Chapter One: Executions

October 7th, 1347

"For your crimes against the Order of Epona and therefore the Goddess Herself, you are sentenced to die, Nara Cagliari."

The pretty blonde woman, tied to a tree, looked up at the person who'd just spoken. "You'll never be able to do it, Callas. You're too soft-hearted to kill me in cold blood. You'll have to have your knight do it for you."

The woman standing over her was young, about the same age as Nara--perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old. Long black hair was braided away from her face, and at the blonde's words her green eyes had gone cold. She continued to speak. "For aiding, of your own free will, in a plan to spread the plague into the Order, the Goddess has sentenced you to immediate execution, by the hand of the priestess who uncovered your plan." She was holding a dagger in her right hand. "I suggest that you make whatever peace with Her that you can."

Callas gritted her teeth, a vague sense of unreality taking her over. She glanced back at the older knight who was standing behind her, and he gave her a slight nod. Gavião had been there when she'd received the order in the form of an augury; had heard Her voice when the answer to the question Should we execute Nara here? was answered, not with a yes or a no, but with Yesterday. The rest, she could see standing behind Gavião; the tall man with a look in his eyes that told her he understood the situation all too well, the elf looking worried, the dwarf with crossed arms. It was one thing to take a life in battle, another to perform an execution.

She took a deep breath and grabbed the hair at the back of Nara's head, giving her hand a half turn to lock it in place and pull her head back. The blonde's eyes widened, perhaps not until this moment believing that the priestess, who had trained beside her for six long years, would actually carry out her orders.

She cried out, "No! Please, Callas, no--"

But the knife flashed, drawing across her throat, cutting deep enough to sever the two large veins in her neck and lay her windpipe open. Blood flowed from the wound, bright in the winter sun, covering the symbol of Epona that she wore around her neck in a thick veil of red.

In a few seconds that seemed to stretch into days, Nara ceased to struggle, her blue eyes opened but unseeing. A few minutes longer, and the blood stopped flowing.

Callas released Nara's hair and let the dead priestess' head fall forward, resting her hand on the blonde curls in an oddly maternal gesture. And then she turned and walked away, without a word to those present.

The elf who had been standing by the knight asked, "Where's she off to, then?" The sound of retching coming from a copse of trees that was out of sight but not earshot answered his question. "Ah."

"It was her first time killing someone in cold blood. And it was someone she knew well. The Goddess occasionally gives out harsh lessons." Sir Gavião set his mouth. Some of those lessons were going to cost his sworn priestess dearly, even more than this one had. "I'll go and check on her in a bit."

"What should we do with the body?"

The knight shrugged, his chain mail armor jingling a little. "Burn it. Then we'll move on. I don't really feel like lingering here." He turned and walked in the same direction the priestess had.

In the copse, Callas was sitting and leaning against a tree, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head buried in her arms. She heard someone approach and lifted her head to see the knight approaching, brushing small branches out of his way. "Gavião. I--"

He shook his head. "It's all right, lass, the first time always takes people hard." He sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. He could feel her shaking, an expected reaction to what she'd just done.

"I didn't have any choice, did I? No choice at all."

"I'd like to say you didn't, but you could have refused Epona's order. Other than that, there was no choice but to do what you did."

There were tears running down the priestess' face, and she suddenly looked younger than her nearly eighteen years. "I couldn't have refused and lived with myself afterwards. She would have been executed the moment she stepped foot inside one of the Temples, had we taken her back for trial. And I don't think I could refuse a direct order from Epona--I mean, could you? She is my reason for being in the world. I can't tell her no any more than I can tell my own heart to stop beating." She shivered and wiped her face, the tears continuing to fall.

"You're going to have nightmares about it for the rest of your life. I still dream about the first man I killed in close combat. But you learn to live with it, lass. And you did well. You didn't falter, you did exactly what you had to do."

Something about that statement made the girl's sobs start again, and she buried her face in Gavião's shoulder, crying. He let the storm pass. Finally, she pulled away, rubbing her eyes and blowing her nose. "I'm sorry. I wasn't prepared for how it would feel, to kill someone I knew in cold blood."

"None of us are, Callas. But you're going to clean up and we're going to go say a few words over Nara, and then build a pyre for her. You're going to write a letter to the Temple advising them of what's happened, and then we're going to break camp and move on. We don't have a lot of time to waste here."

Callas nodded and got to her feet, holding out a hand to help the knight up. "Life goes on, doesn't it. And so do we."

"We do what we must, lass. It ever has been and will always be that way. Necessity and the goddess call, and we answer." The two headed out of the copse and back to their companions.

Gavião watched his charge as she helped pile wood. The way she held her shoulders, slightly hunched, told him that she wasn't nearly as accepting of what she'd just done as she seemed. She'd be all right, but it might take her a few days, and he feared that today would be more fodder for her nightmares, which seemed to be coming more frequently in recent days.

The work seemed to soothe Callas, and Gavião stopped watching her quite so closely. They laid Nara's body on it, and lit the pyre. A few hours later, they were breaking camp, riding down the road towards the nearest stone circle, about twenty miles away.

"Is that his flag?" Riyor pointed, squinting at the horizon. "Look, over there."

"You're the long-eyed one, elf. All I can see is a mast on the horizon." Gaius was sitting on one of the inevitable spare crates that always seemed to accumulate in dock districts. "Can't see if it's Epona's flag or Morrigan's, or something else entirely."

"Good strong wind, should bring it in soon enough."

The two sat, waiting. "So what do you think about all this anyway, Gaius? I know why the rest of us are here. What about you?"

The tall Roman shrugged. "I don't really believe in gods and goddesses. But I do believe that there is a wound in the world, one that we have to do what we can to heal."

"A wound in the world?" Riyor echoed him thoughtfully. "I wouldn't have figured you for the poetic type. What sort of wound?"

"I studied with a monk--my master--who was much invested in the study of magic. I've studied these orbs we're trying to destroy. Insidious things. Turn them on long enough, and they draw the magic from a piece of land entirely, and as far as I know, there is no way to replace it. Have you ever been in one of those places? I'm not even a mage, and I could feel it. The land feels dead. Things don't grow as well, spells don't work. It is...a terrible feeling."

"So these people are bleeding the magic out of the world, is that it?"

"And hoarding it for themselves. Hey, can you see the flag, now?"

Riyor turned and squinted again, the chill winter sunlight glaring off the ocean. "Ha. You're right. That's Epona's flag, and unless there's another Epona privateer plying this ocean, it's likely Galvin."

Gaius stood up, shaking out his white cloak. "Let's go find the priestess and tell her that her...whatever he is is here."

"Colleague, I think. As much as he'd like to be more."

"You noticed that, too? I think Callas is oblivious."

A few hours later, Callas, Gavião, Gaius, Riyor, and Arnie were standing on the dock, watching Galvin's ship moor at the dock. Galvin walked down the plank, smiling broadly. His curly brown hair was tied in a queue at the nape of his neck, and he was wearing a shirt open at the neck, Epona's insignia embroidered on the sleeve.

"Well met, Callas, gentlemen." He sketched a bow to them, his intense brown eyes lingering on Callas. "I'm glad to see you all again. Callas, I have a letter for you."

"Who at the Carthage Temple would want to send a letter to me? Is Conti there?"

"No, this seems to have been something from Madrid-they sent letters to all of the local Temples. They seemed to be relieved that I was going to be seeing you. I suppose whatever it is is important." He held out the letter, sealed with the personal seal of the regional headmistress of Madrid, Maria. "Oh, and this packet goes along with the letter"

"I wonder what Maria wants with me? Only one way to find out." She took the letter from Galvin and broke the seal. The rest watched as she read, her eyes scanning the page.

Under her tan, Callas turned pale. "Oh dear Goddess. I--" She coughed, and held the letter out to Gavião. "Read it."

He frowned but took it, not recognizing the hand it was written in. He read and then stopped in the middle of the page, folding the letter. "This shouldn't be discussed in public, and certainly not on the docks. We have some rooms at an inn nearby. Galvin, will you join us? This concerns you, as well."

Galvin blinked. "What have they done, Sir Gavião?"

His eyes rested on Callas, who was still pale, twisting a lock of her hair around her forefinger, an unconscious nervous habit. "Something that I can only hope was not entirely foolish. Let's go."

On the way to the inn, Galvin fell in alongside Callas, and they talked about the two weeks that had passed since they'd last seen each other. Callas told Galvin about going to Atlantis, the drow city beneath the waves, and destroying the powerful orb that was hidden there.

"Sounds like a nice safe place, beneath the ocean, only able to get there with those gates."

Arnie laughed, the dry tone in his voice so different than usual that Galvin, who didn't even know the dwarf that well, turned to him with a puzzled expression. "Was a nice safe place, you mean. If by safe, you mean a trap for a dying clan of drow, waiting for someone to notice that we'd been missing from the world above for a thousand years. It's gone now. Good riddance."

Callas pursed her lips. "Did I mention that we met a crazy drow psioniscist named Aiden while we were there? And somehow, the last time we gated, Aiden's body got destroyed and his soul shoved into Arnie's mind? And we're stuck with said crazy drow for the duration, as far as we know?"

Galvin stared at his fellow cleric in disbelief. "No. You didn't mention. Tell me, do you have any other surprises waiting for me?"

"Well, let's see. The reason he's crazy is because he touched that cloak that Gaius is wearing, which scrambles the brains of every psion who touches it. That cloak is the key to the gates--all of them, everywhere. We met a deep dragon who Arnie stole something from, which is why I think he and Aiden are in this fix to begin with. Gaius had a girlfriend up until about three days ago, when he killed her because it turned out she was a spy. Oh, yes, and my staff is sentient and keeps hitting on me." She turned to Gavião. "Does that about cover it, do you think?"

"You forgot about the fact that the only thing that destroys the orbs that are absorbing all the magic from the world is legendary artifacts, which we've been searching out. Oh, and the elf over here elected to dally a bit with an evil sorceress while we were in Atlantis."

"Hey! I was distracting her!"

"Naked?" "Nudity is very distracting, I'll have you know. I did keep her mind completely off the fact that we were stealing two artifacts out from under her nose."

"Right. I think that about covers it. Well, except that we haven't figured out yet who is deliberately releasing plague into the cities of Europe." The tall knight grinned briefly at the priest. "Confused yet, pirate?"

"Privateer. And yes. I'm sure I'll work it out, though." Callas had her head turned, talking to either Arnie or Aiden, and Gavião was the only one who saw the look that crossed the young man's face as he glanced at his charge. A mixture of yearning, frustration, and perhaps a bit of possessiveness shone in his eyes. I need to keep an eye on the lad. This has the potential to go very well or very, very badly for him. He knew from late-night talks fueled by perhaps a little too much mead that Callas had never taken a lover; in fact, aside from a bit of horseplay in a hayloft one day, she had no sexual experience at all. That was so unusual for a cleric of Epona that he almost hadn't believed her at first. Epona clerics, by and large, were an earthy people, and liaisons between trainees were somewhat expected. It was unusual for one to graduate without ever taking anyone to their bed.

He'd seen how she shied away from the men who occasionally made suggestions at her in common rooms, though, and he'd come to believe that she could have very easily gotten through her trainee years as innocent as she had. She didn't trust men, for some reason. Her father broke her heart when he was taken from her. Poor sparrow. But Gavião knew that she trusted him without question, which gave him hope that she might someday trust another man enough to take him to her bed. If Galvin had his way, it would be him. Gavião didn't know if he was going to be successful. But I saw her eyeing Aiden, when he still had a body. There may be hope for Galvin, if he can get her to realize he's interested. And she's going to need all the love we can give her in the coming days, I fear. A lover would probably do much to keep her steady.

While Gavião was mulling over this, they'd reached the inn. After climbing to the large room they'd rented, the group arrayed themselves around the room, each finding a more or less comfortable place to sit. "So what's in that letter, Sir Gavião?"

Before he could reply, Callas broke in. "They've made a mistake, is what they've done. They can't possibly believe--"

Gavião held up a hand. "Let me read the letter aloud. Then we might all understand." He pulled out the parchment, opened it, and read.

Callas,

The death of Ulan presents several problems that have arisen in the hierarchy of Epona. Ulan had no clear line of succession other than Nara. The death of Ulan at the hands of your sworn knight Gavião left Nara in the position. The death of Nara by your hand leads us back to a rule that has been left on the books since the teachings of Epona were sent down to us. The strongest stallion will rule the herd. We have taken this message from Epona and applied it to the situation at hand. Nara named no successor, therefore if she was the "stallion" and was defeated, the new "stallion" takes over the "herd". You are now in the position of Headmistress of the temple of Epona. Your actions and orders are the rules that we must abide by. We are here to serve.

Your Knight Protector is Sir Gavião Nobre unless you express a preference for someone else. We have sent a messenger to Sir Corison to advise him of this, but it may be a month or more before we manage to track him down.

Nyot, Headmaster, Region France

Tol, Headmaster, Region Germany

Peter, Headmaster, Region Russia

Maria, Headmistress, Region Spain

We have attached a list of items that need to addressed.

The plague continues unchecked throughout Italy, excluding Sicily. Cases have sprung up in Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and are steadily marching north.

The plague seems to concentrated in the most populous areas and is so far not decimating horse or animal populations. There have been deaths but by far more human deaths that those of the animals. We lost contact with several of our Northern Clerics in specific, the areas of Sweden, Norway and Finland. We dispatched other clerics to find out the trouble and none have returned.

Denmark reports a large amount of ship traffic in the Baltic sea. Unmarked ships, country origin unknown, contents unknown, though they are low in the water. They do not seem to be pirates nor are they armed heavily.

The massive stone circle of Stonehenge is being used quite heavily. Sightings of Drow pouring through that gate are alarming. They seem to be massing in the area of Wales, deep in the swamps. Local farmers have fled the area, those that lived through encounters with the drow report that they are not attacking if they don't have to. They seem to be searching for something.

Winter is upon us and the orc and goblins are streaming out of the mountains in droves to find food, they are attacking anything that looks like it could be good to eat. This is not unusual in itself but the sight of dragon activity in the same areas is rather disturbing. The crusades dwindled the population of the dragons to very low levels but these levels have not been seen in centuries.

Two sites of red mithril have found, one in southern Germany, the other in Romania, both abandoned it seems, but still lightly guarded by Drow.

The Council of Elves has asked to meet with the ruling representative of Epona, there message was unclear as to what they wanted to discuss. This now means you, Callas.

Initiate Ceremonies are being held as usual on the Solstice, in Madrid. We would be honored if you could attend.

A new Irish regional headmaster still needs to be appointed. This list of potentials is small and probably needs to be reevaluated. Both swore loyalty to Ulan.

You need to declare a Second, and your Second needs to declare a Second. Please let us know at your earliest convenience who your choice is.

Those are the immediate brush fires that need attending too. Please advise.

The room was silent. Callas' pale face was turned to the window, the weak winter sunlight throwing her sharp features into relief. Galvin said, seemingly to himself, "They can't possibly...she's an acolyte..."

"They have." Gavião said. "The letter leaves little doubt."

Callas had a strange smile on her face. "Well, congratulations on the promotion, Gavião." She unwrapped the leather that bound the small packet that Galvin had given her with the letter. Inside were two badges, woven patches of green and brown with touches of gold thread. The rearing stallion of Epona stood frozen on a field of green, the three gold bars beneath its hooves the more or less universally recognized symbol of Callas' new office. "Ah. I assume these are for my formal robes."

Riyor broke in here. "Wait. Promotion? I know that this is Order of Epona stuff, but I'd like to understand what, exactly, is going on here."

The priestess grimaced. "Let me see if I can sum up. The Order is split into two halves--the priests, known as the Temple of Epona, and the militant order, known as the Knights of Epona or the Knights Templar. The Temple is governed by regional Headmasters, who reside at the major Temples. And those Headmasters all answer to one person, the Headmaster of the Temple. The Headmaster answers only to Epona Herself. That person, as of the date on this letter, is me. An acolyte. With no experience in leadership. Almost a child, really." She sighed. "The promotion for Gavião is from being a sworn knight to me to being my Knight Protector, which means he's risen in rank both in the Temple and the Knights. The Knight Protectors serve as the liaisons between the two halves of the order, and as military advisors in wartime. That's a bit simplistic, but to go into any more detail would probably take all night."

"So the gist is that you're now responsible for an entire Order of clerics?"

"And not just any order. The second-largest Order in Europe. Lucky me."

Gavião asked, "So what now, Callas? Does this change our plans?"

"I have to believe what we're doing is more important, right now. We can probably look into some of the situations in the letter ourselves, but we're going to have to delegate some of it. First, though, a formality." She looked at Galvin, who was seated tailor-style on the floor. "Galvin Dubois, would you do me the very great favor of being my Second?"

The priest's expression betrayed deep startlement. "Me? But why?"

"Because you're person in the Temple I most trust, I know you well and I know I can work with you, and you're here. Right place at the right time to get stuck with the work of being a Second."

He smiled at her, his brown eyes warming. "Then I accept, Headmistress. I am at your command."

"Thank you, Galvin. All right. I have a list of problems to address, and too little information about all of them. The ships sound like they're right up your alley, Galvin. Could you investigate and report back to us?" He nodded. Callas pulled out a sheet of parchment and her pen and ink bottle, sharpened the nib with a practiced hand, and began writing.

"I need a list of possible candidates for the Irish headmaster position, that's easy enough to send a message about and get some names. We need to quit sending clerics north if they keep disappearing; we can go check that out ourselves after the new year. Arnie, isn't your family up there?"

"What's left of them, yes."

"We can pay a visit, then. Let's see, drow looking for something in Wales. I'll need to travel to Ireland once I've chosen a new Headmaster there anyway; we can investigate then. We can delegate the red mithril mines to the local Temples; I'd like to see those closed up. Those mines are a menace, in more ways than one. The plague, well, we're trying to combat but making not much headway on. Gavião, any ideas?"

"What about your teacher? The plague healer you were talking about?"

"She's still missing, and I have no idea where to start looking for her. Any other ideas?"

"What about Brigid?" asked Gaius, who'd been listening intently. "Isn't Brigid's Order the healers?"

"There's an idea. I'll get Maria to choose someone to be a liaison with their Temple, someone relatively senior in our ranks. We can see if they'd be willing to pool resources with us. That leaves...the orcs and dragons possibly working together, the initiation ceremonies on the solstice, and the council of Elves. Where the hell is the Council of Elves located, anyway? Riyor?"

"Bucharest. Last I checked, anyway. They do occasionally move, but they were there five years ago, when I was last there."

Gaius eyed the elf suspiciously. "Did you get kicked out of Bucharest, too?"

Riyor grinned. "No, I left before they had the chance." The rest groaned. "What?"

"Right, Bucharest. We can investigate the orcs and dragons and visit the elves at the same time, and then be in Madrid in time for the Solstice ceremony." Callas was scribbling away on the parchment. "Sound good to everyone? Gavião?" All nodded.

"In that case, I should be back to my ship. Perhaps a bite to eat first, though...Callas, would you join me? We probably have information to share." Galvin looked at Callas, awaiting her answer.

"Yes, but don't you think Gavião should come with us? He should hear any information we share."

Gavião groaned inwardly. Nice, lass. Missing the point completely, aren't we? Unfortunately, there wasn't anything he could do to make the situation any better, and he had to admit that she was right--if Temple business was all they had to discuss. He rather thought that the pirate had another, more intimate discussion in mind, one that Gavião's presence would do much to delay. Ah, well. "You're right, Callas. If you're discussing Temple business, I should be there." He looked at Galvin and shrugged helplessly; the wry smile he received in return told him that the young priest understood.

Gavião stood. "To Bucharest tomorrow, it is. Galvin, we'll discuss rendezvous tonight before you go back to your ship. With me, both of you? We'll need to stop by the local Temple to drop off Callas' letter."

"And draw some funds, as well; we're getting low, and we should restock before we head east. And get some warmer clothes." Callas shivered. "I hate winter. Have I ever mentioned this?"

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