“What, overnight? Certainly not. My mission now is to find and serve Anyi.”

“But I’m tracking them, I must find Memine and the others. You have to help me!”

Orrock put a hand on Tanin’s shoulder. His fingers covered a full quarter of the Fell’s back. “I am no longer of Guar, little one. I am a cleric of the Holy Creator and must follow my mission to serve him.”

Tanin stepped back, his mind grasping for a way to convince the monk to guide him. “How do you serve your god?”

“By giving aid and love to all.” It sounded like a quote. Orrock glanced at the female, who grunted in her sleep. He added, “If they mean no harm.”

“Then give aid to me,” Tanin argued. The next thing he said tasted bitter, but he ignored it; this was too important to have a religious debate over. “Maybe Anyi sent me to you as part of your mission.”

Orrock let the hammer slide down until its massive head thumped on the ground. He leaned on the tip as if it were a cane. “Why do you persist in this quest? The Charic are cannibals and perverters of the words of the Holy Creator. Your betrothed is most likely already dead or devoured.”

Tanin spun away. “Because of me.”

Orrock said nothing, but Tanin saw his ears twitch. The Fell lowered his chin.

“I was there when it happened. I saw everything. Heard everything. And I did nothing.”

“You ran when your true love needed you?” Orrock’s eyes narrowed to such a degree Tanin thought he might be ready to strike him for such an offense.

“I didn’t run. I was harvesting fruit in a tree. A group of them came and were so close I could almost touch them, even as another group captured Memine. Before I knew it, there were a dozen of them. I couldn’t speak or move. I knew I had no chance. I just had to sit there, hoping they’d go away without killing me. If I’d tried to get to Memine, I’d be dead right now. Maybe her too. I couldn’t have saved her.”

He raised his chin defiantly. “So, yes, I suppose that’s the same thing as running. I didn’t do anything. That’s just as bad if not worse. If I must die, now, to save her and the others for that cowardice, then I will.”

Orrock was shaking his head before Tanin finished speaking. “That is not the same. I understand. You are noble, young Fell, and I respect that. Now from that place of respect I implore you, go home. There is nothing for you in this pursuit.”

“There’s nothing for me at home, I have no home, the Charic destroyed it all. Unless I do something, I am the last Fell.”

The giant sighed. Sharp rays of moonlight peeking through the canopy shone brightly on his ivory horns, as if the horns were polished.

“Walk this path alone, and you will die,” said the monk. “The Fell will be no more.”

“Serve your god and come with me to make sure that doesn't happen,” Tanin shot back. “Without Memine or the others they’ve taken, the Fell will be no more, regardless.”

Orrock gazed at Tanin for a long moment. Tanin couldn’t guess what he saw; a coward? A child in over his head?

Both are true, he thought.

“I cannot have your death on my conscience,” Orrock said.

“I forgive you of any blame. Tell your god that, if you wish.”

The wounded female stirred. Both males turned to look as she lifted herself onto her elbows and stared blankly back at them.

“Why is there a little Fell here?”

Orrock winced as he said to Tanin, “This is Mohani of the Agnise. I am afraid she will be coming with us on this journey, for better or worse. Believe me when I tell you I will be rid of her as soon as is possible.”

Mohani grinned salaciously.

Tanin did not smile at the implication in Orrock’s words, but he came very close. This wasn’t an army, but these creatures were more than he’d had. A faint glimmer of hope sparked in him, and he seized upon it gratefully.

“Can you stand?” Orrock said to Mohani, as if he couldn’t care less whether she could nor not.

The Agnise got to her feet, but not quickly. “Of course I can.” She realized her limbs were covered in strips of Orrock’s robe. “What is this? You cared for my wounds?”

“I did as Anyi instructs us to do.” Orrock pointed the hammer toward her. “I will keep this for now. You keep your distance. I am on a mission of my own, and I will not permit you to disturb it. Do you understand me, Agnise?”

Mohani shrugged and dusted off what remained of her pants. “You will have to sleep eventually.”

Orrock issued one of his bullish sighs, more nose than mouth. He knelt on one knee beside the unmoving figure of Iona and looked at Tanin. “We should begin now, despite the dark. Here. Place her over my shoulder.”

Tanin gently picked up Iona and draped her carefully over Orrock’s left shoulder while the giant angled his head away so Tanin wouldn’t impale himself on Orrock’s horns. Thus situated, the monk rose and destroyed the dying coals of the campfire. He used the hammer to point, this time into the forest.

“We walk!”

Orrock stepped purposefully into the woods, batting errant limbs out of the way. Tanin watched his bulk and felt another surge of hope.

Mohani gathered a leather bag and stepped after the giant.

“I’m Tanin,” Tanin said.

“I do not care,” Mohani replied, and followed behind Orrock.

The surge of hope dimmed.

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