the office when the kid's were babies" Exe said in a resigned voice. He looked down at the cute face of the child, who cooed pleasantly back up at him. "Well little one" he said, "I guess we'd better find something to use to take care of business." he finished and headed into the tent.

It took Exegete somewhat more time to secure the necessary "materials" to rectify the situation than he had thought. After all, it had been a number of years since any such action had been required of him (unless you counted the little matter of the six ITB's Tuvor and he had "helped" with their costumes for the ITB Halloween party this party; but that was an entirely different matter). Finally satisfied with his work, he managed to secure the area and emerged from the tent with the child in arm. He was startled to see a small container sitting on the nearby table with what looked like a nipple on the end of it. Exe picked it up and looked at it closely.

"I found a bit of pig's bladder in my pouch" Ganzelle said as he rounded the tent's corner into view. "I use it for a spell component."

"Not sure I want to know what particular spell that is" Exe murmured as he picked the bottle up. "Where's you get the milk?" he asked. "It is milk isn't it" he continued with a sharp, suspicious glance at Ganzelle.

"Of course it's milk" Ganz said quickly. "Whaddya think?"

"One never knows when you and Corwin are involved." Exe said with a sniff.

"Well" Ganz went on; "We found a couple goats penned up over near the horse corral, and one was a nanny, so...whella! Instant baby satisfaction."

"Goat's milk gives babies diarrhea" Exe said with a smile at the mental picture of two such auspicious Knights and gentlemen as Corwin or Ganzelle poking around beneath a wild goat. "But it's certainly better than going hungry." he concluded taking the bottle and testing the milk on a piece of exposed skin, though he wasn't sure why. He jumped and almost dropped the child at the warmth of the milk on his wrist.

"Yeah, well, there weren't many cows in the area." Ganz said with a sniff. "BTW, I heated it up a bit, I know babies don't like their food cold."

Exe nodded. "Thanks" he said as he teased the bottle into the child's mouth. Once there, after a tentative second, the child began sucking lustily, and its eyes squeezed shut in contentment.

Ganz stepped over and watch with a certain fondness as the child drank. "We get a verdict on the boy/girl thing?" he asked conversationally.

"Hard not to" Exe said. "She's a girl" he announced happily.

"A girl huh?" Ganz said with a note of triumph in his voice. "I knew it all along!"

"And how'd you know that?" Exe demanded. "What? She got a pink aura or something?"

"I just knew is all..." Ganz said defensively. "I know things sometimes" he finished up as if that would settle the matter.

"Oh you just know things?" Exe asked sarcastically. "You just know things? Like you 'just knew' on that shortcut away from those goons at Mataga's that that board over Wiener's canal would hold our weight? Like you 'just knew' that Lady at Strider's was a BDA spy?"

"Oh, now, anyone could have made the same mistakes. You were a little heavier then you know. And that Lady had a moustache! How was I too know she was Strider's Mother-in-Law" Ganzelle defended.

"Huh!" Exe grunted "You just know things, that's how!" He retorted.

"You old ladies wanna give it a rest?" Corwin commanded as he rounded the corner of the tent. "I could hear ya all the way across the clearing" he went on. "We ready to move?" he finished, taking in the scene.

"Where we movin' to?" Ganz asked, willing to change the subject.

"You oughta know already, seein' as how you 'know things'" Exe murmured, earning him a sharp look from Cor.

"That's what we gotta decide" Corwin said. "Those Drow can't have gotten far ahead of us and it appears that they still have at least one captive. If we ride hard, we can still catch them." He finished, forgetting the obvious.

"You wanna chase Drow with a baby in tow?" Exe asked, careful to keep his voice respectful. After all, it wasn't the choicest of wisdom to cross the Weapon's Master of KORT, renowned as much for his temper as for his ability with virtually any weapon. Questioning his orders in the field had retired more than one Knight, not to mention squires and pages.

Corwin looked piercingly at Exe and then at the child; then at Exe and then at the child again. "Damn" was his only commentary.

The three Knights were almost finished with the preparations necessary to leave the camp and head back for civilization. The had crafted a sort of cradle for the child that rested over the pommel of Exegete's saddle for the child to rest in. They had scoured the camp for enough material to make the cradle cushioned enough for the child to avoid being shaken to pieces during the ride, finally finding enough reasonably clean bedding to suffice. They had managed to find another nanny goat and secured another two or three feeding of milk so that they had a day or so's supply. Exe had found more of the diaper material he had used earlier and had several changes worth at hand. Ganzelle had constructed a little sparkly toy to use to amuse the child during the ride. Corwin, for his part, had happily helped with the preparations, but, to keep up his image Exe and Ganz suspected, had maintained a steady stream of grumblings about the delays and the lost opportunity to follow after and deal with the retreating Drow.

"I don't know who you think you're kidding with all the complaining" Exe commented as their preparations neared completion. "You think the lass is as cute as me and Ganz do, why not just admit it!"

"Cor has trouble sometimes, talking to women" Ganz quipped. "Remember the time you tried to talk to that fox on the square near Nasher's palace?" he went on.

Exe raised an interested eyebrow and looked in Cor's direction.

"You would remember that" Corwin muttered as he tightened his saddle's belly band.

"Yea" Ganz continued. "It took him nearly half an hour to get up the guts to speak to her, and then when he did, he sneezed all over her right in the middle of asking her out!" Ganzelle broke into appreciative laughter.

"The pollen count was up" Corwin countered. "I was goin' for a handkerchief, but I wasn't fast enough." he went on ruefully.

Exe smiled, remembering similar incidents in his own past.

Ganzelle interrupted his laughter long enough to add "She just stood there with, well, sneeze all over her" He gave into laughter again for a couple moments. "Cor just blinked a moment, kind of smiled at her, offered her his kerchief and turned on his heel and walked away." he managed to get out before bursting into laughter again.

"Lucky she wasn't a Mage" Exe said, laughing by now as well. "Or you'da hada done more'n just walk away." he finished with a chuckle.

"He managed to be in the Woods for the next couple weeks" Ganzelle said, wiping his eyes. "He missed her older brother's visit." He finished, breaking into laughter once again. "This was in the old barracks near Striders, remember? They weren't hard to get into. This guy snuck in through a rear window, found Corwin's room and rigged it so that the next person into the room got about fifty dozen eggs and like a hundred pounds of feathers dropped on him from the ceiling!" Ganz said before being overcome with giggles again.

"You know, I remember something about eggs and the old barracks..." Exe began.

"How was I supposed to know she had a Kaaos'er for a brother..." Corwin began.

"Yeah" Ganz went on. "Augustus had Barracks Duty that Knight and decided to stick his head in Cor's room to see if he was there...."

Corwin just shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face. "Turns out it was a good time to be in the woods" was his only comment.

The three Knights all had a good laugh over the incident and finished their preparations to leave for Crossergate. The laugh and general joking around continued as Corwin mounted his mighty Steed, and as Exe mounted Jester, his trusty mount. Ganzelle handed the little lass up and Exe put her in the "cradle", covering her securely. He was busily about making her comfortable and safe so he didn't notice Ganzelle's sudden immobility, nor did he immediately notice the sudden silence of the other two knights. Once he did, he looked up at his two companions in turn, and the silence dragged into several seconds.

"Ganz, I got a bad feeling..." Corwin said softly.

Exe's hand strayed to the pommel of his sword. Jester snorted and pawed the ground nervously.

Ganzelle looked at his two companions and grimaced. He stepped up to his own mount and threw himself aboard. "We got company" he said once astride the saddle. "We need to leave, now!" He said, and the three of them, with a final look at each other, turned their mounts and kicking them into a gallop, raced away towards the northwest.

The thundering of the horse's hooves and the snorting breaths of the three great beasts, combined with the whoosh of passing air and the various sounds of the brush being swept aside by their headlong charge made any conversation between the three all but impossible. Corwin lead the way on his mighty mount, crashing through tree limbs and lesser obstacles as if he enjoyed it. Exe followed, doing his best to shield his small child and make the ride the least abusive as was possible. Ganzelle followed along hastily in the rear, one eye on the trail they were taking and one "eye" to the rear as he tried, without much success, to discern if there was any pursuit.

Some many minutes after they fled the clearing, Corwin pulled his mount up and paused in a small clearing. He was cleaning a small cut inflicted by a particularly tenacious tree vine with his pocket cloth when Exe hurled into the clearing and reigned Jester in severely, leaving sharp dig marks in the dirt of the clearing, but stopping and rounding back to where Corwin was. Ganzelle, as an unfortunate by product of the intense concentration he was exerting, ran completely through the clearing and a short ways up the path on the other side before realizing his mistake and turning back, joining the other two in the clearing. He trotted his horse back, almost as out of breath as the horse was, and, settling in next to Exe, took a peek at the small package in his care.

"It's astounding that something that small can make that much noise" he commented over the din of the child's wailing.

"Tell me about it" was Exe's dry response. "You should hear it in the dead of night when you're fast asleep. It's like a FB blast going of in your ear" he went on.

"Sounds like there's definitely a down side to having a newborn in the house" Ganzelle said ruefully.

"They do have their unwelcome moments" Exe said as he tried to coo the child into quietness. "But, overall, it's more than worth the price you pay" he said, suddenly loud as the crying suddenly clicked off.

Corwin cleared his throat to interrupt. "'Scuse me ladies, but when kindygarden lets out, can we talk about the goons following us?"

Ganzelle chuckled in response and straightened, taking a moment to compose himself before casting his mind out to the area around them. His eyes remained shut in concentration for several moments and after a bit, he opened them again and shook his head, as if to relieve tension. "There's somebody out there, and their headed this way, but they're a ways off yet, and I can't tell how many or how fast they're coming" he said, looking at Corwin.

"Got an estimate?" Corwin asked hopefully.

"No less than a half mile away, but no more'n about a mile I'd say. If they're more than a mile away then there's a heck of a lot of them." he finished up, not to reassuringly.

Corwin half spate, half cursed under his breath, grimacing badly at the news while shaking his head. He patted his horses neck appreciatively. "Well, I guess we gonna have to keep on going old girl" he said as he chose his course of action.

"Who you callin' old?" Ganzelle quipped as he dismounted to readjust his saddle rigging.

"Ummm" Exe began. "I hate to complicate things, but I don't think the lass can bear much more of the kind of abuse a hard ride will inflict. Particularly if them goons get any closer and we have to fight. She's bruised a bit already, and I almost lost her right out of the cradle here a couple times." he finished apologetically.