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Renata
(practice field, morning, day 2)

/snip from Arlene's post/
Renata, however, had not expected her rush to be met with no resistance
and
found herself stumbling from her own momentum. ÊWith a cry, she twirled
and
charged again. ÊAgain, Andahar blocked her strike, and swept her past
with
what appeared to be little effort.

After several such attacks and defenses, Renata paused, her breathing
labored. Ê"How... how are you doing that?" ÊHer anger had been
dissipated,
and her curiosity aroused.

"Old Nomad trick," Andahar grinned at her and winked, "Want to learn?
ÊAnd in
exchange, you can show me how to use straight, long sword?"
/end snip/

ÊÊÊÊRenata nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow and shaking her long,
dark
hair back out of the way. Ê"Okay, first you need a long, straight sword."
ÊEven though she couldn't forget that C'aranth, whom she'd become so
close
to, was leaving, this little bout with Andahar had at least made it seem
to
weigh less on her heart. ÊShe knew what he was doing, and was grateful
for it.

ÊÊÊÊ"Long, straight sword," Andi mused, looking around him. Ê"How about
this?" ÊHe picked up a wooden practice sword. Ê

ÊÊÊÊRenata looked doubtfully at him. Ê"Andahar, that sword's made of
wood,"
she reminded him. Ê"Mine isn't..."

ÊÊÊÊAndahar surprised her with a sudden movement that she wasn't ready
for,
and her sword went sailing across the practice floor. ÊHis grin was
almost
boyish as he said, "But wooden sword in hand is better than steel sword
on
floor." Ê

ÊÊÊÊ"You could be a gentleman and retrieve it for me," she said with a
smile.

ÊÊÊÊAndahar bowed and turned to get the sword he'd knocked out of
Renata's
hand. ÊThe moment he'd passed her, she'd snatched up another wooden
practice
sword and forcefully applied its flat side to Andahar's backside. ÊThe
Chief
of the Anavasha tribe let out a startled yelp, dropping the practice
sword as
his hands went to cover his stinging posterior.

ÊÊÊÊ"That move was worthy of Nomad," he grinned, snatching up the sword
and
assuming a guard position. Ê"You were born to wrong parents, should have
been
one of our people!"

ÊÊÊÊ"Maybe you can make me an honorary member," she said, as their blades
crossed again.

ÊÊÊÊ"You must beat Chief to become honorary member," he said, their
blades
having struck one another a dozen times during the course of the short
interchange.

ÊÊÊÊ"Then maybe I'll make it," she agreed, "if not today, then another
day!"

* * * * * * * *
Trissana
(late afternoon, day 2)

/snip from Arlene's post/
Bohoc moaned pitifully. ÊSylois moaned beside him. ÊThe two dragons hung
their heads in fear and shame. ÊWhat were their riders doing?

Trissana landed on the other side of Bohoc and nuzzled him,
sympathetically.

<Triss.... I don't know where he has gone! ÊHis mind is closed to me!>
Bohoc
sighed, deeply.

[Perhaps he is just angry at Sylois's rider and needs time to cool
down?]Triss ventured, peering over at the light blue female.

Sylois only looked away.

<It is not Sylois's fault, Triss. ÊShe's as confused by this as I am! ÊI
thought her rider and mine... liked each other... Êlike your rider and
Syren's rider? ÊWhy would they be acting like this!?> ÊBohoc snorted in
exasperation, a bit of flame flickering from his nostrils. Ê<What are
*we*going to do?>
/end snip/

ÊÊÊÊTriss sighed, nuzzling Bohoc again. Ê[I don't know, Bohoc, I really
don't. ÊMaybe we should go out and search for him.]

ÊÊÊÊ[Could you not find him as you found Kayrana's and Fayona's riders?]
Sylois inquired.

ÊÊÊÊTriss shook her head slowly. Ê[No...I'm afraid it doesn't work like
that,] she said. Ê[I've never used it to find humans, only dragons. ÊI
found
the girls by finding their dragons.]

ÊÊÊÊ[But have you ever really tried?] Bohoc asked. Ê[Have you ever tried
it
on a human, just to see what would happen?]

ÊÊÊÊ[I've tried it with my rider,] she said. Ê[He says he can hear it
faintly
in his mind, but I never got an echo back from him.]

ÊÊÊÊBohoc's reply was forestalled by Blanchie's arrival. Ê[What is
wrong?]
she asked, sensing the other dragons' distress. ÊThe three took turns
explaining the problem to her. Ê

ÊÊÊÊBlanchie settled herself down next to the others. Ê[Well, you found
me,]
she pointed out.

ÊÊÊÊ[But I know what your mindvoice sounds like,] Triss explained. Ê[I
don't
know what Bohoc's rider sounds like because he cannot speak to me.]

ÊÊÊÊ[What if Bohoc could show you what his rider sounds like?] Blanchie
inquired.

ÊÊÊÊ[Let's try it!] Bohoc agreed excitedly. ÊHe settled himself next to
Triss, and the two dragons concentrated on making their thoughts flow as
closely together as possible. ÊThen Bohoc shared with her the feel of his
rider's mind, the unique pattern of it.

ÊÊÊÊ[I have it, I think,] Triss said. Ê[Let me try now!] ÊShe sent out a
pulse, half expecting it to hurt her as it had the last time she'd tried
it.
ÊBut it didn't...and, to her great surprise, she got an echo from Bohoc's
rider! ÊUnthinkingly, she started to move in the direction it led her,
and it
was only Bohoc's shaking her that brought her back to herself. Ê

ÊÊÊ[It worked?] he asked.

ÊÊÊÊTriss nodded. Ê[That way,] she said, inclining her neck in the
direction
of the Nomadlands. Ê[But I am not sure...Bohoc, why would this work with
your
rider when I cannot do it with my own?] ÊExperimentally, she sent out a
pulse
to search for her own rider's mind, which she knew so well. ÊNothing came
back.

ÊÊÊÊ[Try my rider,] Sylois suggested. ÊShe and Triss put their heads
together, and Triss gleaned the pattern of Reain's mind. ÊShe tried to
locate
her, but with no success.

ÊÊÊÊ[Then try mine,] Blanchie suggested. ÊTriss did, once she'd gotten
the
pattern from Blanchie...and got a strong return, so close that she knew
it
was coming from within the warren.

ÊÊÊÊ[My rider *is* here in the warren,] Blanchie told the others. Ê[So
perhaps that means you really located Bohoc's rider as well.]

ÊÊÊÊ[I need to ask my rider about this,] Triss said uncertainly, and did
so.

* * * * * * * *
Trevor
(shortly afterward, outside Cynthia's office)

ÊÊÊÊ"Do you have a minute?" he asked Cynthia. ÊHe could tell she was
busy,
and suspected that she was going out to meet with the Nomads...whether he
approved of her taking such a risky action or not. Ê

ÊÊÊÊ"For you, I've always got a minute," she said. Ê"What's up?" Ê

ÊÊÊÊ"There's something *very* odd happening around this warren," he told
her.
Ê"Triss just contacted me, and she thinks she's located Andahar."

ÊÊÊÊ"Can she do that?" Cynthia asked, just as Dan'yar strode up.

ÊÊÊÊ"No, not unless he's a closet telepath," Trevor told her. Ê"The only
humans she's ever been able to locate like that are Demee and
Ankara...and
she's only gotten very weak returns from them. ÊAnd yet she said she got
an
echo from Andi, well outside the warren. ÊShe said it came from the
direction
of the Nomad encampments, which would make sense, wouldn't it?"

ÊÊÊÊ"It would," said both Cynthia and Dan'yar.

ÊÊÊÊ"Look, maybe I'm being silly...but I think there's some sort of
disease
or something going around....maybe one that somehow heightens a person's
natural telepathic abilities for awhile, and at the same time makes them
act
strangely."

ÊÊÊÊ"Go on," said Cynthia, her face grave.

ÊÊÊÊ"The other night, after Triss and I searched out the girls, we went
back
to the Nomad village where we'd left Ankara," he said. Ê"Triss sent out a
pulse looking for Blanchie...that's something she did periodically...but
that
time, it was almost like it went off right inside her head...it almost
knocked her out of the sky. ÊShe'd been acting strangely before that...it
was
almost like talking to someone with a whole different personality. ÊAnd I
think that...well, that maybe *I* caught it from her."

ÊÊÊÊDan'yar frowned. Ê"Trevor, I've never heard of a disease that can be
transmitted between humans and dragons."

ÊÊÊÊTrevor looked down at the ground, wondering if he could bring himself
to
talk about what had happened next with anyone other than Cynthia.
ÊScrewing
up his courage, he continued. Ê"That night, after we got back to the
Nomad
village, it was....it was like I had a fever or something. ÊI...kissed
Andahar, and then couldn't figure out why I did it..." ÊHe cleared his
throat. Ê"I thought of that again when Andahar did it to me earlier.
ÊLook, I
know it sounds like I'm just trying to find an excuse for what I did,
but..."

ÊÊÊÊ"Well, Andahar' *has* certainly been acting strangely," Dan'yar
agreed
thoughtfully. ÊHe snapped his fingers. Ê"And Maddyllin!"

ÊÊÊÊ"Maddy?" ÊTrevor asked. Ê"What did she do?"

ÊÊÊÊ"Well, signed papers to have Lonnie transferred, for one thing," said
Dan'yar. Ê"And then, from what I could tell, didn't know why she'd done
it."

ÊÊÊÊTrevor whistled. Ê"A plague, then?"

ÊÊÊÊ"In a manner of speaking," said Cynthia. Ê"I have an idea about all
this..."

ÊÊÊÊIn as few words as possible she outlined her idea about what was
happening, while Trevor and Dan'yar listened with rapt attention. Ê

ÊÊÊÊ"I've heard of Hellspawn," said Dan'yar when she'd finished speaking.
Ê"But this isn't how they operate, Cynthia."

ÊÊÊÊÊ"I think I'd know if I'd had a....a *Hellspawn* inside me!" Trevor
said,
disgusted by the very thought.

ÊÊÊÊ"I wonder," said Cynthia. Ê"I know about being possessed...and as I
think
on it, I think it may have happened again, within the last few days. ÊBut
this time it was different...very subtle, more like someone inside my
head
making suggestions, rather than something compelling me like before."

ÊÊÊÊÊ"It does seem to only be affecting one person at a time," Dan'yar
admitted. Ê"Andahar now...Reain before him..."

ÊÊÊÊ"Right *after* he came into physical contact with her," Dan'yar
pointed
out.

ÊÊÊÊ"And before that...Feysal?" Trevor asked. Ê"But how would Reain have
gotten it from him?"

ÊÊÊÊ"I don't know the exact progression," Cynthia said. Ê"If my suspicion
is
right, then doubtless we could figure it out given time. ÊBut the pattern
does seem to be consistent...only one person or dragon at a time."

ÊÊÊÊ"And you think that Triss can detect the person who's possessed?"
Dan'yar
asked.

ÊÊÊÊ"A distinct possibility," Cynthia said, turning to Trevor. Ê"That
would
explain why she's able to get an echo from Andahar."

ÊÊÊÊTrevor sighed. Ê"But *not* why she also got one from Lenna," Trevor
told
them.

ÊÊÊDan'yar looked up sharply. Ê"Why did she try to find Lenna?"

ÊÊÊÊ"She and Blanchie were experimenting," Trevor said. Ê"She could get a
return echo off of Andahar and Lenna...but not from either Reain or
myself."

ÊÊÊÊ"Well, it's probably nothing," Dan'yar said. Ê"Lenna does have at
least
*some* telepathic ability...she can speak to Meritanth, after all."

ÊÊÊÊTrevor sighed. Ê"Well, maybe," he said, not convinced. ÊHe turned to
Cynthia. Ê"You're going out there, aren't you?"

ÊÊÊÊ"I imagine so," Êshe agreed. Ê

ÊÊÊÊHe stayed behind when Cynthia went with Dan'yar, discussing who to
take
with them to confront the Nomads - and Andahar in particular, should he
make
an appearance.

ÊÊÊÊNormally, nothing could have kept Trevor from going with
Cynthia....even
though he knew he couldn't protect her any better than someone like
Dan'yar
could - probably not as well, in fact - he couldn't bear to see her face
danger without Êhim.

ÊÊÊÊThe question, this time, was...just where *was* the real danger? ÊThe
Nomads? ÊAndahar? ÊThe unseen enemy whom Cynthia believed was lurking
around
the warren? ÊBut if she was right, then where was it...with Andahar, or
here
in the warren? Ê

ÊÊÊÊ*Triss!*

ÊÊÊÊ[Yes, my rider?]

ÊÊÊÊ*Talk to Meritanth...I'd like you to see if you can find his rider
the
same way you did Blanchie's. ÊEither way, let me know immediately!*

(Tag Barb - will Trevor need to go and talk to Lenna?]


Submitted by:

John

Trevor & Trissana
Cleft Warren



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