They started off immediately, making their way west along the Skirrish coast. It was still dark, but the clouds had dissipated now and the moon was full, and they had little trouble seeing where they were going.

The terrain was rough and rugged, full of high cliffs and scattered boulders. There was a road running along the coast, but they avoided it -- they were only a few miles outside of Helltrix, after all, and it was very possible the soldiers from the Dolorous were still searching for them. Arai didn't hear any hoofbeats -- in fact, except for the sound of waves, crashing against the shore, the region was eerily quiet -- but he didn't want to take any chances.

Sir Estil, whose energy was apparently limitless, wanted to keep them going, but after an hour or two of walking Arai was finally forced to bring them to a halt: he was simply too exhausted to continue. The battle, the escape from the castle, the swim to shore, and the fact that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in several days, had worn him down, and when he found himself stumbling in the dark, he realized that he couldn't go on. Lillandra and Shell were tired as well -- they had been hiding in some kind of abandoned shack on the outskirts of Helltrix since their escape from the Cockatrice, and neither of them were at their best. Creating the Assassin's Cloak had worn Lillandra to a frazzle as well: "I didn't have very much magia to work with," she explained. "So I had to be very conservative with my calculations. It was a lot of work."

They descended the cliffs and found a small, shallow cave, adjacent to the beach, in which to hide themselves for the night. Sir Estil volunteered to take the watch. Arai, grateful, found a sandy spot and practically collapsed into it; he fell asleep almost immediately.

When he awoke, several hours later, the sun was already high in the sky. He was very stiff, and covered with bruises -- in fact they were all rather bruised up; that long fall into the sea had left them battered -- but he shook it off, yawned, and got to his feet.

Sir Estil was already awake, if he had slept at all, and was currently building a fire out of driftwood. "I was just about to cook breakfast," he said, and Arai saw that he had somehow managed to capture several large crabs. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," Arai said warily. "Were you up all night?"

"More or less," he said.

Arai couldn't believe the old man's stamina. Lillandra was right; he had to be using magic. "Aren't you tired?"

He shrugged. "I only need a couple hours of sleep a night," he said, "but I can do without if I have to."

"That's amazing."

"I've always had a great deal of energy," he said. "Ever since I was young. I thought that would change as I grew older, and that I would eventually burn myself out, but that seems not to have happened...yet."

"You fight with the speed and strength of a much younger man. You're faster than me, and I'm not even half your age."

He smiled faintly. "You flatter me."

Their conversation woke Lillandra and Shell. Shell rubbed her eyes sleepily, and when she saw the crabs, she grinned. "Breakfast?" she asked.

"Breakfast," Sir Estil agreed. "These are best served with butter and seasonings, but under the circumstances I'm afraid we'll have to take what we can get."

They were all so hungry, though, that they didn't care. When they were finished with the crabs, Sir Estil put the fire out, and they resumed the conversation. The knight was more than a little curious about them -- Arai had not told him much about himself or his situation while they were in the prison cell.

"Are you two married?" he asked Arai and Lillandra.

"No," Arai said quickly. "We're just...traveling together."

He glanced at Shell. "And the girl?"

"She's an orphan we picked up in Kingsaile," he said. "It's a long story."

"We're going to be here a while," the knight said, looking up the sun. "We should try to avoid traveling during the day, at least until we're a few more miles out of Helltrix."

Arai glanced at Lillandra. "It's a long story," he repeated, "and you might have a hard time believing it."

"Try me."

And so Arai spread his hands and told him everything. He told him about Velon, Silus, the rebellion, and his battle with Lillandra at the top of the Nightfall. He told him how they had arrived in Addis and how they had begun to work together. He told him about the Stone of Many Tongues and the various other zemi they had in their possession.

Sir Estil raised his big, caterpillar-eyebrows a few times, but did not otherwise interrupt the story. When Arai told him about the Stone of Many Tongues, he nodded. "You spoke Addish, Skirrish, and Gallean while we were imprisoned. I thought that passing strange. I know some Skirrish myself, but it's a difficult language. Do you still have this zemi? It might be useful to cast this spell on me, in the case we run into any Skirrish soldiers."

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Lillandra agreed. She fished the zemi out of Shell's satchel and placed the stone to his forehead. The knight frowned. "That's it? I didn't feel anything."

"It's a very subtle spell," she said.

"In any case," Arai went on, "that's how we arrived in Addis, and that's why we were on the Cockatrice. We're trying to get back home."

"A swordsman and a sorceress," he mused, "putting aside their differences in order to return to their home country. You make for an interesting pair." He frowned at Lillandra. "And you were the ruler of this place? This...Velon?"

She nodded reluctantly. "In a manner of speaking. But as Arai explained, I left the governing to the Pierces, and I was unaware of just how bad things had gotten."

"Your magic must be very powerful. You might even be a match for the Aeromancer."

"I might have been, if I still had the Staff of Night," she said, "but without my zemi, all I could do against a mage like the Aeromancer is try to unravel his spells."

"Like you did with Valtun?" Arai asked. She merely blinked at him, so he added, "That was the name of the sorcerer we fought back at the castle."

"Ah. Yes, like that, only this Valtun's spells were sloppy and easy to take apart. It's not usually that easy, but of course it depends on the sorcerer and the calculations he's made. The Aeromancer is, by all accounts, a very good sorcerer."

"He's been a thorn in our side for the last thirty years," Sir Estil grumbled.

"You've managed to keep him at bay for this long," Arai said encouragingly.

"But how much longer can we hope to hold out? The Long Wall is in danger of falling; the Aeromancer has spent the last several months attempting to dissolve its magical protections. And without it..."

"Is the Skirrish army really so formidable?" Arai asked. "I was under the impression they must be pretty desperate, if they've had to resort to kidnapping sailors and sending them to the front."

"It's not that," the knight said. "The Skirrish army is nothing to scoff at, but in the face of a good Gallean cavalry charge..." He snorted. "No, the Skirrish army isn't the problem. The problem is the Aeromancer, and the divisions within Galleus itself."

"Divisions?"

He frowned. "What do you know about Galleus?"

"Not much," Arai admitted.

"I know a little," Shell piped up. "I read about it in Plint's Travels. It's ruled by a Council of Knights, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Galleus is a kingdom, technically, but the Council of Knights is the real power in the realm. Twelve knights are chosen to sit on the Council; most of them are from the nobility, but some, like me, were commoners, elevated to the Council for other reasons -- fame, prestige."

"You're on this Council?" Lillandra asked.

"Not anymore," he said, with just a hint of bitterness. "But I'll get back to that. King Arthorius has twin sons, Jae and Jax. It is unclear which one of them was born first; their mother died bearing them and the midwife was uncertain. As a result, both of them are potential heirs, and both have their followers: Prince Jae's supporters are known as the Blue Hearts, and Prince Jax's are the Red Hearts."

"If the Council is the real power in Galleus, what difference does it make which of them becomes king?" Shell asked.

"It makes a difference," Sir Estil said, "because Prince Jae's Blue Hearts wish to dissolve the Council and restore power to the king. Prince Jax's Red Hearts hope to maintain the status quo. Needless to say, almost all of the knights on the Council support Prince Jax's Red Hearts, but Prince Jax is a quiet, bookish fellow, and though I hate to say it, not much of a leader. Prince Jae, in comparison, is quick-witted and charismatic, and the epitome of a knight -- a good swordsman and an excellent lancer. He has many, many supporters, especially among the commonfolk."

"And where do you stand?" Arai asked. "With Prince Jax or with Prince Jae?"

"I've tried to avoid taking sides. Both princes have valid arguments -- Prince Jae is correct that the Council has grown too powerful, but completely dissolving it would tear Galleus apart. Before the Council came along, the great families were constantly squabbling and warring with each other, and if they were to lose their representation on the Council, those bad times would likely return. The Council has ruled Galleus for almost two hundred years, and apart from a few Skirrish incursions and this latest assault by the Aeromancer, we've been at peace with ourselves and with the outside world." He shook his head sadly. "If circumstances were different they might have been able to find some middle ground, but this isn't just a political argument -- it's a contest for the crown. It's all or nothing, for both of them, and the whole kingdom is so caught up in these intrigues that no one is paying enough attention to Mustaf Draj and the situation at the Long Wall."

"I see."

He sighed deeply and continued: "One of the other knights on the Council, Sir Pricket, suspected me of sympathizing with the Blue Hearts, the faction that wishes to dissolve the Council. He concocted a scheme to remove me from the Council, and I was dismissed, ultimately, by King Arthorius himself. I was then sent to the Long Wall, and captured by the Skirrish during a sortie."

"What was the scheme?" Lillandra asked. "To remove you from the Council, I mean?"

"Ah. Sir Pricket accused me of accepting bribes from the Skirrish."

"Did you?" Shell asked.

"No," he said gently, though Arai could hear the hurt in his voice. "I did accept a small gift from a Skirrish commander, which he sent me in gratitude for sparing his life on the battlefield. It was a mere token, but Sir Pricket and his supporters were able to blow it all out of proportion." He hung his head. "I spent most of my life in service to the king. I was one of his bodyguards; the two of us practically grew up together. I swore to serve him and his family to the best of my ability, but in the end, I was forced to leave him, to renounce him, to break my oath. And now I am as you see me -- an old, broken man, abandoned by his friends and driven to disgrace in Galleus." He looked up at Arai. "None of that matters now, of course. I swore a new oath last night, to you, and I mean to keep it."

Arai was touched, but a little taken aback as well. "I...may not be worthy of your service."

"You saved my life, and the lives of the other prisoners. You are strong, and brave." He glanced at Shell, saying, "You are kind to children," and then he turned to Lillandra, saying, "and merciful to your enemies. That's good enough for me."

"You flatter me," Arai muttered. "I've only done what I had to do."

"In any case," the knight said, "I am your servant now, and on my honor as a knight, I will see you safely to Velon." He cast his gaze westward. "But first we have to get past the armies of Grand Skir, the Aeromancer's storms, and the monsters of the Tarnak. This isn't going to be easy."

"No," Arai sighed. "No, indeed."