r throne?"
	Keritanima stared at him, then exploded into laughter.  "It sounds like an easy way out, but believe me, brother, it's not.  Not that I didn't think of murdering the lot of them about twenty times a day for five months."
	"It's your kingdom," Tarrin shrugged.  "I'm about to lose this image, so is there anything else you need to talk about?  Just do it quickly."
	"It seems like an awful short time."
	"I've had a busy day," he said shortly.  "If I were rested, I could have stayed here an hour."
	"Nothing pressing comes to mind, at least more pressing than anything else," she said.  "When can you come back?"
	"After I rest."
	"Then we'll hammer out the details then.  I'll think about this and propose a plan when you come back."
	"Alright.  I'll tell Allia as soon as I regain some strength, and then I'll figure out some way for all three of us to talk at the same time.  Privately."  He fretted.  "This would be easy if we were in the same place."
	"Reality is a pain sometimes, brother," she grinned.  "That image of you is starting to get fuzzy, so I think that this is the end of our visit.  I'll see you soon, Tarrin.  Be well, keep your eyes on that bonesack, and--oh, yes.  I love you very much."
	"I love you too, sister," Tarrin replied with a warm smile.  "Keep her out of trouble, Miranda."
	"Always, Tarrin," Miranda said calmly, giving him a gentle smile.  She still hadn't changed.  Still quiet and inobtrusive, and watching absolutely everything that went on around her.  Still one of his dearest friends.
	It was hard to go.  After so long being separated from Keritanima, he didn't want to leave her, even this surreal image of her.  She was his sister, and they should have been together.  Months and months apart, and now he had to leave her once again.  But now he knew that he could see her whenever he wanted, that she was only a moment away, and it made him feel much, much better.  With Keritanima's help, he could find her whenever he wanted to see her.
	It didn't feel like a goodbye.  It felt more like "until tomorrow."
	Tarrin regretfully withdrew from his image, and sent his consciousness flying back to his body back in the desert.
	He opened his eyes to a sight he'd never thought he'd see.  Sarraya was sitting on Jegojah's shoulder, listening intently as he explained what was going on with their little sand map.  "Sarraya!" Tarrin said in surprise.  "When did you get here?"
	"A while ago," she replied as they both looked at him.  "Jegojah here said you went off to talk to Kerri.  What did she have to say?"
	The curtness of it took him off guard.  "Well, she agrees with most of it," he replied uncertainly.  "She thinks they'll attack from the north instead of the east, Jegojah.  She thinks they'll move across Tykarthia then hook around the Skydancer mountains, then march down the coast."
	"Hmm," Jegojah sounded, looking down.  "That path, it appealed to Jegojah at first, yes, but the Toothwood, it is in the way.  Safer, it would be, to come down the mountain pass and march across Sulasia, yes."
	"Toothwood?" Sarraya asked.
	"A dark wood of danger in southern Tykarthia," he replied.
	"Jegojah, there are no forests in Tykarthia.  They cut them all down to make ships."
	"Ah.  Jegojah, his mind is a thousand years behind us, yes," the undead warrior said ruefully.  "Jegojah, he needs a current map."
	"That's no problem," Sarraya said, gesturing.  He felt her touch her Druidic magic, and a large vellum map simply appeared on the ground before them, a very large map depicting the entire West.  "This is as current as yesterday afternoon," she chuckled.
	"I take it Jegojah explained things?" Tarrin asked.
	"He was filling in the details after a hasty summary," Sarraya replied.  "At least that was after we tried to kill each other."
	"You didn't!"
	"What can I say?  I'm a barbarian," Sarraya grinned at him.  "You're a bad influence on me."
	"The Faerie, she appeared but seconds after you entered the trance, yes," Jegojah said with a calm expression.  "She thought I meant to attack ye, yes.  When Jegojah, he surrendered his swords, the Faerie, she stood down, yes."
	"You have too much attitude for someone so small, Sarraya."
	"I'm a big girl now," she grinned as Jegojah studied the map with palpable intensity.
	"You think what he says makes sense?"
	"It all fits, Tarrin," she replied seriously.  "It all fits together a little too well to be a fantasy he conjured up."
	"That's what Kerri thought too," he replied.  "She doesn't trust Jegojah, but she can refute the logic of his claim."
	"Kerri sounds like a smart girl."
	"The smartest woman alive, Sarraya," Tarrin said seriously.  "When Kerri does your planning, you can't go wrong."
	"The Wikuni, she has a point, yes," Jegojah finally announced.  "Without the Toothwood, Tykarthia, it is the safest way to go.  The Sulasians, they would be trapped between the Dals and the force marching down from the north, yes, and they would be annihilated.  That would leave Suld defenseless."
	"Kerri figured the same thing," Tarrin said.  "You'd make a good general, Jegojah."
	"Jegojah, he was a general, Were-cat," Jegojah said with a smile and a glance at him.
	"That's getting annoying.  Why do you keep saying your name all the time?" Sarraya asked churlishly.
	"Jegojah, he knows no other way to speak," the undead warrior said uncertainly.
	"You're using Shacan grammar with Sulasian words, and it's getting on my nerves!" Sarraya snapped at him.  "Try saying I or me instead of Jegojah!"
	"No wonder it takes a Shacan ten minutes to say hello," Tarrin mused.  "I never knew their language was so complicated."
	"Je--uh, I, me will try."
	"No, I, me!  Just I!"
	"I--I will try, yes," he said with a glance at his shoulder, where the Faerie was located.  "The Faerie, is she always this way?"
	"Usually," Tarrin said dryly.  "Somedays she's worse.  She must be in a good mood."
	"The Wikuni, she has a point," Jegojah repeated.  "Je--I will think on this."
	"I can't do anything else right now.  I burned up all my strength talking to Kerri."
	"How is she?"
	"Doing fine, Sarraya.  It was good to see her again.  I thought it would make me homesick, but it had a completely opposite effect.  I'm in a really good mood now, for some reason."
	"You just found out that you're not as alone as you thought," Sarraya said with a warm smile.
	"I guess you're right," he agreed.
	"Hungry?  I can whip up something refreshing for you."
	"No more of that Centaur ale," Tarrin warned.  "I dont' see how they move after drinking that stuff."
	"They don't," she laughed.
	"Let's try for something that won't put me out," he said.  "And settle in.  We're going to be here a while."
	"How long?"
	"Until Ariana gets here with her king," he answered.  "How long has it been?"
	"Ye were sleeping about twenty minutes.  After a good meal, time, it will be, to call to her again, yes."
	"So, what?  Two days?"
	"That sounds about right," Tarrin said.  "I need to recover, and I don't want to start moving until I'm fully rested.  Waiting for Ariana just gives me a valid excuse to be lazy."
	"As if you were ever lazy," Sarraya laughed.
	After a hearty meal of roasted boar--swiped from some inn's hearth, no doubt--Tarrin helped Sarraya set up a camp and arrange a good store of firewood to last the night.  Jegojah stood up after looking at the map and sheathed his two swords, which were laying on the ground nearby.  "Jegojah--I need to look about, yes," he said.  "There may be Sandmen about, and if there are, needs be to chase them off, yes."
	"Be careful," Tarrin said.
	"The Sandmen, they cannot kill the dead, no," Jegojah shrugged, then marched off into the night.
	As soon as the undead warrior was out of sight, Sarraya zipped into him so hard it stung.  She hugged his neck exuberantly, digging her tiny fingers into his skin.  "I was worried!" she exclaimed in a hyper voice.
	"What's with all this emotion?" Tarrin asked in surprise, prying the little Faerie loose and holding her in his paw.
	"I didn't want to look gushy around it," she said primly, though her eyes were bright.  "It may think you're a mama's boy."
	Tarrin gave her a strange look, then laughed helplessly.
	After calming Sarraya down and assuring her that he was alright, he kept his appointment with Ariana.  "Ariana," he called.
	"I'm here, Tarrin.  So is King Andos."
	"Good.  Will you come meet me?"
	There was a long silence.
	"I can't hear what Andos says, Ariana.  The only one I can hear is you.  What did he say?"
	"Oh.  Sorry, I didn't know that.  He agrees.  We'll start out in the morning.  We should be there two days after that."
	"I'll be waiting for you.  I'm going to be camped on the northwestern edge of the city when you arrive."
	"We'll find you, don't worry.  I told you we'd see each other again."
	"So you did.  See you in three days."
	"Until then."
	Tarrin broke the connection, letting his amulet go and staring at the fire.  Two days of rest.  He could use that, definitely.  He'd have to exert himself tomorrow to talk to Allia, and probably talk to Keritanima again, but he'd be more than fully recovered by the time Ariana and her king arrived.  He was bone-tired now, tired enough to let the important events of that long, busy day drain away from him.  He'd ponder the significance of them tomorrow, but for now, about all he wanted to do was sleep.
	And sleep he did.  Shapeshifting into cat form, he curled up by the fire and immediately went into a sound, deep sleep.  With Sarraya and Jegojah--whom he now trusted, for some reason--he would be well protected and secure.  So he slept the sleep of the safe, a sleep untroubled by worries or fears.
	For now, all was well.

	The next morning dawned windy and strangely warm.  Sand blew through the city in eddies and swirls, and Tarrin was forced to don his visor.  It was obvious that a sandstorm was blowing in the area, but from the look of the morning sky, it was well south of them, and they would only catch the fringes of it.  The seasons were turning, and they were coming out of the storm season, into the relatively calm time that passed for spring in the desert.  The sandstorms were fewer and further between, and they lacked the savagery that the winter storms packed.  By early summer, all the storms would be over, and the Selani would enjoy a four month respite from the blowing sand, until the cycle started all over again.
	Breakfast that morning was little more than berries and hard bread, for the wind was too strong to keep a fire going.  Sarraya huddled against his shoulder and neck to protect herself from the gusty wind, with its stinging sand carried along in it.  He'd been awakened to those conditions, mainly by being showered by embers from the fire, but even in cat form he was utterly immune to their heat.  It was strange for the wind to blow so, but then again, the proximity of the sandstorm was the reason.  They were catching the edges of it, and the worst of it was about to blow over them.  That meant that they had to find shelter.
	"Jegojah, he came through blows like this," the undead warrior noted as they moved to knock down a tent before the wind took it with it.  "This desert, it is a challenge for the living, yes?"
	"The Selani thrive here," Tarrin called over the wind.  "They've been here long enough to know how things work."
	"The Selani, your friend, you will call her today, yes?"
	"After the storm blows over," he shouted back over a loud gust.  "It takes concentration for me to do it, and it's hard to concentrate when you're getting a face full of sand."  He put stones over the tent canvas, as Jegojah did the same on the other side.  "Odds are, Kerri has already talked to her and told her to expect my call.  Besides, it's a few hours earlier in Suld, and that means that she's probably not awake yet."
	"Jegojah, he forgets about that sometimes," he grunted loudly enough to be heard over the wind.
	"Around about noon, I'll try," he called.  "It should be calm by then, and Allia will certainly be awake."
	"Nothing else, we have to do, no," Jegojah shouted.  "The camp, this would be a good time to move it!  After all, taken it down already, we have, yes!"
	"You have a point," Tarrin acceded.  "It's not easy to see in this, but we need to find shelter anyway.  Let's go find a good building and wait it out!"
	"What about the tents?"
	"We'll leave them here," Tarrin shouted.  "Sarraya and I can just Conjure them back to us when we want to set them up!"
	"Conjure?  Ye know Druidic magic?"
	Tarrin nodded, pulling his braid out of his face as the wind slapped it against his visor.  "I'm a Were-cat, Jegojah.  All Were-cats have at least some Druidic talent.  And since we're technically not mortal, I get around the stricture against being able to use only one order of magic."
	"No wonder Jegojah, he could not best you!" the undead warrior cackled in that hideous voice.  "Too many tricks, ye know, yes!"
	"Don't sell him short," Sarraya called. "He whipped you fair and square, with and without magic."
	Tarrin was a bit startled that Sarraya would insult Jegojah that way, but the undead warrior just laughed.  "That he did!" he admitted.  "It was an honor to battle you, Tarrin of the Were-cats!  It was a loss for Jegojah, but an honorable loss, it was, yes!"
	"Let's save the reminscing until after we're in shelter!" Tarrin called.
	Finding shelter was a very simple affair.  They had but to enter the closest of the buildings that were still standing.  Tarrin was too large to fit in the door, and had to shift to cat form to get inside.  Jegojah just barely cleared the door, and the ceiling was literally scraping his helmet as they entered a dust-choked chamber with a stone table in the far corner, by the door.  Tarrin was careful to shapeshift back so he was squatting down, shifting from a seated position as a cat, which allowed him to clear the ceiling by a comfortable amount.  He couldn't stand erect inside the buildings, but he had a very flexible spine, and could stand if he stayed severely stooped over.  But it was easier for him to simply sit.
	"Small buildings," Jegojah noted.  "Not human."
	"We think it's a Dwarven city," Sarraya told him.
	"Mala Myrr," Jegojah said immediately.  "Even in Jegojah's time, the rumors flew.  A lost Dwarven city swallowed up by the desert.  This place, it must be it, yes."  He looked out.  "Jegojah, he remembers other rumors.  Mala Myrr was supposed to be close to a fabled city called Amyr Dimeon.  The Heavenly City."
	Tarrin knew exactly what Jegojah was talking about.  The city of the Aeradalla would fit that description perfectly, but Tarrin wasn't going to tell him that.  That wasn't his secret to divulge.  "If there is another ruin from the past out there, we haven't seen it," Tarrin told him.
	"Nope," Sarraya mirrored.  At least she picked up on that and wouldn't make any embarassing comments.
	They waited out the storm in relative silence after that.  Tarrin napped with Sarraya curled up inside his furry ball, and Jegojah sat and read from books that Sarraya had conjured for him.  Being undead, Jegojah didn't sleep, and the books gave him a means to pass the time.  They'd also let him catch up on modern history.  Jegojah's world was still five hundred years in the past.  He had alot of catching up to do.
	The storm blew over by midmorning, and they moved on.  They left the city and set up a good camp right on the edge of it, with a half-crumbled city wall giving them a border on one side, and a pile of rubble hemming them in from the west.  The result was a nice little niche that would catch the light of a fire nicely, and it was large enough to accomadate five tents.  What made it most attractive was that a strand ran vertically from the ground just inside that old ruined wall, giving him easy access to the Weave.
	As Sarraya conned Jegojah into helping her erect tents, Tarrin sat down directly within the strand, achieving physical contact, then grabbed hold of his amulet.  "Allia," he called.
	"Kerri told me you'd call out to me," she replied immediately.  "And that you'd want me to do something for you.  Given Kerri's excitement when she talked to me, it must have been something pretty interesting."
	"I do need you to do something for me," he said.  "First, are you alone?"
	"Dolanna and Dar are with me.  I'm in Dolanna's apartment."
	"That's good enough.  Alright now, listen carefully, sister.  Touch the Weave, and hold as much of it as you can.  Do that for about fifteen minutes.  If nothing happens in fifteen minutes, let go and then try to contact me."
	"As you wish, my brother.  I'm ready."
	Quickly and effortlessly, Tarrin separated his consciousness from his body and joined with the Weave.  As before, he found himself hurtling through the strands, into a Conduit, and then he was again in the Heart.  It was as it always had been before, an unfathomably huge abyss of utter darkness, that darkness pierced by the stars that represented all the Sorcerers, and the strands wavering very faintly behind them, barely visible in the consuming darkness held at bay by those stars.  The sense of the Goddess was as it had been before, and the glorious blazing light of her illuminated the very core of the Heart, destroying the inky blackness that sought to consume the light.  He looked up into the black sky of the Heart and found her eyes looking down on him, felt her smile, was infused by her love, and he felt utterly content.
	But he wasn't there to bask in the radiant aura of the Goddess, no matter how lovely it was to do so.  He reached out with his senses, reached out and felt for that distinctive sensation that identified his sister in the Weave.  Allia's star was out there, and after a few moments of intense concentration, he managed to identify it.  Using that star as a reference, he cast out his senses into the Weave, feeling for the physical reflection of the energy he felt from Allia's star.  Allia wasn't as strong as Keritanima, so her presence wouldn't be as striking as it had been for his Wikuni sister.  But she was close to the Heart, both physically and spiritually, so it didn't take him long to lock onto her.  As he had done before, he travelled through the Weave, travelled to her physical location, then constructed an Illusion, cast it into the space near her, then pushed his consciousness into that projection.
	He opened his spectral eyes, and found the three of them staring at his Illusion in shock.  Dar, who was a natural with Illusion, had mouth hanging open, and Dolanna looked as if she was staring into the eyes of a Wraith.  Allia stared at him a bit wildly, then laughed.  "Tarrin?  Is that you?" she asked.  Allia was hard to surprise, and even harder to keep surprised.  Tarrin felt a wild surge of joy at seeing his beloved sister once again, but the emotion of it was overwhelmed by the pressing need to tell them what was going on, while he had the strength to do it.
	"Yes and no," he replied.  "What you see is nothing but an Illusion, Allia.  I'm still in the desert, but I've learned a trick to allow me to reach through the Illusion.  It's very draining, so I can't stay this way for long.  Only long enough to pass on certain information and give you a few warnings."  He turned to Dolanna.  "Dolanna, could you Ward this place?  As tightly as you can?"
	She seemed to recover from her surprise.  "Certainly, dear one," she smiled.  "Is that a factual representation of you?" she asked.
	"Unfortunately, it is," he grunted.  "I know, I'm taller.  I'll explain how that happened when I get to the Tower, because it'll take too long to explain, and I can't waste any time."
	Dolanna skillfully Warded the room against all prying eyes and ears, and then nodded to him.  As always, Dolanna's weaves were strong, efficient, and well woven.  Dolanna was an excellent Sorceress.
	"Alright then, on to serious matters.  Dolanna, Allia, you have to convince the Keeper to prepare for war."
	Tarrin went over everything that Jegojah told him, then related much of his conversation with Keritanima.  Dar and Dolanna blanched quite a few times as he almost casually dropped a cartload of shocking news on them in a very short time, but Allia looked rather sober, almost grim.
	"It's a pretty clever plan, Dolanna," Tarrin said, addressing his teacher.  "Clever and thorough."
	"Very clever," Dolanna said absently, tapping her chin with a finger, as she often did while in deep thought.  "It does not leave us with much room.  You say that Shiika is sending her Legions?"
	"And herself and her daughters," he replied.  "She wanted me to have you make sure that her daughters aren't attacked when they arrive.  They'll be on our side."
	"The same ones that tried to kill you, Tarrin?" Dar asked.
	Tarrin nodded.  "At that time, we were on opposing sides.  Now we have a common interest."
	"War often makes strange allies, Dar," Allia told him calmly.
	"Very strange," Dolanna agreed.
	"In a couple of days, as soon as I'm sure Jenna is up to it, I'm going to have her tell mother to have Grandfather stop the war with Tykarthia," Tarrin said.  "Grandfather can do it, especially if mother is standing behind him holding her axe.  The Ungardt will be a little sulky over not having someone to fight, at least until we can convince them to help us fight off the ki'zadun.  Ungardt love a good, rousing war.  This will certainly pique their interest."
	"Are you certain that your mother can do such a thing?" Dolanna asked.
	"My grandfather can," Tarrin said confidently.  "He's chief of one of the biggest clans.  He can call all the chiefs together and explain that the Ungardt were deceived into fighting against Tykarthia, when they didn't do anything wrong.  Ungardt may love a good war, but they don't fight unless they have a good reason.  As soon as they find out that the atrocities that started the war with Tykarthia were actually the work of the ki'zadun, they'll apologize to the Tykarthians and then come after the ki'zadun."
	"Sounds like the Ungardt have honor," Allia said approvingly.
	"Something like that, but not as refined as you, Allia," Tarrin told her.  "Kerri beat it into me that the most critical thing I can do is have you find out what the weather's like in Draconia and the Petal Lakes.  That's where the ki'zadun is massing their army, and they can't start marching until the snow melts."
	"That will be easy," Dolanna told him.  "The Citadel of the Hill is on the Tykarthian border.  They can find that out for us."
	"They should be warned of what's coming," Dar said.
	"Not yet," Allia told him.  "This is best kept a secret for now.  Let us not tip our hand just yet."
	"That's a good idea," Tarrin agreed, "but you're going to have to go to the Keeper and tell her about this.  But only the Keeper.  That spy is still loose in the Tower, so you can't have it get out that you know they're coming."
	"We have had no luck finding her," Dolanna sighed.  "She has buried herself so deeply that there is not even a hint of her anymore.  Those few who knew of her are dead, and nobody has seen any assassins moving about."
	"They're not supposed to, Dolanna."
	"Tarrin, this place is like a prison," Dar told him.  "There are guards everywhere, and Sorcerers watching each other.  A mouse can't run across a countertop without three reports of it landing on the Keeper's desk inside ten minutes."
	Tarrin chuckled.  "Sounds like you're quite serious about it."
	"The problem is that some suspect that our spy is adept at either Mind weaves or Illusion, or perhaps both, and is hiding her tracks," Dolanna told him.
	"Jula can find her," Tarrin told them.  "Set her to finding the spy.  Jula's nose and her magic will ferret her out."
	"That, is not a bad idea," Dolanna said after a moment of thought.  "Since she is Non-human, our spy cannot use Mind weaves to turn her mind aside from its task, and Jula's senses will penetrate any Illusory disguise."
	"Were-cats are born hunters, Dolanna.  Have Triana point her in the right direction and set her loose.  Jula will find the spy."
	"It is a good suggestion, Tarrin.  I will have a talk with Triana about it."
	"Do that.  We can't make any serious preparations until that spy is found and removed.  Until then, you're going to have to move carefully."
	"I should talk with the Lord General, and ask him to return with the Knights," Allia proposed.  "The Knights on the Tower grounds should calm things greatly.  The danger to Suld itself should convince him that it is time to stop the self-imposed exile."
	"He deserves to know what's going on anyway," Tarrin told them.  "He's a brilliant military man, sister.  He can give you a great deal of help, and his status and rank will make sure things get done."
	"True," Dolanna agreed.
	"I'm starting to get tired, so I have to go very soon.  Just do what you can as quietly as you can until Jula finds that spy.  I can't be doing this every day, so the person who's more or less in charge of this little operation is Keritanima.  She's in the middle of it, and most of it depends on her and her ships anyway.  So if you have questions about anything, she's the one you need to take them to."
	"Alright," Dolanna said.  "Keritanima would be the best choice."
	"Just remember that using the amulets isn't totally secure, so be very careful what you say."
	"That is going to cause problems," Dolanna told him.  "Some things must be said."
	"I know, but since none of you can do what I'm doing now, there's no other way."
	"What are you doing, Tarrin?" Dolanna asked curiously.  "I can feel your weave, but not you."
	"That's because I'm a couple thousand leagues east, Dolanna," he replied.  "My body is in the desert."
	"How can you weave all the way over here then?" Dar asked curiously.
	"It gets very complicated, Dar," Tarrin told him.  "Let's just say it's a trick that I picked up.  I'll explain everything when I get to the Tower."
	"I will hold you to that, dear one," Dolanna promised.
	"I have to go now.  Sarraya is tugging at my ear for some reason.  Just let Jula loose, then step back and let her find your spy.  I'll do this again if it's something important."  He looked at them, his friends and his sister, and he felt the same thing as he did when looking at Keritanima.  Not homesickness or an ache to be with them, but a calm, serene knowledge that all of them--any one of them--was always within his reach.  He could see them and talk to them any time he wanted, and that considerably softened the impact of being so far away from them.  Until he could hold Allia in his arms and have her scent wash over him, looking at her and knowing she was well and good was enough for now.  "Be careful and watch out for each other."
	"Farewell, Tarrin," Dar called.
	"May the Goddess watch over you, dear one," Dolanna smiled.
	"May the Holy Mother put the wind at your back and sweet water in your path," Allia said with luminous eyes.
	"Be well," he nodded, and then let the Illusion unravel.  He pulled his awareness back to his body, to where Sarraya was yanking on his ear urgently, and opened his eyes.  "What?" he demanded in a surly tone.
	"Tarrin, you won't believe this!" Sarraya said with a laugh.
	"What?"
	"Guess who I saw in the city?"
	"Well?  Out with it!"
	"Var and Denai!" she laughed.  "They must have followed us!"
	"They didn't!" Tarrin said hotly, standing up.
	"Of course they did," Sarraya grinned.  "This is outside their clan territory.  They're trying to catch up with us."
	"I warned them!" Tarrin seethed.  "When I get my paws on them--"
	"Oh, hush," Sarraya said in a curt tone. "Since Jegojah here isn't a threat anymore, what harm is it to let them come with us?  I miss them.  They're much better travelling companions than you two sourpusses."
	Tarrin glared at her, then he broke out laughing, for some mysterious reason.  She was right, of course.  Even he missed them, and they could still be useful in guiding him to the mountain pass quickly.  Time was now an issue, and he had none of it to spare.  Var and Denai would save him many days of floundering around.
	"Alright, alright," he chuckled.  "Go get them, Sarraya.  But make sure they know that I'm very unhappy that they followed us."
	"Ooh, I get to tell them about all sorts of nasty plans you have for them," she said, rubbing her hands together.  "This is going to be so much fun!"  Then she darted off into the city.
	"Not much, it takes, to please her, yes," Jegojah chuckled in that cackling tone.
	"Not much," he agreed, standing up.
	"Did the talk go well?"
	"Well enough.  I've warned everyone.  Now it's up to Kerri to bring it all together and hammer out a plan.  Knowing her, she'll have something by tonight."
	"This Wikuni, she must be something special, yes?"
	"You have no idea," he said with a nod.  "There's nobody in the world like Kerri."
	"So what now?"
	"Now, we wait," he replied.  "After I talk to the Aeradalla, we'll start out."
	"Then Jegojah, he will wait as well.  Until ye be on the way, Were-cat, Jegojah, he will stay with ye, yes.  Two days, it is not a great matter, no.  Time, plenty remains, yes.  A boon of ye?"
	"What is it?"
	"More maps, Jegojah needs, yes," he said.  "An understanding Jegojah, he needs, of the terrain.  A better idea of the ki'zadun's movements, Jegojah seeks, yes."
	"No problem," he told him, forming the image of detailed maps of the kingdoms involved in the plan, then touching his Druidic power and willing them into existence.  They appeared in his paw, four maps rolled up together, one of each of the three kingdoms, and a map of the Petal lakes.  He handed them over to the undead warrior.
	"Jegojah thanks ye, yes.  Time, he is moving, and Jegojah has much to learn."
	Tarrin ambled off towards the firepit.  He was hungry, and a meal of bread and berries wasn't enough this time.  He was going to conjure up some beef, and wait for Var and Denai.
	And read them the riot act when they arrived.
	He didn't have long to wait.  By the time he was finished eating, Var and Denai were jogging up towards their camp, coming in from the city.  Jegojah was studying the maps that Tarrin had Conjured for him, and he could already see that the two of them were decidedly nervous.  No doubt that Sarraya had filled their heads with all sorts of wild stories.  He was pretty angry with them.  He had no idea what possessed them to follow him.  He specifically warned them of the danger, and of how a