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~Compiled
by Catherine~ After getting the all-clear, Rowena and the others head for the Hidden Village's inn to learn about the stranger. They meet Legolas, who tells them of his missing companions while Rowena treats his head wound. Wisp interrupts their conversation by bolting into the inn with Willow in pursuit. She hides behind Nick, screaming that Willow is going to hurt her. Angered by the girls' behaviour, Rowena demands an explanation. Wisp hands her the bracelet at the centre of the argument; realizing its opulence, Rowena asks her where she got it and is disturbed by the child's report of guards in the forest. She tells Wisp that they will see her "playhouse" in the morning and sends the girl to fetch Gemile for the trip into Ashby. Gem returns, carrying a flask of tar-coloured liquid among her supplies, and with Nick disguised as a leper, the group heads out into the night. Back at the castle, Audra demands to know what Simon has gleaned from Brother John's thoughts. Simon tells her only of the woman's image he saw. Audra orders him to go in search of the woman, which Simon gladly does, eager to contact Maeve. With Audra's exit from the dining-room, Sabrella and Simone also leave, luring their escort, Sir Guy, into a garden, where Simone brains the knight with a rock. Both women then flee the scene. Sir Guy is discovered shortly thereafter, and he tells Audra, who has returned from the dungeons, what happened. The countess is livid, having already found her chamber door unguarded; she dispatches guards after the fugitives, then sweeps off to the dungeons again. As they run through the castle, Sabrella spies part of her machine and tries to stop Simone, but the white-haired woman continues to run, dragging Sabrella with her. The guards catch up to them just as they reach a door. Sabrella is caught and injured by one of them. Simone bolts out the door and runs smack into the rear of Simon's horse. Gallantly, the telepath helps the woman into the saddle, and they ride for Ashby. Having gained entrance to the castle, Antonio witnesses the women's flight. Recognizing Simone, he implants a map of the dungeon into Alexa's mind and leaves Warren's group to their task while he follows the women. The mage catches up just in time to rescue Sabrella from the guards. Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Audra begins torturing Brother John for information, having ordered her guards to strip him and burn his habit. Under the sting of her lash, John fights to keep from breaking down, giving Audra non-answers to her questions. At last, he tries to strike a deal: if Audra releases Nicholas and Bantam, he'll confess all he knows. Audra tells him Bantam is already free, but she wants to keep Nicholas until he's civilized. John insists that Nicholas must be freed before he will tell her anything. Audra brings out a hot poker to up the ante, all the while threatening to torture Nicholas in his place if John won't tell her what she wants to know. Upstairs, Vanya makes another foray into Audra's unguarded chambers and finds Nicholas asleep in the cage. While she picks the cage's lock with a hairpin, the Flame, who has accidentally projected her spirit into the room, watches. The sorceress wakes Nicholas just as Vanya unlocks the cage, then finds herself pulled back into her body in the dungeons. Vanya leaves; Nicholas calls his thanks after her and makes his way down the castle's many levels to an exit. Near the dungeons, he is overwhelmed by Brother John's fear and pain, but he also senses Bantam and manages to continue to the outdoors, where he collapses. Bantam, Alexa, and Warren rush to the boy's side. Seeing Nicholas' condition, Warren decides to take the children back to the Seventh Stranger and return on his own to rescue the Flame. Simon and his passenger reach the Seventh Stranger. Once they settle down with a drink, Simon slowly realizes that he can hear Simone's thoughts. He calls on Maeve to give his companion directions when Simone signs that she needs the loo. Maeve does so, then returns to her brother, who explains how he met Simone and why he's in town. Maeve give him a piece of her mind when she learns he's working for Audra. Just then, Antonio carries Sabrella into the inn in search of a healer. Maeve leaps into action, taking them to a room where she can treat Sabrella's injuries. She and Antonio chat while she works. When Maeve asks about the "strange energies" she's noticed in Ashby, Antonio explains that these are signs that a second Mage War is about to begin. With Sabrella resting, he asks Maeve to fetch some food. She goes downstairs, noticing that Simon and his companion are no longer in the common room. Having told Simone that he can hear her thoughts, Simon takes her outside so they can "talk" without being disturbed. Simone explains how she arrived in Ashby. They discuss how to keep Simone from being noticed by the wrong people. When Maeve returns with the food, she finds Antonio talking with Sabrella, who has regained consciousness. Antonio introduces himself and tells Sabrella that he is looking for her erstwhile companion. Maeve recognizes the description as fitting her brother's new friend and tells Antonio, who is disturbed to learn that the woman he seeks is mute. He then turns his attention to Sabrella; when asked, she tries to spin the same tale she told Stewart, which Antonio subtly proves a lie. Before Maeve leaves, he asks her to alert him should Simone return. Minuet has convinced Sebastian to return with her to the castle, where she sees Nicholas in Warren's arms. She flies into the warrior's face and demands an explanation. Warren does his best, though he's a bit befuddled by the faery. Minuet and Sebastian accompany the group to the inn. Back in the dungeon, having had several spells backfire on her, the Flame attempts to contact Warren with her mind, unknowingly tapping into the castle's magic-power source, an ailing Heartstone. Just as she is on the verge of connecting with Warren, she's caught in a magical backlash. The pain of that tenuous connection's severance brings Warren to his knees. Fearing for the Flame's life, he tells the others he must go; while Xanax and Bantam take Nicholas inside, Alexa insists she will go with Warren, who tells her to stay with Bantam. Minuet, certain the woman Warren wants to rescue is Vanya, tells the warrior that she and Sebastian will accompany him. Vanya roams the castle, feeling lonely without Nikolai. She wanders into the torture-chamber, where Audra calls her to watch her work. John recognizes Vanya; it takes a while, but Vanya recognizes him, too, though she says nothing of the circumstances in which they met. Determined to wrench answers from John, Audra sends a guard for Nicholas. As she burns him again, John's tongue slips, and the monk mentions "a village full of rebels." Now Audra knows who John is, and she demands to know where Rowena is. The guard returns without Nicholas. Furious, Audra kills him, then sends more guards for the Flame. Giddy with relief over Nicholas, John lies and tells Audra that Rowena died a year ago. When the guards reach her cell, the Flame takes up a sword to defend herself, but they overpower her and drag her screaming to the torture-chamber. While Warren heads back to the castle, Alexa unhappily finds a seat at the inn. Having returned to the inn with Simon, Simone sees Alexa and runs to her. Rowena's company arrive at the inn, as well; Rowena finds Barbarella and asks her if she's seen Brother John. Barbarella says she hasn't, but she'll ask Maeve when she last saw the monk. Nick spots Simon and mistakes the telepath for his bandmate, pointing him out to the others. Simone sees Nick pointing and alerts Simon, who's trying to catch his sister's attention. He keeps an eye on the odd group. Barbarella returns to Rowena with the bad news that John was last seen walking in the direction of the castle. Meanwhile, at another inn far from Ashby, Andy gets drawn reluctantly into conversation with Rafe, whom he has pegged as a bounty-hunter. Cat comes downstairs with Tamerlaine, whom she has christened Traveller, and goes outside to use the privy. Rafe spots her and ends his conversation with Andy to follow her. At that point, the serving-wench approaches, putting on a seductive act for the benefit of observers. While staring at the woman's cleavage, Andy realizes Rafe has gone after Cat; he tells his contact to wait in his room while he warns the young woman. As soon as Cat steps out of the privy, Rafe grabs her from behind. Tamerlaine leaps to the rescue, chasing Rafe off. Andy lets the bounty-hunter go, more concerned with Cat. The apprentice thief declares she'll leave, to prevent more trouble; Andy convinces her to stay. When the serving-wench comes to check, Andy makes up a story about Cat being sick, and they both "help" the young thief inside. Meanwhile, Rafe rides for Arcadia to tell Ramsall, the new Guildmaster, of Cat's whereabouts . . . <<
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