While they are absent Coal comes trotting down the road with our large tent turned into a travois with Tammy on his back. When the war horse stops in front of Alberich Tammy swings a leg over and slides off. "Sorry Gwen at some point he marched over to me and made a ruckus until I followed him to your tent. Where in he kept pawing the ground near it, we figured out he wanted the tent and after talking a bit we figured out that we could turn it into a travois. Probably was meant to be done if necessary, and he also walked over to the food area and did the same so we added food to it. And then after we hooked it all up to him he stood in front of me and wouldn't move till I got on his back." She stops and notices the Grey colored unicorn next to Alberich. Then she looks furious, "what happened to her?"

She doesn't wait for an answer and walks over to Cassie and hugs her, "you poor thing who did this to you I'll rip them limb from limb." Alberich chuckles, "too late. I stabbed him through the heart and Cheshire shredded his body." Tammy turns to Alberich, "good; who ever it was. Was a monster and deserved death."

I walk over and clap Tammy on the shoulder, "it's not the only one he harmed. There were other's though she was the only unicorn. Her name is Cassie by the way and she is a two year old child." Tammy's head whips around and looks over Cassie, "where. Are. Your. Parents? If you are the only unicorn harmed here, why. Are you. Here. Without. PARENTS?" You could tell how furious Tammy was by her halting words. This woman protected those who couldn't protect themselves, so to hear a child was harmed was something she would hate.

Cassie hangs her head and Alberich answers, "Tammy please. I had Coal retrieve you because the youngling needs support. Why she was alone is that, in the magical society once the parents have taught all they can the young one goes on a journey to learn more for an arbitrary amount of time. We haven't contacted her family, because; well. They won't accept her as a unicorn without a horn."

"WHAT? Are you kidding me, you had better be kidding me." She looks furiously at Alberich and puts a protective arm around Cassie's neck, "I am afraid not Tammy. Though my kind will accept her, some old warrior's have either half a horn or no horn at all from fighting they underwent. It is not shameful to my kind." Tammy nods and hugs Cassie, "it's alright sweety. Momma Tammy will watch over you."

I chuckle, "so Cassie. Now you have a new dad and a new mom, not sure which one will be more protective." Cassie looks up surprised and eyes Tammy, "do you mean it?" Tammy pats her on the shoulder, "of course I do. So what if you are larger than me, anyone tries to mess with you I'll take them down." Alberich nudges Tammy, "hey get in line. I promised that first." I chuckle as Cassie looks amazed, "but I heard humans only cared about humans." Tammy stops mid argument with Alberich and turns toward Cassie, "that might have been true. Once, but times are different now. It doesn't matter to me what you look like, you are still a person. Maybe if people had learned that years ago Gwen wouldn't have been necessary to take down those Great dragons. Maybe we could have banded together and figured it out ourselves, if we don't change our viewpoint. We'll just keep repeating the same mistakes." Tammy looks at Alberich, "OK; DAD. I kill them and you stomp them into powder how about that?" He nickers and nods his head in agreement, "that can work for me unless the being is to big for you to handle." Tammy nods in agreement and then turns to me. "We'd better get that tent of yours off Coal so he can head back to camp." So we both walk over and take the tent off the horse and start putting it together as Coal heads back to the camp.

While we set it up Shadow and Peter return with Cheshire, and the men help finish setting up the tent. Peter is surprised by how it looks, and Shadow gives Tammy a sideways look. "Hey Shadow your horse was ordered by Alberich to fetch me and the tent so don't give me that look." Shadow nods his head and goes about setting up the sleeping bags. I turn to Peter, "Tammy this is Peter one of the acolytes of the 'priest' who did that to Cassie." I step in front of Tammy who had taken a threatening step toward the young man who cowers, again.

I touch Tammy's arm which was reaching for a knife, "at ease. He wasn't a perpetrator, but he does need to tell me what he is planning on doing with himself now." Tammy steps back and goes to help Shadow as Alberich nudges Cassie into the tent and instructs her to lay down. Peter shifts his weight back and forth a bit as if trying to word something accurately. "I um, would like to go with you." Then he cowers as if I was going to strike him, I look down at the cowering man. "What do you have to offer my future city Peter?" I sit on the ground in front of him to not appear threatening.

Upon seeing me sitting he sits down as well, "well. I do know the bible from front to back so I can be a priest to your people and try to give back to those Father Innocent wanted to harm." I tilt my head thinking before I answer him. "Alright, as I did plan on permitting religions to set up places of worship that will work. However, know that I said religions; as in more than one. I am making a place where all can be welcome, there fore as long as it causes no harm any religion will be permitted to be practiced within the walls of my city." I wave my right hand at the wall we were near, "religions like your 'father' had will not be tolerated."

Peter bows his head and responds, "I understand I shall attempt to be as open as possible." I nod to him, "also. I expect as you will at least at the start be a member of the city council will be required to learn how to protect yourself. I am sure Alberich will be happy to help you learn to not cower every time you see an angry unicorn." Alberich's voice floats out of the tent, "no. Alberich will teach the boy to run away from the angry unicorn and how to think while running." Peter flinches when he hears that. I stand and hold out my hand to help Peter stand, "Father Peter. I welcome you." He grasps my hand and stands brushing off his pants, obviously from Shadow. "Thank you Hunter Gwen, I shall do my best to serve the people no matter what guise they appear in."

Jake clears his throat behind Peter who jumps from surprise. Alberich semi mocks our new priest, "we need to work on that too." Peter face turns red and he slowly walks inside and I could hear him talking softly with those inside. Jake walks up to me with about half of the group we brought with, "the others are finishing up gathering the remains. I am going to take this group back and in the morning start bringing everyone forward. That should be plenty of time for these people to come up with a way to make a clean pathway to the far gate." I nod my head and he takes the group and heads into the forest, I walk over to the entrance of the town to watch what was going on inside.

As I watch Cheshire lands next to me with a cookie in his mouth, he starts moaning over it. "This is the best thing I have ever smelled! I must thank Harriet later." He swallows the cookie and then looks at me seriously. "It bothers me there was a hippogryph here, as Alberich said they are extremely rare. They are an intelligent species, they communicate only mind to mind; as the Gods did not gift them with speech. To lose one is a terrible thing, I can only hope it was unmated as they mate for life and will suicide if their mate dies. While I mourn my cousins, they breed rather fast so it isn't a great loss." I nod my head as I watch the townspeople scrambling about trying to place anything over the main portion of the road through town. A few people rushing around with the remainder of my fighters.

Over the next hour my fighters start bringing out the remains, the dwarves' remains first. They really were just remains, all there was left was bones. As one of my fighters stopped to show me what was in the leather bundles they carried. Peter joined me about that time, "I am sorry Hunter Gwen. The Father ordered all of the bodies burned 'after' what he did to them. All you will find is bones, and some feathers from the gryphons and the hippogryph." I nod my head staying silent as the line of people passing me with remains continue.

My fighters rounded up a few burly looking men with shovels to bury the hippogryph, I eyed them a bit. Gwen, besides being able to spot illness Cassie can tell when someone is not telling the truth. I pick my head up a bit at that, bring her out here please I have a job for her right now. I walk over to where the people were digging the grave, who were also watching around them out of the corner of their eyes. Once I get to where they were Alberich as well as Cassie and Shadow join me, "Alright gentlemen. I have some questions for each of you, and just know that if you lie you will be dead. That child that your 'Father' mutilated, is a lie detector." the men all stop digging and my fighters spread out at that. I turn to the closest, "were you a member of the 'Father's' guards?" The man gulps and nods his head slowly, "good. Did you participate in any of this slaughter?" The man gulps again and nods slower, "good; did the rest of them?" I wave my hand to the remaining diggers, the man nods his head again as one of them tries to hit him in the back of the head with the shovel.

Before he can Shadow drives a dagger into the man's back right through the spine and into the heart. I look at the rest of the men, "anyone else want to object?" They all shake their heads, "good. When you are finished digging this hole set the shovels over there." I point at a tree near Shadow, "then line up and in the morning you will be tried for your crimes." The men quickly get back to digging the hole and I turn to Cassie. "Tomorrow we will need to question each of these men in front of the assembled townspeople. Any sentence will be immediate, I will only kill in the case of murder and severe torture. If all they did was a single whipping I will have the same administered to them." Cassie nods her head and Alberich leads her back to the tent, the men moving much faster upon hearing what was said.

With the threat of death hanging over them the men dig the grave swiftly and I carefully placed the bones of the hippogryph inside it with the feathers that Cheshire said belonged to it. I had the five men shackled and tied to the wall near my tent as if they tried to get away they would be heard and they would be killed on the spot. I also informed them of this fact. I then wearily found my sleeping bag forgetting to eat and fell asleep.