ale found that in a week of following Arn that she grew accustomed to the heat. When they stopped she would question him about the desert, but he seemed less talkative than he had been on the ship. Not to mention Hebek and Arn were obviously an item. They would sit hunched together talking during the afternoon breaks or late into the nights. This left Dale uncomfortably between Daneska and Kail. The monk she noticed was particularly solicitous of her at times; her response to this was more aloofness. Daneska for her part liked to be near her, and while Dale did not mind some companionship, she could sense that Daneska wanted someone who was a little more than a friend.

It was, to put it gently, embarrassing. Her life depended on continuing the illusion, but part of her was tempted to just have the secret out and trust them not to go shout it from the parapets of whatever dusty town they reached. She was so entirely used to and dependant on them now that she trusted them with her life. Many times they had fought and at each turn they had saved the other or helped the other. It was easy to fall into trust during such times.

They had completed one of the trials at the Dunes of Despair and were traveling on towards Thirsty River, far to the southeast, through a landscape more blasted than Ascalon. Distantly she could see tombs or perhaps temple monuments raised in great bony stacks. It was mid afternoon and Arn had a purposeful angle to his back that suggested they would be pressing on through the heat. Dale noticed that Daneska was lagging behind and fell back to walk beside her.

“We should ask him to stop for awhile.” Dale said, eyeing the tired woman; her dress and skin was rimed with a fine layer of dust. A smear of blood marked her arm from the last battle some hours before. It had been griffons and Dale now had a golden feather sprouting jauntily from the back of her pack. The melee had involved a great deal of running and had lasted over an hour. For some reason the beasts had desired mesmer flesh and it had taken all of their best efforts to keep Daneska alive. Now the poor thing was exhausted.

“Arn! We need a break.”

“There’s no shelter out here. Everything can see us.” He replied. “Its Daneska isn’t it?”

The warrior turned around and watched the mesmer catch up. Kail had crossed his arms and stood with a stolid expression. Hebek was still walking on ahead with Demen at her side.

“We are all tired, Terel…but why don’t you give her your shoulder? You are around the same height.” Arn turned back around and trotted back up towards the necromancer. Sighing, Dale let the mesmer lean on her and they walked on together. As they walked Daneska began to sing softly. It was not a romantic song, but a simple round about a bird, its verses repeating one after the other. Since it seemed to keep her spirits up, Dale joined in as they moved over the sands. As the day dragged on, Daneska seemed heavier to Dale and now she too was growing weary. Arn seemed oblivious to them and soon Dale saw why; there were lights in the dusty murk of the canyon ahead of them.

“Just a little further, with any luck we’ll be there before nightfall.”

“Thank the goddesses.” Daneska said as she hurried forward to look down the rocky slope. They walked in determined silence for another hour and were welcomed into stockade of sorts. Dale recognized other adventurers from all over Tyria; many people came to face the ghosts by long tradition and by rumor. However they were too tired to join in the rowdy dancing or in the various arguments and sales going on in the nooks of the fastness. They simply wandered to a sandy cove in the rocks out of the wind. Demen, as usual, started setting up a fire using dry minotaur dung he had gathered on the way to Thirsty River.

She had just pulled off her boots when she saw a flicker of red cloaks. She saw the familiar golden knot symbol on the back. Twistwood guild members were here. She wondered if it was coincidence or design, but they did seem to be nosing around the camp. Dale rubbed her sore feet for a few minutes before putting the boots back on; they were questioning people and making the rounds. She identified a warrior and probably a mesmer. Yet it would not do to stare at them, so she went to the well to fetch water for whatever stew Demen would see fit to make from their rations.

As she walked she heard a little sound of interest behind her. She turned and saw the two Twistwood members walking rapidly towards her. She knelt by the well and began to winch up the bucket. As the winch rattled she heard them call out again.

“Ware Twelve Stars!”

She lifted the bucket and poured the water, tipped what wouldn’t fit into the pot over her head. Dale slowly faced them and tried to look as uninterested as possible. She was far from her group and as the well was full in the sun, there was no one else nearby. She saw the warrior had drawn his sword and was eyeing her.

“What do you want?”

“You may want to find a new guild…Twelve Stars disbanded a week ago.”
She saw the way the warrior was smiling and knew it was not a lie. Dale lifted the pot and shook her head. She walked past them and the mesmer snagged her by the cloak.

“Aren’t you at all interested in what happened?”

“I want to go back to my companions, you are ruffians and I do not wish to be here alone.” She responded, pulling her cloak out of his hands. “How could they have disbanded?”

“It appears that someone murdered their two officers and I guess the members became frightened and ran away. Boom. No more guild. So, let’s have the cloak.”

She tried to hide all emotions and express continued disbelief. It would not do to concentrate on Risal and Arilee being dead if it were true. She blinked and tried not to see their dear faces in her mind’s eye. Dale wondered if she was responsible and felt herself slipping into a guilty grief. The news chilled her to the bones; did they know she was disguised or was this a coincidence that these two were here? She knew Twistwood was a large guild and that its members were just as likely to make a desert pilgrimage as anyone else. It might just be she was a convenient amusement for them. She pushed past the pair and strode forward confidently.

“No tears for your leader?”

“I don’t believe you.” She replied as the warrior caught up and walked beside her.

“Now why would I lie about such a thing?”

“Because when I looked at you, I thought ‘these men are trouble’. Also, you have drawn your sword…of course I do not trust you. Do you intend to run me through while I carry water and have no weapon to hand? I do not talk to cowards.”

The warrior stepped into her path, forcing her to stop and sloshing water down her chest. She winced just a little as the mesmer put his hands on her shoulders from behind and ripped the cloak from her back. She saw the enameled pin pop up into the air and land a few feet away. Angrily she pitched forward and slammed the pot into the warrior’s face. Dale snatched up the pin from the sand and sped off down the hill. She heard the man sputter and curse; she called upon Melandru to speed her towards the safety of her companions when suddenly she could hardly move. She stumbled to a crawl, sighing as a curtain of magenta energy settled around her. The mesmer. It would never do to forget about them.

The warrior put a strong hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him. He had a very unpleasant expression; the pot had cut a jagged line on his face, his nose was already starting to swell and he was still streaming with water. Shards were scattered around his feet.

“We were just trying to be helpful. Now you don’t have a guild…we are looking for a woman, an ex guild member of yours. By all accounts, smallish with curly blond hair and grey green eyes. She has a companion that is a wolf with white on its muzzle from age. I was wondering if you have seen her?” The warrior asked in a forced voice. “If you do know about her, I might not make you pay for hurting me.”

Dale could see the mesmer’s eyes fixed on her. She squirmed out of the man’s grip and ducked a heavy fist. The hex appeared to have worn off, but she cursed when the same hex settled back on her as she tried to move away.

“Leth, I don’t think he knows anything…just a stupid ranger.” The mesmer said finally. “We shouldn’t start a brawl. There’s plenty of people who would come to his aid.”

“He should pay for ruining my face and getting water on my armor.”

Dale ducked away from his attempt to capture her again. She felt the hex lift so she turned and sprinted away. When the hex did not return, she again called upon her powers and was well away from them and in sight of her camp. She slowed down and trotted into the circle of firelight. Demen glanced at her and then frowned deeply when he saw she had no water.

“I thought you went to the well.”

“I ran into two Twistwood men. My guild’s officers have been murdered. They taunted me and pulled off my insignia…I was threatened by a warrior…so I threw the pot at his face…it broke.”

Arn rose to his feet and glanced out into the encampment. “Been seeing Twistwood at almost every outpost. They are looking for some girl.”

“Really?” Kail said from beyond the fire. Arn had more of a tendency in to wander between fires and drink when they made their stops. He no doubt heard more of what was happening outside of the desert than the rest of them who seemed to need more sleep.

“Yes. There’s a good sum for her return. Seems she ran away from them.”

“How much?” It was Hebek who asked; no doubt out of prurient curiosity then any secret knowledge.

“Ten platinum alive and five dead.” Arn replied. “The fact that dead is acceptable suggests she did something else as well. She’s apparently maybe sixteen or seventeen with golden hair…curly and grayish eyes…has a wolf as a companion…a ranger.”

Dale cringed at the description; at just that moment Serul rose from a long nap and wandered over to her side. She saw Kail stand up.

“Arn…I believe we have a problem…take a good look at Terel.”

She wanted to say something to defend herself, but she knew that all she could do was throw herself on their mercy. She nodded as all five of them stared at her.

“You?” Arn sighed loudly. “Do you have any idea how dangerous Twistwood is?”

“I have a fair idea.” She responded. “I can go…”

“Balth on a blanket! As if it is not hard enough taking this expedition through the desert, I have to befriend a fugitive! You aren’t even paying! The gods hate me.” Arn made a defeated gesture. “What am I supposed to do?”

“They’ll figure it out if we have…” Hebek said. “They’ll murder us in our sleep.”

“She fought with us…we cannot just throw her out.” Daneska snapped. “I’ll never forgive you if you sell her…”

“Depends what she did!” Demen thundered.

Dale strapped on her quiver and shouldered her pack. Shaking with fear, she picked up her bow. She could hear all of them shouting and arguing now and just wished to flee. She could go out of the encampment to the dangerous solitude of the sands. She slinked out of the camp and ran for the gate. She was chagrined that with nightfall a thorny barricade had been pulled up to keep marauding beasts out of the little canyon. Dale tried to edge around it and found that since it was built for beasts as big as minotaurs, she was not going to get past it.

She pulled herself under a rocky overhang with the plan to leave in the morning when the barrier was removed. Serul curled into the nook with her and as the night fell and the accustomed chill settled, Dale slept with her arm around the wolf.

“Terel?”

She woke to Arn prodding her with his toe. She was somewhat annoyed to be found so easily, but then she saw Serul standing beside Arn, his mouth gaped in a mischievous canine grin. Groaning, she sat up; the warrior looked very careworn, his usually cleanly shaven chin covered with stubble. For what he did for a living, Arn was normally fastidious and tidy.

“We have some breakfast before we go out to the ruins.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Be sorry after we finish the tasks and we leave without the Twistwood figuring out who you are. That being said, you’ll never survive out here alone, and I could not allow that either. We also need your help.”

“I’m useless. I’ll get you killed.”

“Terel…or Terrella shall I say? I would not have another ranger in my group at this point. Please come.”

“My name is Dale.”

“Well at least it’s less awkward.” Arn seemed to regain some of his easy nature. “Come on…please come eat something.”

Once the trial at Thirsty river was over, they did not tarry at the camp, but headed north through a wild canyon filled with deep pools of water and palm trees. They had moved on for a day when Arn declared a halt. For an hour or more they had been killing and hiding from the strange green-hided centaur that ambushed them. With the last of the monsters dead and the sun beginning to sink below the rim of the canyon high above, a break was welcome.

Kail made the rounds caring for wounds while the rest were more fascinated with the cool water. Dale stripped to her under shirt and sank gratefully into a shady pool. Everyone else was doing the same until even the monk abandoned his efforts, shrugged and had a swim. With the fronds of green shade and the splash of water it was easy for Dale to remember better days.

“So Dale, what exactly did you do?” Arn asked as he glided through the water. She saw the other four people, variously floating or lounging in the shallows staring at her. With the events at the trial and in their rapid travel north, there had been no time for discussion. She had remarked that the others had been either ignoring or saying only what was necessary to her.

“I actually didn’t do anything.” Dale saw them all look very skeptical. “Alright, I will tell the whole story. Daneska can tell you if I am lying or exaggerating…can’t you?”

“I’ll do my best.” Daneska’s voice was almost bitter; the mesmer had been disappointed at her transformation from desirable boy to dangerous fugitive. Yet Daneska had been one of the first to defend her when the secret had first come out. Dale knew she had nothing to fear from that quarter, but she worried about Habek and Demen, who had been particularly pointed about not responding to her during combat and simply ignoring her when they were walking. Dale started the story from the beginning when she had left Ascalon over a month ago.

Dale finished the telling around the fire over a meal of roasted dune lizard. No one had any comments, but some of the glances seemed less hostile. She watched Habek and Demen sitting together with Arn at their side. The three were whispering while Kail lay in the shadows; the monk for all essential purposes appeared to be gazing up at the night sky, adding comments occasionally as Arn asked him. Daneska, still exhausted from fighting, had curled up in her blankets and was dozing despite gripping a torn looking manuscript in one hand.

Arn finally broke away from the others. He approached Dale and sat beside her. For a few minutes he leaned forward and prodded at the fire. “So…we have a bit of a split in the leadership.”

“I know Habek and Demen don’t like me.”

“Yes.” Arn glanced towards the supine form of Kail. “Kail is in your favor, as am I. Daneska is a client, so she’s no stake in this. Habek and Demen have decided that killing you would probably end any troubles for them, plus yield a reward. My guess is that they have heard plenty of tales just like yours and they have no heart for youngsters.”

“They want to kill me?”

“You have to understand. The Twistwood are very thorough when it comes to enforcing their will. They heard what happened to your guild officers. Naturally they do not wish it. You were useful at Thirsty River and no doubt you’ll be useful at Elona. So you have a reprieve” Arn shrugged. “Its immoral, but a simple solution to a knotty problem.”

“So what do you say?”

“Well I consider that I am no great lover of the big strutting guilds. I would prefer that they all burn to the ground tomorrow. I say that if it is an affront to them that you live, then we should support you.”

“Seriously though…they really see killing me as an option?”

“Yes, and they agreed that you ought to know so you can make appropriate plans to leave when we have finished at Elona. Hebek and Demen are very sporting that way.” Arn sighed. “I’m sorry they are not high minded about these things.”

Dale looked at Hebek and the necromancer looked away with a slight look of shame on her face. Demen was not even looking at her. She had thought perhaps mutual respect would mean more, but apparently fear of assassination was far more real than loyalty.

They stayed in the canyon for three more days relaxing and gathering food. On the fourth morning they moved on feeling much stronger and eager for the last trial. Dale decided to memorize the landmarks and mark well where water oozed to the surface in the canyons; she may well need it to survive should she have to flee. Dale knew it was probable she would have to return alone to Augury Rock alone for the final task and she must be ready.

They arrived at Elona some two days later. During that time Dale put in an extra supply of food by stealing from Hebek and Demen in the wee hours of the morning. She also stole an extra water bottle from them. The day they entered Elona for the trial she was ready to leave the moment the ghost gave them the blessing. They did not camp but instead entered the ruins immediately. For a tense half hour they ran the trial, fighting and evading the forgotten and their allies. In the end they prevailed with the crystals all returned to the hero. As the Elonian ghost spoke to them she felt an odd energy in her body, as if time itself had solidified in her flesh. She saw Daneska’s head was bowed, while the other four loitered around the platform while the speech continued. All was in readiness, but for what exactly?

She was thinking this when the ghost vanished. Hebek seemed to snap out of whatever she had been thinking. Dale met her eyes and saw a calculating predator lurking there. Would there be killing or would they simply go back to Augury Rock together?

“Arn, will you insist on helping her?”

“You’ll have to fight me.” He replied. “She has done nothing to warrant cruelty from us.”

“Except lie and get a free trip from us…and steal my water bottle.” Demen responded. “Honestly Arn, if the Twistwood find out that we helped her ascend and attain her power, they’ll kill all of us.”

“Have we all become cowards now? What happened to the four friends who did not fear anything?” Arn growled. “Is it just the money now?”

“I never wanted trouble like this.” Hebek responded heatedly. “She’s nothing but some vagrant from Ascalon and she could get us killed.”

“We were all nothing once. We all came out of the dirt of Kryta. We all helped each other. The gods gave us their notice and granted us their favor.” Arn responded. “Why do we not acknowledge their will in letting her pass the trials with us?”

“Then tell me what it will get us?” Hebek snarled. “Don’t barter with the good and happy feelings Arn. I can buy a treacle tart in Kaineng that is more honest and sweeter.”

“All of you can stop arguing. I am leaving. If you haven’t the decency to speak to me directly as an adult, then I haven’t the time to thank you.” Dale broke in. “I considered all of you my friends, but I see my friendship is worthless. I find nothing in this world is truly good…and so much of it is evil.”

“Dale…” Daneska said softly. “No.”

“Go you lying beggar.” Hebek snarled. “Stay one step ahead of my wand.”

“I’m going with her.” Daneska said. “Lyssa’s jinx upon you Hebek. She saved your life a few times and you would throw it out over a tiny threat to your life.”

“She never saved my life. Ain’t a ranger or a warrior that saves me but that my magic does better.” Hebek snorted. “She’ll bring you to your death like the ones that helped her here. Mark me.”

“I don’t care. Someone needs to face Twistwood…and if it is not Red Claw or Twelve Stars…we will find someone.”

“I’ll take them back to Augury.” Arn said, rising to his feet. “You can meet me back in Amnoon if you want. The Black Lion should be back in four days.”

“Arn. You are making a mistake.” The necromancer looked worried now. “Please…they can make it back, the journey is not hard.”

“We should all go back.” Demen said unexpectedly. “Way I see it, there’s a good chance the last trial will kill her…she’s still very young. If that is the end of it, then we can put off being unpleasant. Besides, we need Daneska to get through if Red Claw is to pay us.”