On the way out of Castletown, Rand had cast his spell to hide Lex's appearance. Rand called the thing a Neatow. When Lex looked in a mirror, he said he wouldn't have known what to call it. The image he beheld was a creature with a body somewhat like a man's. But the head looked more like that of a dragon with one great horn rising out of the middle of his snout. He had five smaller horns that formed a ridge from the snout to the top of his head. And he had vicious looking fangs that protruded from all around his mouth.
The body he had been given was enough like his own that he felt that he shouldn't suffer any loss of dexterity. After using the body for a day, he found that in fact, his dexterity seemed to be improved. And he found that he had excessive power added to his punches and kicks. One draw-back he did have to get used to was his hands. Instead of fingers, these hands ended in talons. They were sort of a mix between finger and claw. But after a little practice, he was swinging his holy avenger sword like the extension of his own hand it had grown to become.
Other than the head, his feet would probably take the most getting used to. He couldn't wear his normal boots because he now had one great claw that stuck out the back of his foot. Three more long claws replaced his toes. And he found that once he learned to balance and walk smoothly, he could grip things in those talons as if they were an extra pair of hands.
During their journey to the coast Lex spent the hours that his companions were sleeping, in strengthening and practicing with those talons. He reasoned that if they did run into trouble, he would need to be believable. After all, no creature that looked like he did would ever leave any weapon unused in a fight; especially if he were from the Land West and if that weapon was part of his own body.
"This body will do well," whispered Lex as he and his companions reached the coast. "No one will even look at me much less talk to me."
"Well remember," whispered Stark, "you are not looking to be anyone's friend. We are following you because you are the meanest and nastiest and the most powerful of us all."
"So, you've got to toughen your tone of voice and take charge if anyone or anything is about," added Rand.
"Don't worry, I'll not forget myself around strangers," Lex assured them.
"I'm not as worried about strangers as I am when we run into Cat. Are you going to be able to hide your feelings around her?" asked Stark.
Lex didn't really know how he would react around her. The easiest way to hide his feelings would be to not talk to her. But he knew that wasn't going to happen. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide his feelings from his wife if they were ever alone together.
Lex decided to make certain Stark and Rand were with him always. He talked them into acting as if they were bodyguards once in the company of others. That way, they could help keep up the disguise and run interference if any was needed. Lex hoped he would be able to let Cat know who he was as early as possible.
The wind was with them as they sailed west. Lex, Rand and Stark had caught passage on a freighter called the Dragon Turtle. Rand had chosen the right creature to make Lex look like. No one on the ship would even talk to them. Lex had to admit, a two foot tall elf and a thirteen foot giant together do make a rather interesting vision. But when they teamed up with the thing Lex had become, it seemed to prove too much for the other people on that ship. Many acted as if they couldn't wait to reach the Land West. Stark wondered if it was just to get Lex off the ship and away from them or if there was something they knew that the three of them should have known.
They had been thirteen nights out of Castletown and ten of those had been at sea when something caused a shadow to darken a part of the moon. The waters roughened around the ship and a sound like the screeching of a hundred eagles came through the air. The sailors all scrambled to their posts cowering in fear. Only Lex, Stark, and Rand stood motionless and without apprehension. Rand watched the men and offered his observations to the others.
"My guess is we are being attacked by pirates," said the tiny elf. "Some pirates begin their attacks with their very fearsome creatures. That way, by the time the pirate ship actually arrives, most of the work has been done. All the crew has to do then is cut down the last of the few who resisted the fear."
Stark looked up at the screeching shadow swooping back and forth across the moon. Then he looked around at the fear it was causing in the folk on the ship. Then he noticed a fog bank that the ship was heading into. "Well, I think that is a draekin. And that could be the work of a fog giant." Stark grabbed the arm of a sailor running past and asked what was happening.
"It's the Death Knight. She's attacking," he said.The man looked over at Lex and struggled to free himself from the giant's grasp. Lex motioned for Stark to release the man and then he came in close to speak quietly.
"By the way everyone is acting; I'd say our attackers have quite a reputation. Most of these folk are more afraid than any I've seen in some time. Isn't the Death Knight Cat's ship?"
Rand climbed halfway up Stark so the three of them could talk without being overheard. "I had heard she was captain of a pirate ship. But somehow I just couldn't picture your wife reining fear and havoc on anyone much less on folk familiar with the shadoworld. Is it possible she has changed so much that Cat the pirate is who she has truly become?"
"Anything is possible," said Stark. "If she lost hope of finding you, she may have lost hope of other things as well."
"Not my Cat," said Lex. "Losing hope is not in her nature."
"Well, if you want to get close enough to Cat to actually talk with her, the best way to do it will be getting invited to join her crew." advised Rand. He glanced about to make sure no one else could hear. "When the pirates start to come on board, don't answer anything asked of you."
Rand was giving Lex a crash course in Shadoworld politics. "And don't give any reason for our journey. If anyone other than Cat speaks to you keep quiet. Answering questions asked by hirelings shows weakness. They may try asking us things in different languages. Especially if the one who speaks to us wouldn't readily admit he was a hireling."
Then Stark pulled a sword from his pack and said, "Also, if the crew sees us as fearless and handy with weapons, you can bet that they will rather see us as future partners than future enemies. Pirates are real observers of potential."
Lex unsheathed his holy avenger and a twisted dagger. "Then gentlemen, let's show them a little potential."
As he said it, the ship lurched from the impact of the Death Knight coming along side. Shadowfolk started to swarm on board. Rand jumped to the deck and prepared to cast a spell that would meet the attackers with flames shooting forth from his hands.
"Don't accidentally hit you know who," was the call as the three engaged a wave of trolls with magic and blade.
Lex, Rand, and Stark did more to stop the pirate take over than the rest of the crew combined. In fact, they didn't stop fighting until someone called to their enemies and the pirates stopped coming at them. Lex wanted to make certain that they were invited to join Cat's crew. Rand was beginning to be concerned that if they fought too much longer, there wouldn't be much crew left to join. As a gith walked up to where the three stood, Stark dropped a troll he had been holding four or so feet off the deck.
The gith asked, "What are your names?" The answer was silence. "I asked you of your names," said the gith in another tongue common to most shadowfolk.
Again the answer was silence. The draekin that had been circling above landed next to him and whispered something only the gith could hear. The gith looked Lex and the others over. He then looked at the slashed and burned remains of his former crewmen and listened as the draekin mumbled something again.
Rand spoke to Stark quietly in elven tongue that the gith acted as if he had more importance than was truly his. I don't know if the gith understood Rand or not, but some of the pirates and freighter crew did; because a ruffle of laughter swept over the deck. One fierce look from the gith and the majority of the laughter was quickly muffled.
"I am called Trench. What are your names?" asked the draekin in very broken elf tongue.
"Save us the trouble," commanded Lex to the gith, "Either bring me someone worthy to speak to or bear your sword so I can pretend some honor in cutting you down. Either way, I could at least get on with my journey." He turned away to face Stark and Rand and said, "If they speak again, kill them both. I bore dealing with rabble."
No one had to tell Lex that turning his back to the gith after giving him an order was not only an insult but under pirate law, it placed him above the creature socially. Lex knew his last words would either bring the gith's captain or a knife thrown at his back. Rand and Stark stood facing the gith ready to defend their supposed leader. Lex held his sword in hand and pretended a yawn.
The gith was getting angrier by the moment. If he didn't do something quick, there would be no recovery from this neatow's work of making him out as a fool. Just as he was about to draw forth his throwing knife and seek out the heart of his new found enemy, Lex turned back around.
"Are you still here?" asked Lex sarcastically. He smirked and commanded again for the gith to fetch a superior officer. Only this time, Lex spoke the words in perfectly spoken gith tongue. This time Trench also had to muffle a laugh.
The insult was too much for the gith to take. He pulled a knife and raised his hand to throw it when a sword rested against his arm and a woman's voice said only, "Hold."
The gith turned to face his captain and cried out in anger and anguish. In just the few moments he had known Lex, he had grown to hate him. He wanted his death more than almost anything. He started to voice his intent. But the very moment his mouth opened, the sword fell from near his hand to against his throat. The look on the face of his captain made him fear she might respect this self-absorbed neatow. In his heart he hoped that the creature he hated would earn the hatred of his captain as well. Either way, he knew he would have to wait his time.
The woman's voice greeted the three who had stood against her many and Lex turned to look upon the face he had missed more than breath and life and all his freedom.
Cat was still the fulfillment of all the beauty and grace any human woman could ever be. She stood five feet ten inches and was as thin and graceful as music itself come to life. In the darkness of this night and the fog that had engulfed the ship, Lex found it difficult to see the beautiful hair that she had usually kept long and strait down her back. When a breeze caught one of her crewmen off guard, and he stumbled to catch himself, she turned slightly to look at him. The raven black hair that he had watched her comb through night after night was caught in a tight braid that trailed past her belt. She turned back to face Lex and the vision of her held him transfixed.
An old one in her family had once sworn a trace of Mythrin elf danced in her veins. But the only sign that could be construed as proof of that was her most unusual eye color. From a distance, one might have thought this fair and lovely creature's only setback to be blindness. For her eyes seemed white as if no vision held their grasp. But up close, you could see a ring of indigo blue circled the center of each eye. It was those eyes that had drawn Lex to truly look at her for the first time. He caught himself in thought and stiffened as she came toward him.
"I am called Cat," she said. "I am captain of the Death Knight. I've met most all kinds from the Land West, yet you are strangers to my eyes."
She walked around the three and looked them each over. They really had made quite a team judging by the number of her crew whose remains lay about them. From what Trench had told her, the tiny elf was a wizard of some prowess. The giant was a fearless fighter and the neatow was a deadly weapon even without the sword and dagger he had yet in his hands. This close she could see the sword in his grasp and recognized it.
"That is an interesting sword for one from the shadoworld to carry," she said with as little emotion showing in her voice as possible. "May I ask where you got it?"
"I took it and a shield out of the hands of a paladin," he said with coldness in his voice.
Some of the pirate ship's crew winced. They knew that would not sit well with their captain. It was the most ominous way he could think to answer the question in character and still not lie. He realized that talking directly to Cat was going to be harder than he thought. What he looked like didn't matter. He had made a vow in his earliest youth to never lie. So far, he had kept that vow. He couldn't make the first breaking of that vow to be to Cat. At their wedding, he had sworn never to lie to her.
She hated what she was hearing from this vile looking creature. But in her years of living among the shadowfolk, she had learned that feelings were always more accurate than words. She felt very peculiar about these three. Except for their immense courage, they gave every indication of being all she detested about shadowfolk. But something about them felt very right. In fact, the neatow almost felt comfortable. It was as if they had known each other before in some distant place or time. She decided to keep the conversation light. Perhaps a question or two would tell her more about the mysterious threesome.
"Do you travel in search of someone or do you travel to run from someone?"
"I run from no one," said Lex as he straightened and stood before her.
"I believe that," she said as she motioned for him to walk with her. Lex glanced at Stark and Rand and they took their place behind him as bodyguards. Two of the crewmen from the Death Knight took similar position behind Cat and the six of them walked around the deck of the Dragon Turtle freighter.
While they walked, crews from the Death Knight secured the ship and checked all the cargo holds. The gith found a secret hatch in the lower storage hold that led to a false belly full of things that, according to the manifest, were not supposed to be on that freighter. Every cabin and storage bin was searched except the one that held the goods and belongings of Lex, Rand and Stark. When Gothra, the gith learned whose cabin it was, he started to enter. He might not be able to kill that thing, but he could certainly profit from whatever treasure he might have owned. Just as he was about to open the door of the cabin, a figure all hidden under a heavy cloak called his name. He stopped and looked up and then looked away.
"Do you not know that your captain walks even now with the one whose door you stand before?" The voice was female. It was also cold like death creeping across your skin.
Gothra played the fool. "Oh is this his cabin? Are you sure? I should go in and check."
She raised her head and it looked as if she were ready at any moment to lower her hood. "You know that if a being is entertained by the captain, all that is his is his." She looked around and saw that no other being had even considered entering that particular cabin. "Could it be that you seek revenge for his taking the honor you freely gave away?"
Gothra took his hand from the knob of the door. As he did, the door shifted and a man stood between him and the true door of the cabin."Rye, I should have known," said the gith.
"You are right," said the shifter. "You should have known. You should have known better than to enter the cabin of one higher than you in rank." The shape shifter moved away from the door and smiled wickedly at Gothra. "Come to think of it, I almost wished you had tried to enter that cabin. Seeing you turned into stone would bring me and so many on the crew such joy."
The gith looked back at the hooded figure. "I'll not enter here," he vowed. "But not because that creature is of higher rank. He is not. I just have other things to do." Rye's partner watched as Gothra went on to his work.
While on deck, Cat and the others continued their stroll. As they walked, only Lex and Cat spoke. Lex observed that no hireling ever spoke first to Cat or her most elite. Stark and Rand knew of this rule. So, all four followers remained silent. This gave Stark and Rand the opportunity to observe and learn.
Stark wondered how Lex's wife had decided to deal with prisoners. He thought that finding out that information would tell them a lot about her as a person. Rand watched the other pirates and how they acted around their captain. He laid out a plan of getting close to one or two of the crew. He felt that might reveal more than other things about the inner workings of the pirate crew. He would learn what he could about how the lady captain really ran her ship.
One of the bodyguards who were walking beside them was a short little battle dwarf who seemed obviously loyal to his captain. If they were accepted into the crew, Rand suspected this little dwarf might have the best information.
All that evening, Lex ached to tell her who they were. But he knew the time was not yet right. He had to know more about the life Cat had involved herself in. He didn't believe the Catherine he had married could ever be anything but good and true. But this Cat held command of hundreds of shadowfolk.
Did they follow her because she paid them well? Or was it because they feared her? He hoped against all odds that they followed her out of loyalty and love. Whichever it was, he felt certain that if he could join the crew, he would learn soon enough just how much of his dear wife remained in the heart of this pirate.The high Priest had warned Lex that it might not be easy to get his wife out of the shadoworld. Lex felt that he had to know who or what the difficulty would be before his true identity was revealed.
After their walk, Lex and his companions were not invited onto Cat's ship as they had hoped. They were left on the freighter in their own quarters while it was towed by the pirates to an island hide out. They were free to roam the ship. Stark and Rand pretended to go up on an errand for Lex.
"What did you say to her?" said Rand as he returned to Lex. "We were supposed to be accepted. But out there it's more like we've got the plague or something."
Lex was sitting in their cabin with his back to the door. The cabin was a relatively plain room with three hammocks of various sizes. One was stretched from one end to the other. The other two hung from walls to a post in the center of the room. Near the door there was a table with two bench seats that were all attached to the floor. And on the other side of where the hammocks hung, three magically locked trunks all sat on the floor. When Rand spoke, Lex didn't even look up. It was almost like he hadn't even heard him. Rand looked up at Stark. They both called Lex's name and still got no response. Stark walked over and nudged Lex who jumped and grabbed for his dagger.
"Whoa buddy, it's just us," said the giant, "Were you dreaming or what? We called you and were talking to you. But you just sat there like you were somewhere else there for a while."
"I'm sorry fellows," said Lex, "You're right. I was somewhere else. I was back home with Catherine and little Alexander. Seeing her like that tonight was hard."
"What did you say to her?" asked Rand again. "Everyone is treating us like we're evil incarnate."
"They think we are. Well, really they think we are working for evil incarnate."
"I'm not sure, but I think you're babbling there Lex old buddy," said Stark.
"I'm sorry. Umm, where do I start? Ok. When we were walking, you remember that guy that came up to Cat?" They nodded. "Well, he told Cat that most of the cargo and crew of this freighter apparently belonged to Dalvar, the Shadowlord of Chaos. Instead of carrying food and supplies to the north of the Land West as the manifest had declared, the belly is full of magical items and weapons of every sort."
"So these guys would naturally assume that we were on Dalvar's payroll as well," said Rand.
"Right," said Lex. "I told Cat that we had just caught passage on the ship. And that I wasn't a follower of Dalvar. But that may have been a mistake."
"I don't understand," said Rand.
"Word has gotten out that Dalvar failed his latest plot to take over the Land East kingdoms," said Lex. "So the kings must be back safe and sound in their own lands. But if my guess is right, Dalvar will take his defeat badly and folk of the Land West provinces were destined to pay for his defeat with their lives."
"So what makes you think our not serving Dalvar is bad?" asked Rand.
Lex shifted uncomfortably. "From talking with Cat, I felt almost, I don't know, like she was trying to convince me of how good it would be to be a follower of Dalvar."
"I know why," said Stark. They both looked at him. "If Dalvar wanted to weed out unfaithful servants, wouldn't he use spies? Maybe, Cat didn't believe you just happened to catch passage on the one ship full of His servants. Maybe she figures you for an enemy in hiding and she figures that the best way to keep you and him from interfering is to keep you happy and hearing what you want to hear.”
"That would make sense, Lex," said Rand. "By the look of the rest of the kin and kind on board, you are the most deadly. You certainly did show that you knew your way around shadoworld politics with that gith." He climbed up onto a chair beside Lex. "And, no one on board but us knows anything about you. That much mystery would translate to power in any world."
Lex thought a moment and then said, "If you're right, and we play this right, you two will be spoken to long before I am. Someone might even buddy up to each of you for information if you just stay away from me long enough for them to feel safe."
Lex reached into his pack and pulled out two ornate flasks. He handed one to each of his companions and then closed the pack. "Only pretend to drink these but pass them out freely. They are strong liquors that will wag the tongues and open the hearts of those who partake." Stark and Rand put the flasks in their pockets and decided which end of the freighter each would head for.
"I'll stay here and you can tell everyone that I've gone to sleep. Better yet, tell them you cast some great spell on me so you could have some time to yourselves." suggested Lex. "That way they might believe you're not as loyal to me as I would want you to be."
"Crewmen might think that if we are disloyal enough to use magic and charm you to sleep, we might be persuaded to reveal more than you want others to know." said Stark.
"Exactly," said Lex.
"I think it'll work," said Rand, "But to work it will need one thing."
"What's that?"
"Magic. Before anyone buys our story, someone will check to see if magic was used in this cabin. There is bound to be someone on board who can detect magic. I'll have to cast some spell in here that is strong enough to be detected from outside the door."
"What about SECURE?" suggested Stark. "It will prevent anyone but us from entering this cabin and it will definitely be detectable from outside."
"That will work," said the little mage. "It'll also allow you to really get some sleep. If we can't learn anything tonight, you will need to be alert tomorrow."
"Yes," said Lex. "If for no other reason than to watch my back from that Gith I encountered earlier. That's one enemy I have made for life."
"If and when we do get accepted into the crew, his followers will be yours unless he is able to shame you or kill you in front of them," said Stark.
"I'd really rather that didn't happen," said Lex.
"Well, while we work on the crew, you work on Cat. If you can get her to like you, that gith won't dare face you while you are under her protection."
"Mmm, I wonder if I can get my own wife to like me," mused Lex.
"Don't be too sure of yourself there. Remember, you've got to get her to like Lex the neatow. Not Lex the long lost husband. She doesn't know you are one and the same." Lex slumped. He knew Stark was right. But he could at least dream of her melting into his arms.
Rand shook his head and mumbled something about sweet dreams as he cast his spell. Then he and Stark headed up to the deck. Their conversation about tricking 'the master' into that sleep spell was just loud enough to get the attention of a few of the pirates guarding the freighter. The battle dwarf had gone back to the Death Knight. But after a little of Lex's special brew was shared with a troll or two, Rand had learned enough about him to prove interesting.
Lex fell asleep thinking about Cat and all the lovely things she had always been to him. His thoughts melted into dreams and an image filled every fiber of his being. Memories of his current situation faded away and a scene opened before him.
Castletown was bustling and full of business as usual when Lex looked through her streets. Arch, Crissen, Alex, Stephan, and Snair were just approaching the bowyer's shop where they planned on meeting with the giants when Lex saw them. A small wagon all draped in mourning cloth trailed behind them with a single coffin placed upon it. The halfling priestess, Harmony drove the wagon and a small pony packed with most of her gear was tied to the back of the wagon.
"Well met," was the greeting offered to them by the shopkeeper as they arrived. "Can I be of some service to any of you?"
Adia turned and looked on the company. "I'll be right there. Let me just pay this," she said.She handed the shopkeeper several platinum coins. She, in return, was handed a mythril silver bow engraved with runes and encrusted with a row of small jewels that ran from one end to the other. Adia walked out of the shop holding the bow.
"It is called the Swift Heart," she explained. "It's a bow of excellent speed and accuracy that allows me to fire six arrows in the time that with a normal bow could fire one. It also improves my accuracy of each shot by five times.Bruce snickered a bit and shook his head. He rested his right hand on the hilt of one of his swords, looked down at the bow and snickered again. "What?" said Adia. "A bow like this could save your lives one day."
Bruce smiled and said, "I can't say anything. I'm worse about my swords than you are about bows. There's always a better one out there and I've just got to have it."
"Well," said Crissen, "That is a fine bow. Do they have another like it?"
The shopkeeper looked at his assistant and she moved her head slightly to indicate it was the only one. His whole countenance fell as he tried to think a way to still make a sale. Then he smiled and assured Crissen, "I can get another one for you in just a week or so if you were willing to leave a small deposit of say, ten platinum pieces."
"That's ok," said Crissen. "I'll be far from here in a week's time. Perhaps when I am in this area again, I'll stop by."
The shopkeeper's countenance fell again and he bid them, "Good journey and may the Gods be with you all," as he headed back into his shop.
"So are we off to Coriana?" asked Arch.
"I'm not sure but what I should meet you there," said Bruce.
"Why?" asked Harmony.
"I can't explain it, but I've had the strangest feeling that I am needed back in the shire."
"Do you sense your family is in danger, Bruce?" asked Stephan.
"No, I don't think they're in danger. But something keeps telling me I should be home," said the giant.
"Are you sure that the shire is the home you need to go home to?" asked Crissen.
"Well, it's the only home I've ever really known. So, it's the home I'm checking on. If all is well there, I'll meet you in Arch's village five days from now," promised Bruce.
"What if all is not well?" asked Stephan. "Then what?"
"I don't know. I really don't feel any danger is about so I didn't think of that possibility," answered Bruce.
"Well I'm coming with you," said Adia.
"As am I," said Stephan.
"I appreciate your concern but really, I'll be fine. You all go ahead. I'll see to the home folk and meet you. Your village is near the spot where the river bends away from Coriana's border isn't it?"
"Yes, but," began Arch.
"Then I will see you there on the day past Sombre's return to Thordon," said Bruce.
"We're still going with you," said Stephan and Adia resolutely.
Bruce looked as if he were going to try to argue the point with them. But Lex could see in his dream that arguing would not stop these two from accompanying their friend. So, since Bruce could not stop them, he decided to help them at least keep up.
"Well, I wasn't planning on traveling quite as myself," said the firbolg, "So if you're going with me, let’s get you something to help your horses keep up with my pace."
"How were you planning on getting there?" asked Adia.
"Well, I figured if I turned into a huge bird, then I could fly the whole of the distance in just a day or so. That way I'd have more time to visit the folks back home."
"How are we supposed to keep up with a giant bird?" asked Stephan.
Just as Bruce was about to answer, Crissen interrupted. "It is obvious that your paths lay differently than ours. So, I will trust your cares to the Gods and I will bid you three good speed."
"Speed is the question I'm trying to get answered here," said Stephan. "How are we supposed to keep up?"
"Stephan," called Harmony.
"What?" he answered.
"Bid us a good journey, we are leaving now," she said it more as a command than anything else.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said as he came over and put his arms around her. "Good speed and safe passage. We'll see you in five days." He looked over at the giant and said, "I'm not sure how he'll get us there. But if Bruce says we can be there in five days, we'll be there in five days."
Each of the company hugged in parting and wished well to all the others. Harmony blessed both groups with divine guidance and protection if the needs arose. And the two groups parted. The wagon and its company headed north out of the city while the two giants and one halfelf headed for magic alley.
Horseshoes of speed were purchased for Stephan's and Adia's horses. The blacksmith down the way looked at the two set of shoes and acted almost afraid to look at what size animals they might be for. Adia tried to explain that at nine feet tall she had to find a large horse as well.The smith agreed to shoe her steed for no charge. He said it was worth it just to be known as the kind of smith who could do such work on a creature so magnificent and magical.
Adia's horse was not magical. It was only of very large size. But for the smith to say it was magical was good for his business. So Adia and the others played along and stood near the door while the smith did his work. It must have helped his business quite a bit. For as soon as the three left his shop, neighbors and customers started coming in to order his services and to look at the tools he had used on the great beast.
In Lex's dream, he mused at the likelihood of the beast being remembered as an elephant or some such being all over town by nightfall. He watched the three gather their things and lead their horses north west out of the city. Bruce had purchased boots of speed for himself when he bought the horseshoes. He really wanted to try out flying. But since Stephan was so concerned over loosing track of each other, Bruce had decided to run instead.
Once outside the city, Bruce put on his new boots and Adia and Stephan mounted their steeds. Bruce laid out the route they would follow on the chance that one of the horses stumbled or had some such trouble. Once everything in the packs was thoroughly secure, they started their journey.
Lex thought he could feel the breeze of their passing across his face as he awoke. Stark and Rand were just opening the cabin door and it was the coolness of the morning that had brought his eyes to opening.
"We are coming into port at an island," said Rand. "Did you get any rest?"
Lex rubbed his head and stretched. "I think so, but I had the strangest dream."
"Well tell us about it later," suggested Stark, "I hear that Cat will come aboard as soon as we dock. Word is she'll be coming to see you."
"Then I'd better make myself as presentable as a neatow can get."
