we decimated the terrorists’ base that Eric was among them.”
“ No IDs done after the rescue?” Owen asked somewhat surprised.
Llewellyn frowned, “We were a little too thorough I guess. There were all eighteen of us High Silvers, my little brother and a hundred other Silvers, and then the Shukurae brought almost two hundred of their best warriors. Between the normal actions, various parties’ love of thermobaric weapons and our own Forest Wall, it was quite a mess. We weren’t all that level-headed at the time I do confess.”
Owen nodded, understanding the level of anger that Llewellyn must have been feeling during Dawn’s rescue.
Dawn was shocked. She had no idea so many people were party to the raid. And the Shukurae, those massive but most honorable warriors, they had come to help as well. The bond between them and the Highlanders must be quite strong. Forest Wall. That was the forest that burst through the floors and walls as they escaped. She had to find out more about that!
“ That brings us to the point at hand,” Owen said. “We don’t know if he is alive and free, and while it’s possible that there is someone else named Eric with a vendetta, we need to know quickly as possible. This is all too strong a coincidence for me.”
“ I’ll have an answer from the Kulpgurie in 48 hours,” the Mayor declared.
“ An odd option is a sympathy or copycat group,” offered Owen. “I’ll have my men start digging.”
“ Gentleman,” began the Mayor formally, “let me make this clear. I trust you both immensely; you are free to use any and all means necessary. Do what needs to be done, just keep me appraised as often as things change. As a point of protocol, this order stands for one month.”
Dawn was a little shocked. The mayor pretty much gave them a free rein to handle any situation with as much force as they saw fit on their own prerogative. Things were definitely getting serious.
“ With that then, I believe we are done here. And I’m going back to bed,” said Llewellyn.
Owen let a small chortle out, “Well you do look like someone put your tail in a wringer. How bad was it? I still cannot believe you gated there and back with a passenger.”
Llewellyn smiled as he patted Dawn on the shoulder, “I don’t think I’ve felt worse in ten years, but it was worth it.”
Dawn smiled back at her father. She had no idea what he’d gone through for her, she was just glad for it. “Are you going to be healthy enough for practice in town tomorrow?”
He grinned, “Of course! You’re not getting out of going that easily.”
Chapter 10
Sure enough, the next day Dawn found herself back in town and sitting on a fence railing while the boys practiced their swordsmanship. It was a bright day but still quite cool; summer was still some weeks away and the mountain breeze was both fresh and comfortable. May sat beside her and absentmindedly plucked away on a mandolin.
“ You know,” began May, “if you ever want to learn to use Live Steel or even just a normal sword, Llewellyn would be tickled pink to teach you.”
Dawn had never even thought about, “Learn swordsmanship? That’s seems… odd.”
“ April and I learned from him. He’s quite a good instructor and it is a lot of fun. Think of it as father-daughter bonding or something.”
“ You can do Live Steel, too?” Dawn’s curiosity was piqued.
“ Yes, indeed. Not near as well as he, but few are!” began May. “We thought it would be a fun way to meet boys. That turned out different than planned!” May grinned, “Hey look, your little friend is up!”
Dawn turned to watch and sure enough the same boy as before was back. A quick exchange between Llewellyn and the boy set the tempo for things to come and the practice bout quickly turned into a dexterous display of basic sword form as well as wide ranging travel and foot work.
“ Notice that Llewellyn is keeping his back to us. That means he is keeping
“ No IDs done after the rescue?” Owen asked somewhat surprised.
Llewellyn frowned, “We were a little too thorough I guess. There were all eighteen of us High Silvers, my little brother and a hundred other Silvers, and then the Shukurae brought almost two hundred of their best warriors. Between the normal actions, various parties’ love of thermobaric weapons and our own Forest Wall, it was quite a mess. We weren’t all that level-headed at the time I do confess.”
Owen nodded, understanding the level of anger that Llewellyn must have been feeling during Dawn’s rescue.
Dawn was shocked. She had no idea so many people were party to the raid. And the Shukurae, those massive but most honorable warriors, they had come to help as well. The bond between them and the Highlanders must be quite strong. Forest Wall. That was the forest that burst through the floors and walls as they escaped. She had to find out more about that!
“ That brings us to the point at hand,” Owen said. “We don’t know if he is alive and free, and while it’s possible that there is someone else named Eric with a vendetta, we need to know quickly as possible. This is all too strong a coincidence for me.”
“ I’ll have an answer from the Kulpgurie in 48 hours,” the Mayor declared.
“ An odd option is a sympathy or copycat group,” offered Owen. “I’ll have my men start digging.”
“ Gentleman,” began the Mayor formally, “let me make this clear. I trust you both immensely; you are free to use any and all means necessary. Do what needs to be done, just keep me appraised as often as things change. As a point of protocol, this order stands for one month.”
Dawn was a little shocked. The mayor pretty much gave them a free rein to handle any situation with as much force as they saw fit on their own prerogative. Things were definitely getting serious.
“ With that then, I believe we are done here. And I’m going back to bed,” said Llewellyn.
Owen let a small chortle out, “Well you do look like someone put your tail in a wringer. How bad was it? I still cannot believe you gated there and back with a passenger.”
Llewellyn smiled as he patted Dawn on the shoulder, “I don’t think I’ve felt worse in ten years, but it was worth it.”
Dawn smiled back at her father. She had no idea what he’d gone through for her, she was just glad for it. “Are you going to be healthy enough for practice in town tomorrow?”
He grinned, “Of course! You’re not getting out of going that easily.”
Chapter 10
Sure enough, the next day Dawn found herself back in town and sitting on a fence railing while the boys practiced their swordsmanship. It was a bright day but still quite cool; summer was still some weeks away and the mountain breeze was both fresh and comfortable. May sat beside her and absentmindedly plucked away on a mandolin.
“ You know,” began May, “if you ever want to learn to use Live Steel or even just a normal sword, Llewellyn would be tickled pink to teach you.”
Dawn had never even thought about, “Learn swordsmanship? That’s seems… odd.”
“ April and I learned from him. He’s quite a good instructor and it is a lot of fun. Think of it as father-daughter bonding or something.”
“ You can do Live Steel, too?” Dawn’s curiosity was piqued.
“ Yes, indeed. Not near as well as he, but few are!” began May. “We thought it would be a fun way to meet boys. That turned out different than planned!” May grinned, “Hey look, your little friend is up!”
Dawn turned to watch and sure enough the same boy as before was back. A quick exchange between Llewellyn and the boy set the tempo for things to come and the practice bout quickly turned into a dexterous display of basic sword form as well as wide ranging travel and foot work.
“ Notice that Llewellyn is keeping his back to us. That means he is keeping
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