[Day 16, Derry]

"We may want to send in a small group first to check out the area and
make sure they don't have look outs posted..." Kanler commented.

"Good idea..." Derry said, nodding to his brother-in-law.

<* Dandy?  Wha--  no.  Stop!  NO.  CRICKET!!!!!! *>

Levka's scream, internal and external nearly knocked him to the
ground, the depth of his grief curdling Derry's blood.  He could see
his brave Trinale, his beloved princess, her desperation -- Levka's
images were so exquisitely detailed, and so... so... wrong...

"Trinale?  TRINALE!!!  No --"  It couldn't be true, Trinale couldn't
be gone.  Cricket couldn't be gone!  He didn't remember moving, but he
was outside, staring up as so many of the dragons were staring up,
keening, screaming inside.

The losses -- Dandy and Cricket and their riders -- could not be
denied.

"T-t-tell m-me it i-isn't t-t-true..."

Derry looked down into bright eyes, blue eyes; eyes so very like his
beloved's he wanted to scream, but he could not.  Lorelei, pretty
little Lor, his little, sister, his mate's little sister... Oh, gods,
he had lost Trinale, but Lor -- she'd just lost everything.  Father
and mother both; sister and WarrenLady...  Ah, gods.  How he wanted to
erase pain from those eyes.  Lorelei...

Trinale...

"I can't."

Pale as she had been, she went the color of fresh snow in the
moonlight and began to collapse.  Derry pulled her into his arms, and
the two fell backward into Levka's embrace -- dragon curling around
them protectively, his pain dimming slightly in the knowledge of his
human's grief and loss.


-----
[Katla]

"Oh Gods!" Katla collapsed against her mate, both of them shaking in
the invisible wind.  "Not Trinale.... Please Gods.. Not Trinale!"

< Cricket and Dandy are gone. >

Katla wanted to scream a denial.  Vibrant, beautiful Trinale could
*not* be dead... but her dragon's certainty wouldn't let her.  Hot --
scalding hot, a tear fell.  And then another.  And another.  More and
more until she thought she would melt or burn up in the flood of
devastating tears.

"Katla, love... We need to go find Derry," Kanler's voice, that,
shaking with grief, shaking like his hands, trembling with it.  "He'll
need you now more then at any other time in his life."

"Yes.. got to find Derry," she murmured, trying to brush the tears
away, but unable to, more falling to replace them.  Derry.  Oh, how he
had to be hurting -- it was, it was...  She had to do something...
"Got to help him. Oh, Kanler..."

They found them outside, by Trinale's garden.  Derry and Lorelei
wrapped up in a verdigris dragon.  Levka lifted his head, and Katla
offered him a brief caress, reading the utter devastation in his
glowing eyes.

"Brother... sister..." Katla couldn't say anything else, anything
more.  She wanted to say something, say anything that could make it
right; return things to the way they had been, they should have
been...

But nothing she could say would do that.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

-----
[Keltian]

"I need you to help settle their fears," Pheran said to Drezak.

"How can I help?"

"Go outside and have a quick look around... see if anyone is out there
and if you do see someone yell and let us know."

"Sure thing," Drezak quickly agreed and made his way to the door and
out into the night.

"We'll know one way or another soon," Kel told the crowd, walking over
to a pile of boxes that had been pushed against the far wall and
opening one before reaching inside. "But just in case... Let's be
ready for them whoever they are."

Others who were not already armed stepped up after him and pulled
swords and knives from the stockpile of arms they had acquired over
the years.

Kel frowned, buckling on his sword and taking a dagger as well.
"Pheran --"

"What is it?"

"Drezak seems to be a good enough sort, but I'm not sure..."

A small scream escaped the side room where Raine was being held, and
Kel shook his head.  "Never mind.  The Warren would never give up one
of its whores to be used as she deserves.  Gods, it sounds like he's
enjoying himself.  I'm not sure if she is."

"That sounded like a satisfied scream to me..."

"Mmmm.  But it's the one when she comes by accident rather than
design -- but then, your father isn't required to play the game by our
rules.  He spent almost twenty years feeding and clothing her, so she
owes him her use without any kind of return for as long as he
desires."

"Oh, at least."  Pheran grinned.  "What a pity your own father will
never understand that.  I'd love to see that supercilious sister of
yours, screaming in anguished delight with your father using her the
way she deserves.  But then, how can he?  After all, *he's* no better
than *her.*" Pheran nodded at the door.  "You know, there are *men*
who do that kind of thing at the Warren?"  Pheran shuddered.  "I bet
your father's on *very* good terms with them, and the WarrenLady.  I
bet he's a favorite at parties..."

It disturbed Kel more than he could admit to hear his father discussed
as though the man were no more than the common whore that Raine was.
He wanted to protest that his father was completely faithful to his
wife, but then his mother was a dragonwhore too, born and raised.
What did he know?  The Warren was a pit of depravity and
licentiousness, one that every good and honorable man had to despise.
Undoubtedly his mother had introduced his father to more disgusting
practices than could be named.  He had just been lucky that it hadn't
been until she'd borne a useless *girl* that she hadn't tried to pass
on such activities to her offspring.

Drezak had not yet come back in, but it was time for the meeting to
start.  Lord Atheron Calarais sounded like he was going to be busy for
a while, if Raine's pleading moans were any indication, and they had
plans to make for the next attack on the Warren.

-----
[Derry]

"They've taken to much from us already," she told them when they were
all back in her office... For she couldn't bring herself to enter the
office that had been Trinale's just yet. "We have to stop them before
more loved ones are killed and more innocent people lose their lives.
We can't allow then to take from us anymore without paying for the
damage they've caused already...."

Derry nodded, rage burning brightly in his chest.  It was time to end
this.

"It might be a good idea if we all go ahead and head out to each of
the estates we are to acquire men from and then leave from there when
the word comes in from N'lin," Kanler spoke up, his words echoing in
Derry's mind.  Again he nodded, unsure of his own control.

"Derry... you gave J'red the option earlier to pull out of this
because Jason was involved.... I feel it only right to give you and
Katla... the same choice. No one will blame you because of what Kel
had done..." he knew they would both refuse, but felt he had to ask.
To give them the choice.

He could see Katla shaking her head violently, her dark eyes burning
in her face.  There was anger in it, and a kind of implacable hatred.
She couldn't use a sword, but she had a sling, and throwing daggers.
His eyes met hers and, to his surprise, she smiled.  Or perhaps it
wasn't a surprise.

It wasn't a nice smile, or a joyful one.  It wasn't the impish one
that she had when she was planning to make trouble, nor was it the one
of almost blinding sweetness that she reserved mostly for her mate...
particularly when she wanted to do something she knew he wouldn't
approve of.

It was a feral smile; a smile that spoke of determination and a will
woven of tempered steel.

Derry closed his eyes for a moment and felt his lips curve in
something very like the not-smile upon his sister's face.  He shook
his head, turning toward his brother-in-law.  "After tonight that
murderer and his friend are something we won't ever have to worry
about.  Because after tonight.."

Silence greeted his words. No one challenged him or asked him to
explain.  They all knew how he felt.

-----
[Katla]

"Would you feel better if you went with Derry love?" Kanler asked, as
they were forming with up with those going in their team.

She could almost see the doubt in his eyes as he looked from her to
Derry, and if there had not been so much pain in her heart she would
have laughed.  But it was just what she was waiting for -- she wanted
to go with Derry.  She needed to.  They had something to settle with
Keltian and Pheran and the lot.  They had a plan -- they hadn't told
Merissa or the others yet, but it was something that supposedly would
meet Warren standards of justice and would fulfill Katla and Derry's
overwhelming need to do *something* memorable to the bastards that had
disturbed their peace.

"Yes."  No.  Nothing could make her feel better.  Justice didn't do
that for her.  It would give her satisfaction, but nothing was going
to bring Trinale back.  Nothing would return L'rian and Caitlin back
for their daughter, who even now was sedated in one of Katla's guest
rooms.  Derry was crashing with them for the night as well, unable to
face even the idea of returning to the apartments he'd shared with
Trinale.

"Kanler..." she stopped, pulling him down for an entirely chaste kiss.
"If you don't come back from this, I will *never* forgive you.
Understand?"

That startled an almost laugh from him, and he refused to let her get
away with such a poor excuse of a good-bye.  His kiss was fierce and
sweet, reminding her that there was *life* here too, and love, and
what they were about was not *just* the endless pain and despair that
seemed to have taken over their lives.

"I love you." Whispered gently against her hair, the words filled her
with joy and strengthened her determination.  "*Don't* get killed."

"I wasn't planning on it," she whispered back, tucking her face into
his shoulder for the last moment of support she could get before they
left.  "I adore you -- get killed and I *swear* I will hunt down your
ghost.  You hear me?"

"I hear you, love.  Go.  Keep Derry out of trouble."

Chance snorted.  *That* was a turnaround.


-----
[Derry]

Gods, it hurt to watch.  Kanler and Katla were practically fused
together, their love lightening the gloom of pre-battle, even as it
sharpened the knife already driven through his heart -- and his soul.
He couldn't begrudge his sister whatever moments of peace she could
gather; he knew that Kanler's love for her knew no boundaries.  But
just that morning, he'd held Trinale like that, and heard her laugh.

<* You are sad. *>

Levka's matter-of-fact statement almost made Derry laugh.  He was sad.
No, he wasn't sad.  Sad didn't even begin to describe it.  His sadness
held so much more -- anger, at Trinale and L'rian; at the cult for the
depredations that led to this; despair -- oh, gods how was he supposed
to live without her, without sunshine and air?; grief -- more than he
could stand, almost.  And there was the numbness that covered it all,
something like wound-shock -- he knew that everything else was there,
the pain was there, but just at the moment he couldn't access it, not
entirely -- the pain was so great that some parts of his mind refused
to even register its existence.

<! I am sad.  This is very hard. !>

<* I love you, my rider.  We will survive. *>

Survive, yes.  Derry knew about survival.  But he didn't want to
merely survive.  He wanted to live.  He wanted his beloved back.

He shook his head.  Might as well wish for the moon.

The moon was about as accessible as happiness right now.


-----
[Keltian]

Various avenues of attack were discussed and discarded.  They would
probably have to lay off the supply trains for now.  While interfering
with them had been profitably fun, the Warren was on guard now, and
the measures being taken had begun to sound familiar.

"Sounds like Derry's in charge of security.  Or at least some of it."

"That traitor," Pheran muttered, and the echo of it passed many lips.
"He was one of the good ones, too, until he became a lizard-lover.
How *could* he be seduced by one of those things?"

"I -- I hear he mates with WarrenLady Trinale..." Jason offered.

"Of course he does!  Everyone knows she's bedding everyone in the
Warren."

"No... I mean, like, whatever it is that Warrenfolk do that's like
marriage."

One of the others snorted.  That was a popular rumor, that the Warren
had something kind of like marriage.  Everyone knew it was a lie, but
Jason was young enough not to entirely understand that.

"Jason, warren women are all sluts and whores, like the one you used
today.  Even having been seduced by a lizard, do you think that Derric
Vaddon would *marry* one of those... creatures?  I mean, she's got
experience from the cradle, but *really.*" Pheran's voice was
not-entirely-gentle, but it got the point across.  "In any case, why
should he do that when any woman he wants will just *spread* for him
at any time?  That's one of the reasons we have to destroy them, they
are the enemies of everything decent!  They are depraved and evil!
There is no end to their perversions!  They treat with the Wraiths to
keep their hold on us so they may do as they like!"

Kel nodded.  "Perhaps we should send another infiltrator..."

"Mmm.  What about waylaying dragons?" came from another corner of the
room.

"How so?"

"Well, dragonriders try to make everyone believe how nice and honest
they are.  It shouldn't be hard sit out on one of the patrol routes
and then get one or more of the riders to come to you.  Set up an
ambush..."

Several people grinned.

"Powerful enough crossbows..."

The discussion became lively, but Kel was distracted by a
sound-not-sound.  He could hear Raine moaning through the rather thin
door, and Lord Calarais grunting.  He frowned.  There it was again --
something... was there something outside?  How could there be?

The front door burst open as the sky seemed to light from horizon to
horizon, and the door burst open, flying into splinters.  With lazy
strides, a young man in black leather armor entered.  A young man with
dark hair and flashing dark eyes.  His sword gleamed red in the
firelight, and the slight smile on his lips was feral rather than
friendly.

"Pheran, my good man.  So nice of you to invite us to your little
party."  The voice was suave, smooth as silk and rich as velvet.  "I
hope you don't mind, but a brought a few guests of my own."

He stepped forward, allowing others to enter with him.  A girl --
young woman -- on crutches and holding throwing knives and beside her
a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, and a boy with brown hair
and grey eyes flanking her on the other side.

"Jared!" yelped Jason, and Keltian met the eyes of his own brother,
finding nothing but deadly promise.  His sister's eyes were even more
frightening, for they promised more than death.  They promised pain.

And the sshshing sound of dragon's wings filled the air, and with it
their roars.


-----
[Katla]

This was nothing like a wraith battle, some part of her noted dimly,
even as she cast her first knife.  It took Kel in the shoulder,
causing him to drop his weapon as the sharp edges of the dagger found
tendons and nerves.  Screams flared around her, bright as fire, and
their LandBound contingent entered through every door and every
window, trapping the conspirators inside.

Derry and Kanler hadn't wanted her to come inside.  There was danger,
of course, she couldn't run or dodge, though her aim was true with her
knives.  Unlike some of the others she never aimed to kill.  Knife by
knife she maimed, permanently injuring the ones before her with little
regard to what happened to them after.  Kel would never use that arm
again, and Derry's careless blow with the hilt of his sword saw to it
that Keltian Vaddon would survive to understand both justice and
vengeance.  Pheran had disappeared among the fighters, but Chance
wasn't worried.  The place was surrounded, it was unlikely that any of
their targets were going to escape, for even if they got past the
armed men, they'd have to get past the dragons.

Focused as she was, she never noticed the blow coming, slumping into
semiconsciousness almost instantly while Satinka screamed.


-----
[Pheran]

Stupid of the dragonwhore to come in with everyone else -- cripples
like her shouldn't be allowed to live anyway, but serving the Warren
on her back was a step down from the life she should have been
leading.  Still, Katla Vaddon was his ticket to safety.  He'd force
the whore to take him somewhere safe, and then he'd cut her throat...
after fucking her first.  He'd always wanted to use Kel's baby sister,
but she'd always been too good for him, holding herself aloof.  No man
in their social class wanted to marry a horse-mad cripple, and she
apparently thought that screwing dragonriders was a step up from
taking him.

Well, he'd show her.  Kel had the right of it.  Use 'em a couple of
times to show them who's boss and then force 'em to beg for it.  There
was *nothing* in the world quite like the expression in Raine's eyes
when the words "fuck me" were on her lips.

Pheran opened the door to his pet whore's boudoir, noting that his
father had already left, and Raine lay there, looking rather fetching,
he supposed -- in a used-whore kind of way.  She was still tied
spread-eagle on the bed, and he smiled a bit.  It would be a shame to
lose her, but surely the girl would get entertainment enough when the
soldiers came through.  If she thought she'd seen rough usage before,
it was nothing to what a group of rutting men filled with bloodlust
could do.

And he had a new pet to play with.

"Come on, you bitch," he whispered into Chance Vaddon's ear.  "It's
time to leave."

The girl shook her head slightly, looking up, slightly dazed.
Recognition flared in her eyes and she began to struggle.

He twisted a hand in her hair, laughing in her face.

"You were too good to fuck me when you were a lady.  It's a pity I'm
not too good to fuck you now you're a whore.  We're going to leave,
and then you are going t--"

The shutters on the window behind him exploded, and pain screamed
along every nerve as he was knocked to the side, dropping his prize.
It felt like a thousand daggers ripping through his flesh, and he
screamed, terror filling his mind as he was pulled through the
splintered remains of glass and wood, only to find a shimmering
brown-and-gold muzzle pointed down at him, with flames licking around
teeth that seemed to be the size of swords...


-----
[Derry]

<* He is not dead, but he is gravely injured, *> Lev reported
viciously.  <* Your clutchmate is a bit dazed, 'Tinka says, but
otherwise is all right.  That one's clutchmate is tied down to a bed,
and 'Tinka's rider is trying to find something for her to wear.  The
girl has been badly injured, with much bruising, but your clutchmate
seems to think that no one should see her as she is. *>

Derry nodded, surveying the damage.  Many of the cult members were
dead, but some survived, either by accident or design -- like Pheran
and Kel.

They rounded them up, chaining them together and doing just enough
first aid to be certain that they wouldn't die in transport.

Then he waited as others went to check off lists of who they thought
would be there, and who might have escaped.  He waited for Kel and
Pheran to wake up, and for Raine to pull herself together.  What was
to happen next would depend on her decision.

-----
[Katla]

"Raine?  Oh, gods, this isn't what I was... what..."  She stopped
herself.  Raine had known what she was in for it had been her choice.
"Raine, although the Warren has been most damaged by what these people
have done, I want you to have some say in what happens to Kel and
Pheran.  If you want, you can kill them yourself, or let us deal with
them.  But I want you to know what it is Derry and I propose to do
with the survivors."

She'd untied the girl and one of the other riders came to the door
briefly, handing Katla some clothes and some heated water to wash in.
It wasn't much, but it was all Chance could think of to help pull
Raine out.

"You know that normally the Warren banishes people it doesn't like,
right?"

Raine nodded slowly, and Katla sighed.  "Well, Derry and I are going
to do that, with the support of my father and J'red's and Kanler's.
Between them, they have enough power to make it a LandBound edict for
the ones found here.  We're going to leave them in the middle of the
Wastes, no food and no water, and wait for the Wraiths to come.  We'll
leave a rider there to make sure it's done."

Raine stared at her in shock.

"Trinale died today."  Katla said it fast, hoping to ease the hurt by
getting past it quickly.  "Her parents... her mother's dragon was
killed in the coal poisoning, and her father... he was going to
suicide them both.  Trinale tried to stop it, but... she missed her
teleport."  She stared straight ahead, reliving Derry's scream of
anguish and Lorelei's wounded eyes.  "I don't think anyone will have
that much a problem waiting for the Wraiths to come.  Or even
better... wild dragons..."

[Tag everyone who is there.  You know who you are]

-----
NRPG --
Okay, I don't know what you want to have happen to Jason, Arlene, so
I'll leave that to you.

Barb:  Neither Derry nor Katla will stop Raine if she wants to do the
deed herself.  In fact, if she wants, she can ride with whoever is
waiting for them to get eaten.

Is it justice?  Dunno, exactly, but nice as they are, D and K are on
an eye-for-an-eye sort of level.  They *seriously* want K'n'P to
*hurt*.

Note:  This is intended to kill the NPC's involved, so if you don't
want that to happen, get NPC's out of the way.  With luck it'll make
the Cult issue quite dead.

Respectfully Submitted,
Jill E. Flansburg
Katla, Derry, et. al.
WhiteRiver Warren
DragonLands

             X-FILES                         DRAGONLANDS
Director, X-Files Division           Rhiannon, WarrenLady  *Xylian*
Sterling Kincaid, TL, ECHO           Elswyth and Aedra   *Keldarra*
Damien Cunningham, Forensics         Katla and Satinka *Whiteriver*
Xan X. Xavier, Trainer               Zera and Mazel       *Norwall*

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                         Vasaris, the Fuzzy Dragon
   Jill E. Flansburg                |              vasaris@az.com
   CS HMC 1994                      |  jflansbu@muddcs.cs.hmc.edu
   History, WWU 199?                |  vasaris@divcom.umop-ap.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=