Damien looked at the pile of unconscious rebel druids lying on the floor in the corner of the cave. They’d stripped the prisoners of their protective talismans and any weapons they carried. Damien had been surprised by just how few there were: three unimpressive daggers and a pair of eating knives, not exactly an arsenal.

He, Jen, and Leah each wore one of the talismans pinned through their clothes so they had nothing to fear from the guardians. The remaining pins were safe in Jen’s belt pouch. That only left one question. “So what now?” He looked from Leah to Jen, but neither of them spoke. “Are we done?”

“No,” Leah said. “We need to hunt down Eleck and his final servant. We need all the talismans so another full circle can use the ritual to set the lines back in their proper place.”

“That might be tricky,” Jen said. “All your people think we’re the enemy. They may try and protect Eleck. If that happens some of them might get hurt.”

That was an understatement. Jen’s sword and Damien’s attacks weren’t especially discriminatory if it came to fighting in a crowd. They could kill Eleck easy enough. Damien had taken the measure of his power back in the central chamber. The black rings were strong, but nothing Damien couldn’t handle.

“What if we wait here?” Leah said. “Eleck’s bound to show up sooner or later.”

“I don’t think so.” Jen rubbed her face. “We have no food, no water, and no idea when he might arrive. The cave is a good defensive position, but with no supplies, it’s useless to us.”

“What about these idiots?” Damien asked. “They must have had something to eat and drink.”

“Maybe not.” Leah paced around the room. “The earth force from the ritual would have sustained them as long as they remained inside the circle. Still, it couldn’t hurt to take a look around.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

They crossed the walkway without attracting much interest from the guardians. The green glow from the ritual circle was slowly dying. Damien conjured a handful of lights and scattered them around the chamber. It was much bigger than he expected. Perhaps three hundred yards across and so high he couldn’t make out the ceiling. They spread out and searched the whole chamber.

Half an hour later they regrouped. Damien hadn’t found anything besides dust. Judging from the gray covering on her cloak Leah hadn’t fared any better. Jen on the other hand had six packs dangling from her hands.

“Anything in them?” he asked.

“Not much. Enough food and water to see us back to the village, but nothing beyond that.” They shared dried fruit and jerky and each drained a half-full water skin. Enough food remained for one more small meal and then they were out of luck.

“We need to get out of here and back to town,” Damien said. “Can’t the wise one announce that Eleck’s a traitor and we didn’t kidnap him?”

“He seldom speaks directly with the people,” Leah said. “Usually Eleck or I speak in his place. Since they all know I brought you to the village, no one would believe me if I spoke against Eleck. They might even think we’d forced the wise one to say what we wanted him to.”

“Great,” Damien said. “So we’re right back where we started. At least we have the talismans so no one can resume the ritual.”

“Actually,” Leah said. “Since Eleck still has two talismans, they can take turns crossing the path and tossing it back so the next pair can cross. I’m afraid as long as even one of the talismans is out of our control the danger remains.”

“That’s it! I’m going to hunt Eleck down and end this.” Damien spun on his heel and stalked toward the exit.

Leah chased after him. “Please, the villagers are innocent. I beg you not to hurt them.”

“I’ll do my best, but this needs to stop and the sooner the better.”

Jen poked one of the renegades with her toe. “What about this lot? They’ve certainly earned a quick death for their part in the quake.”

“Fine with me.” Damien took two more steps then paused, remembering his conversation with the wise one. “Without their talismans they’re harmless. Why don’t we just leave them for now?”

Leah offered him a smile, while Jen frowned. Damien knew as well as his sister that sparing the renegades’ lives went against their training, but in the end she followed them without commenting. Damien said a silent prayer that his generosity wouldn’t bite them in the ass later.