[Chain Gang]

They waited a few minutes for the others to arrive, and then the group gathered in front of the store. All of the locals... what remained of them at least... were anxious. Attacking December's henchmen was dangerous enough, but now they were about to cross an entirely different line. From towns more distant than anyone could imagine, and times further back than most could remember, there was one certainty among thieves and cut-throats: That stealing from December was the quickest way to earn a painful death. Yet now that was exactly what they were about to do. The powerful lord's reign was drawing to a close. His men had been struck down and now the key to his treasure lay among the thieves. Would they dare use it?

"I can feel the magic from here," said Belladrox. The scraggly, one-handed mage was standing at the rear of the eight-member group.

"I don't feel anything," said Chain.

"Because you don't know what to look for. Trust me... there are some SERIOUS wards on that door. Walls and windows too."

"Deal with them."

"My pleasure..."

Belladrox stepped forward and stood before the store's simple, unimposing front door. He made a quick motion with his hand.

"It's done," he said.

"Are you sure?" said one of the thieves, an con-man named Porter. "I don't feel like getting blown up tonight."

In response, Belladrox reached out and pulled the door open. There were no sparks or fireballs... no alarms or incinerating blasts of magic. The door wasn't even locked.

"Grab your bags gentlemen," said Belladrox. "FREE JEWELS FOR EVERYONE!"

He cast another spell and a ball of bright light preceded him into the store. The others followed. They entered a spacious shop, whose spotless white carpet and immaculately clean display cases spoke of opulence beyond imagination. The cases were filled with jewels of every shape and color. Rubies. Sapphires. Emeralds. All perfectly cut and meticulously set in the most elegant gold and platinum fittings. There were loose diamonds the size of a man's fist... and larger. Necklaces and jewelry that would make royalty drip with envy. The stones were priceless. Some even BEYOND priceless. Fire Opals. Blood Rubies. Dragon's Eyes. There was even a full-sized jade sword hanging in the window.

"...gods..."

The eagerness of the thieves vanished as they took it all in. For several minutes, they were struck completely dumb by what lay before them. All they could do was stand and look on in awe. Then... slowly... the greed returned. Bags and sacks appeared from underneath tattered clothing... satchels and knapsacks were hastily opened in preparation for the bountiful harvest.

"Watch the cases," said Belladrox. He made another motion with his hand, and all of the display cases glowed briefly with an eerie green light. "Alarm-wards deactivated. Every thief for himself..." Belladrox pulled a bag out from under his own shirt and shoved several people away from the nearest display case. He sat the bag on the floor, shattered the glass and began scooping out diamonds by the handful. Soon, the night was alive with the sounds of greed... breaking glass and the delicate 'clink' of fine jewels as they were thrown into rough burlap sacks. The smaller pieces vanished almost instantly... for those would be the easiest to pawn. Next went the rubies and sapphires. Huge, unwieldy diamonds were tossed from thief to thief like a children's game. Every few tosses, one would disappear into someone's sack and another one would start making its way around. Sacks were filled and pockets stuffed to overflowing. One man even held two small emeralds in his mouth... puffing his cheeks out like an over-fed chipmunk.

"Dump that cheap stuff OUT!" shouted Belladrox. He was literally drunk with greed. "We've got a whole 'nother FLOOR to loot!" He pointed to the stairwell what let up to the second level. Everyone shouted and screamed and yelled and hollered and stampeded up the stairs to continue their orgy of greed.

No one bothered to ask where Chain went.

Chain had already made his way into the store's back room, where he was conducting a methodical search. He checked every drawer and every box. He rapped on every panel and tapped on every floorboard. Nothing. No secret panels. No hidden compartments. He returned to the main room and continued the search. His heavy boots crunched on the layer of broken glass the thieves had left behind. Again, he checked every crevice and cranny. He unsheathed his knife and sliced huge holes in the white carpet... but found nothing underneath except a sturdy wooden floor. After checking the stairway, he headed upstairs.

The upper floor was just a continuation of one below... with more cases displaying even more elaborate wares. But now all of the cases were smashed and their contents strewn about the room. The thieves could carry no more, so now they were playing games... mostly trying to hit each other in the head with gemstones. They were careful to avoid Chain as he slowly made his way through the room.

"What are you LOOKING for!" said Belladrox as Chain concluded his search.

"I don't know. But it isn't here."

"Where's your loot?"

"I've been paid well enough."

"Yeah..." said Belladrox. "So who's bankrolling this operation anyway?"

"If you knew... I'd have to kill you. And believe me, you'd thank me for it."

"Heh, heh, heh..." Belladrox chuckled and looked around for anything else he could possibly steal. Lying on the floor was a crystal goblet... trimmed in gold with a large ruby set in the base. He picked it up and lifted it above his head. "HERE'S TO CHAIN!" he shouted.

"YEAAAH!!!!!" the others replied.

"AND DECEMBER!"

"YEAHHHH!!"

"All right everyone," said Chain. "Grab your loot and let's go."

"What? We're not finished!"

"You've already got more than you can carry, all of you. Let's go."

Amid grumbling and whispered curses, the thieves gathered their loot and headed down the steps. Belladrox was the last to go. His share was quite a bit larger than everyone else's, and just when Chain wondered how the one-handed mage was going to carry it, Belladrox cast one of the spells he had stolen from Lovvorn's mind. The sack of goodies rose into the air and floated weightlessly behind him as he descended.

---

Downstairs, they were greeted by a single man dressed in dark armor. It was one of the mercenaries Chain had sent to watch December's house. He ignored the thieves and waited patiently for Chain to appear... then he pulled Chain aside.

"December's left the house. Alone."

"The woman?"

"Still there as far as I can tell."

Chain nodded, then turned to the thieves...

"Belladrox!"

"What?"

"Can you get us past the wards at December's house?"

"Are you kidding? Of COURSE I can!"

The smile that crept across Chain's lips was the very definition of sinister.

---

[Sottie]

The enormous drunkard wove a pattern on the street with staggering feet as he tottered away from the closing doors of The Loose Waitress Inn. The bar had just recently shut down for it was nearly three in the morning. On this particular morning, the Loose Waitress had been Swami Sottigee Briatinebridee's last drinking stop before the bars closed. It was obvious the drunkard was carrying a load of ale in his capacious belly large

enough to fell an elephant, yet somehow with each stagger he defied gravity and the fall that seemed always just about to claim him.

The totterer, staggered down the street and headed in the general direction of the Inebridee Brewery on the far

Northeastern side of town. It was not long before he was staggering through an alleyway taking an ill-advised short-cut, or perhaps he had just staggered off course; it was impossible to know if the tippler could still think, as he drunkenly hummed a tune filling in a slurred word here and there.

[Mugger]

A man separated himself from the shadows in front of the drunkard, aiming a crossbow.

"Hold it mister."

[Sottie]

"Huh?" Sottie lurched to a relative halt, though he was still reeling with drunkenness.

[Thug]

From behind the drunkard a man raised a sap, now that his partner had grabbed the stupid drunk's attention, it would be an easy matter to knock him out.

The sap came down sharply, but what it hit was uncertain for the drunkard had hiccuped and lurched sharply to the side as the sap was swung. One thing was certain, once the sap hit, the drunkard dropped like a rock.

"Piece of cake."

[Mugger]

Hehheh-whah?

The drunk had gone down, but by some perverse luck he'd rolled head over heals and now his heels drove the crossbow into the mugger's face with astonishing force. The man hit the trigger as it was pushed into his finger and took a shot at the moon, but he never got a chance to see if he'd hit because the crossbow struck him in the face shortly after the shot went off. All he could see now were stars.

[Sottie]

Sottie rolled up on his feet and continued in the direction he had originally been going in. He staggered as the thug tried to brain him a second time from behind, but the thug only managed to hit his broad back because of his erratic reeling. Somehow the tippler's staggering foot had better luck.

[Thug]

The drunken fool's foot shot back to try to balance his forward stagger.

"Aiii!" the thug screamed as the drunkard's errant foot found his groin, lifting him off the pave and leaving him in a ruined heap beside his senseless comrade. An ale skin landed in the Thug's lap, adding insult to injury.

[Sottie]

"Yool loog liig yoooo cooould-yous a dring." The drunkard chuckled as he reeled onward having never really paused in his erratic forward motion.

As Sottie tottered out of the alleyway and onto another street he heard a howling not so far away.

"Zlade? Whad's wrrrlong blabe? Stug in da trab?"

Gradually, the drunkard's tottering speed tripled and it seemed as though the fall that was waiting for him at every step was even nearer, but somehow it seldom managed to sink it's teeth into the drunkard, and when it did he rolled back up on his feet like a weighted top.

Soon he stumbled into a dark alley where he could hear Zade's nearby wolfish frustration. The alley reeled and swam in the drunkard's vision but no wolf was visible.

"Id's berry darg in dis allley." Sottie reached into one of the many pouches on his belt and produced a small mushroom, which he dropped. He dug deeper and came out with two more which he shoved in his mouth and swallowed.

"Hayyyy," the drunkard spluttered as he fell on his belly and nuzzled the mushroom he had dropped from the dirt and cobbles of the alley into his mouth. "Mudge bedder." The drunkard had eaten the dropped mushroom, but was at a loss as to how to get back on his feet.

"Zlade? Wherrr-arre youu?"

[Zade-wolf]

Zade paused in her struggles as a familiar scent came to her. She sniffed, and then gave a long, sorrowful howl. Though Zade's mind was safely nestled away, the beast knew that help was near...

[Sottie]

Sottie pushed up and gradually climbed back to his feet. He followed his ears towards Zade's sorrowful howl. The tippler could see better now in the dark if one didn't count all the extra hallucinations. The vicar of intoxication spent a little time wavering as he looked around the dreamscape panorama of the mushroom-enhanced alley.

"Therre youuu arre, Zlade."

Sottie staggered into the deep shadows of the alley and through an illusion. The drunkard swayed as he looked down at the chained wolf.

[Zade-wolf]

Though her rescuer had the form and sound of a man, she recognized the scent as that of a friend. Unable to understand the man's words or reply with words of her own, Zade gave a high-pitched whine.

[Sottie]

"Whooo haz dun dis to youuu Zlade? I seee Chaiins and maaagely." Sottie looked at the chain rapped around Zade and blinked. "Blerry combligated." The drunkard leaned down and scooped Zade off the cobbles. "I will fligure oud howww to fffree you laeder. We muzt glo blefore diz magely combes bagk."

The mountainous drunkard hardly felt Zade's weight for the load of ale he was already carrying. Somehow he managed to rapidly stagger out of the alley, over two streets, down the outdoor basement stairwell of a half-wrecked building and into the basement where he fell over, luckily on his back with the she-wolf cushioned by his ale belly. "Ooof!"

Sottie blinked as he looked at the chained Zade on his chest and belly. "Youu arre suge a preddy bidch, but howl did jou ged onnn myyy belllly? Sottie's mouth opened. "Ohhhhh yeaaah," Sottie remebered. "Wee muzzd ged diz chainnn offff youuu."

Sottie studied the chain wrapped around the she-wolf atop his belly. To one so drunk, it was like the Gordian knot.

"Ii'lll bed youu cooould ussse a dlingk avder whad yoou've beeen thrrrough," Sottie took up one of the ale skins hanging on his person and tried to stick the end into the she-wolf's mouth.

"Uhhhohhh, youuu halve a chain in yourl moudth," Sottie observed. "Id izz nod riiight forrr yooou tooo bee deeenighed ththe riiight tooo dlink," Sottie said with rightious indignation befitting a priest of the gods of intoxication. "Innn theee naaame of Ale thad izz hoooly, I shalll freee yooou," The drunkard said, invoking the inspiration of the gods of drink. Somehow the drunkard's focus narrowed and inspiration struck. "Dis iz ththe end of thee chain," Sottie blinked and began tugging and repositioning the chains. Any normal man as wasted as the ace of cups would have been at a loss, but Sottie was truly inspired, his luck uncanny. Though it was anyone's guess as to whether Zade was less entangled or more entangled when his divine inspiration ebbed, one thing was certain, the chains on Zade's head and mouth had been removed and overal, the chains were looser than they had been.

After finally getting the chain off, Sottie softly but clumsily petted Zade's head. The normal man might have been afraid to do so, and the smell of fear can make a wolf truly vicious, but the drunkard smelled no more of fear than he did of sobriety.

"Thear, nowww yooou cannn breeeath bedder," Sottie said triumphantly. "I halve Ineeebridee darg taind, annnd Ieeebridee p-pale levd. Sottie set the ale skin's nozel to a drizel at first and stuck the spiggot into Zade's mouth like a nipple, dribbling ale into her mouth, slowly increasing the flow as the she-wolf caught on.

[Zade-wolf]

Comforted by the scent of a pack-mate, the growling beast relaxed and partook of Sottie's offering. Her straining muscles softened as the ale took the edge off of her instinctual anger at being restrained. Flashes of Zade's memories began to surface... the man in blue... the man that had hurt her... the chains... brief glimpses flashed and died like fireflies in the night. The wolf did not understand them. They were frightening... but somehow the beast knew not to fight them.

It knew that its time had come and gone... at least for tonight. Now it was time to rest... to let go... to return to the darkness...

[Sottie]

After serving Zade a goodly portion of ale, and having taken a nip or two himself, the vicar of drink returned to the puzzle of Zade's chains. This time, he was at a loss for inspiration. The looped guru reached out through the brotherhood of intoxication, but found that none of his pack mates had drunk recently enough to be reachable through the brotherhood. Sottie sighed and carefully rolled to the side transfering Zade from

his soft belly to the cold stone floor of the abandoned basement they were in.

"I halvve too mudge ale forr braaains too free yooou. Yooou willl neeeed sooome cllothez wwwhen you chaaange annnywayze. I willl goo fedge a-a wwwagon ad the brewwwery annnd come bag forrr youuu. Id woullld nod be saafe forr beoble too ssee mmee carrry a wolve thrrrrough towwn eeven ad diz hour. I willl redurn azzz quigly azzz I cannn."

With that, the enormous brewmaster staggered out of the basement and up the rubble-choked stair to the side of the half-tumbled building and out onto the street. Once back on the street he staggered as rapidly as he could in the general direction of the Inebridee Brewery.

[Zade]

The brewmaster had been gone for only a few minutes before the change came. It was slow at first... the thinning of the fur... the unnoticeable shortening of the snout. But as it progressed, the change came faster and faster. Lupine fangs receded... legs lengthened and thickened...

Fortunately, Sottie's drunken attempt to free Zade had loosened the chains in just the right places to keep the emerging human form from being strangled. As Zade's limbs and torso changed shape, the chains fell almost completely away. And finally it was done... the beast was gone, and in its place was Zade.

She opened her eyes almost immediately.

The first thing she noticed was that she had no idea where she was or how she got there. Her memories ended with fighting Chain, and she couldn't even remember how THAT fight had ended. The last thing she CLEARLY remembered was... her hands.

Zade looked down at her palms. Chain had impaled her... stuck her to the wall with daggers through the palms. But there were no wounds. There was more to the fight... she was SURE of it. But... but...

But why was she naked in a dark basement?

Completely naked.

And wrapped in chains.

...Chains...

Zade's mind jumped to the only logical conclusion. There WAS more to the fight... and she had lost. But instead of killing her, Chain decided to do something much, much worse.

Zade looked down at herself.

Anger and disgust mixed in her gut. Her skin burned with rage and rose into sickly goosebumps all at the same time.

"...that bastard... That BASTARD!"

She stood up and cast around for some rags to cover herself. Her mind was consumed with only three things... clothes... weapons... And Revenge.

---

[Lovvorn]

For the third time in ten minutes, Lovvorn rolled off the table and tried to stand. When his right foot touched the floor, the resulting pain nearly blasted him back into unconsciousness. Despite Clussh's treatment and the makeshift splint, his leg was completely incapable of supporting any weight. Walking on it with his considerable bulk was absolutely out of the question. Lovvorn pulled himself back onto the table with a grunt. A few earlier attempts to levitate hadn't gone much better. His mind was still reeling; he had to wait for his head to settle. The pain from his leg and shoulder were like twin daggers in his mind. It hurt to even *think* about what had happened... and even when he tried, his memories of the events were distorted and fragmented at best. He remembered Belladrox... he could still feel his right knee being shattered by the rogue's spiked mace. After that there was something else... something Belladrox did to his mind... but couldn't remember. Lovvorn tried to reason it out, yet failed miserably. He knew Belladrox didn't have any psi abilities, so what had the battle-mage been doing to his mind?

A stone.

There had been a stone. Lovvorn remembered feeling it pressed against his forehead. Then what? More pain. Then... his mind. Something was in his mind. After that, everything was a broken jumble of images. He knew Zade had rescued him, but he couldn't quiet picture that either. Everything was fuzzy. He had faded in and out of consciousness... mostly out.. until just a few minutes ago when Clussh was treating him. She wanted to cut off his leg, and THAT woke him up in a big hurry.

But what had happened to him?

Unable to figure it out, he did the only thing he could do... pout.

"Hmmph."

"Stay off that leg," said Hars.

"Thank you, mother." replied Lovvorn.

The burly thief was tending to his friend Rivus, who was still unconscious on the table next to Lovvorn. Just beyond Rivus lay Eric Hood, who had not moved since Belladrox's bolt pierced his chest. It was clearly a fatal injury. December's second-in-command should have been dead... but something was keeping him alive.

"It's a wonder she was able to save that limb at all. Trying to walk now will just undo all her work."

"Yes, mother. I need a drink. Several drinks. Several LARGE drinks."

Unfortunately there were none to be found.

"What kind of thieves don't have any ALE stashed away in their hide-out?"

"Thieves that want to stay alert and alive."

"Didn't do too good a job at that tonight, did you?"

Hars flashed him a sour look.

"Sorry."

"HE'S HERE!" came a shout from down the hall. It was the guard, reporting on an expected arrival.

Hars turned toward the door with one hand on his sword. Lovvorn slid off of the table, only to whimper and hop back up onto it.

December's entrance was preceded by a sudden drop in temperature, as if someone had thrown open a door on a cold winter night. Lovvorn shivered while Hars stood in as rigid a pose as his own injuries would allow. They heard his steady footfalls approaching. Each slow step sent chills down Lovvorn's spine... and a corresponding twinge of pain to the mage's leg.

The icy crimelord entered the underground hall. Lovvorn knew something was wrong from the first glance. Everything about him was... NOT December. His snow-white hair was slightly disheveled... not immaculately combed and placed as it had been every other time Lovvorn had seen him. Instead of the stern almost-frown that he always wore, December's expression was one of slight annoyance. December was never annoyed. Angered, yes. Annoyed? Never.

And then there was J'Hasp. The hideous man-creature had always been December's constant companion... but tonight, December had arrived alone. Why?

Upon seeing Lovvorn and Hars, December halted. Hars stepped to one side, revealing Rivus and Eric lying prone and motionless on the tables. With the exception of December, everyone in the room was covered in blood.

December looked down into Hars's eyes, then turned his gaze on Lovvorn.

"It wasn't our fault!" shouted the mage. "We were ambushed!"

"Chain." said December.

"He and his men attacked Lovvorn and Eric-"

"We were ambushed!"

"And as near as I can tell... he set up the Night's Bloom to take a fall."

"And tell me, thief... just HOW did he do that?"

"We attacked a shipment of gold-"

December raised his hand, silencing Hars.

"You made an unprovoked attack despite my warning against unnecessary risks?"

"Yes," replied Hars in an even tone. Though he was clearly in the wrong, the red-haired rogue evinced no signs of shame.

"Then what transpired is the result of YOUR folly."

"But the whole thing stinks of Chain. An attack on Eric and Lovvorn on the SAME night the Bloom is ambushed? With N'Doki and Zade missing as well? That bastard had a hand in it, I'm sure."

"N'Doki comes and goes as he pleases. And as for Zade-"

"She saved us," said Lovvorn. "She's out there somewhere... alone."

"When I sent a man to look for her, all he found was a bunch of dead bodies. Same thing we found at N'Doki's cemetery."

"Then they both still live."

"You don't know that. They could be rotting in a gutter somewhere... or captured."

"What of Mr. Hood?"

"He took a bolt to the chest and lost a lot of blood," said Hars. "He's not dead, but as for being alive... not even Clussh could say if he would pull through or not."

"Clussh. You sent for a common healer-"

"Clussh isn't common. And don't worry, your name wasn't mentioned."

December stared coolly at Hars for a moment, and then turned to leave.

"WAIT!" shouted Lovvorn. "Where are you going?"

"There is nothing I can do here... I should not have come. My presence is required elsewhere."

"What!?! This is an emergency, you can't LEAVE!"

"I decide what is and is not an emergency... not you." December continued out of the room, with Hars not far behind him. Lovvorn slid off of his table, balanced himself on his good leg, and hopped after them as fast as he could.

"Are you DAFT, man!" bellowed Hars. "Chain is making his move, just like Zade said he would! The Night's Bloom is down to a handful of swords, and every last one of your men is either injured or missing! You can't just WALK out of here like nothing's going on out there!"

"If you are concerned about your safety-"

"SAFETY BE DAMNED! If we aren't going to hand Chain his intestines on a PLATE tonight then he'll DAMNED SURE be handing us OURS by morning!"

"As you yourself observed, our troops have been decimated. We are in no condition to act."

"So what are saying? That we're just going to SIT here and let him come AFTER us!"

December nodded calmly.

"MADNESS!"

"Quite the contrary," said December. "I am seeing more clearly now than I have in years."

"Sure doesn't look that way to me!"

"We cannot escape our destinies, thief. What once was lost shall be restored... HAS BEEN restored. And what exists now... must pass away. Chain is just a tool of fate... and fate is inevitable."

"Who are you?" said Lovvorn. "Who are you and what did you do with the REAL December... because you CERTAINLY aren't him!"

December looked down at Lovvorn. As he did, December's expression changed... almost as if he were remembering something unpleasant. For a moment, December almost looked sad.

"It shall come to pass after all," he said. "For that, I am sorry."

"What?"

"Good-Bye, Lovvorn."

December turned away from them and disappeared down the hall.

"'Goodbye'? What was THAT supposed to mean?"

"It means we're on our own," said Hars. "Come on..."

"On our OWN! What are we going to do!?"

"We're going to save our skins by whatever means we can."

Lovvorn leaned on Hars' shoulder and they returned to the meeting hall.

"We can only assume Zade and N'Doki are dead," said Hars. "So that leaves you and whatever men I can scrape up."

"I'm no use to anyone. I can't even levitate... I won't get my strength back until I've had a few... uhhh..."

"What?"

"Uhhhh...."

"What is it, man?"

"Uhhh....Hars?" Lovvorn pointed to the empty table next to Rivus. "Where's Eric Hood?"

---

[Theesa]

Theesa sat alone on the edge of December's bed, staring down at the object in the palm of her hand.

December's wedding ring.

A simple band of gold that burdened her soul like a boulder around her neck. Her hand ached from holding it, yet she could not set it down. The ring held her captive... not by force or enchantment. But by her own love for the man who owned it. He wanted her to use the ring to discover his secret. His shame. Somehow, he had convinced himself that once she knew, she would toss aside her feelings and leave him.

Was he right?

Theesa couldn't even imagine it. Despite her paltry efforts to the contrary, her love for December was so strong now that leaving him would be like tearing her own heart out. She knew that he loved her, too... in his own way. But yet he seemed reluctant... almost afraid. She had come to his bedroom to be with him, yet they ended up talking and holding hands until the moon was high in the sky. Though she was innocent when she married her first husband, she was not so innocent that didn't know a man's fear when she saw it. December was afraid. Of what? Of her? Of what she represented?

There were so many questions... so many secrets that were hidden beneath the surface. What if December was right? What if one of those secrets was so terrible that it could drive her away. Could she bear to learn it? Could she risk NOT knowing it?

Theesa looked down at the ring, and it glinted back at her in the dim light of the room.

Not one ember of curiosity glimmered within her. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to see.

Maybe she already knew the secret. Maybe a hint of it lay hidden in what she had already seen... December's wife... his employer, Ylthon... the King brothers. His brother-in-law Reynaldo and the obviously stolen map. What of N'Doki and J'Hasp... where did they fit in? And December's beating at the hands of the King brothers? The images tumbled in her mind like pieces of a puzzle. Theesa struggled to assemble them into a form that made sense, but her mind couldn't grasp it. How could THESE things lead to some terrible secret? How could they bridge the gap between the past and what she knew of his present?

They couldn't. She simply had not seen enough. Not yet.

Reluctantly, Theesa closed her fist around the ring. She took a deep breath as she prepared to open her mind.

"I love you, December," she said. "And after this... I will love you twice as much..."

Theesa let go of the present... and the past burst into her mind like a roaring flood....

[To Be Continued]