They moved on in silence now, and much more carefully. Grace and Faith found themselves finally able to keep up and get their breath as Lord Hinterstrad slowed down.

The presence of the goblins became much more obvious as they went on. Goblins were not subtle creatures when they felt at home, as Captain Murkagh had explained to them once. Half of his heritage was one of the more tolerable forms of goblin. He did not elaborate on his "father's" relationship with his mother, and she did not feel the need to pry. The Staves were a very equitable calling, and would take any good man or woman, of any race, who wanted to serve.

It made her wonder why they had ever taken this pompous man-child. Perhaps it had been some form of nepotism toward his noble family.

But she did not dwell on it. Both sisters kept their eyes open for danger. Grace held her spear at the ready, and Faith kept one hand on her sword.

Lord Hinterstrad stopped them at a clearing. Ahead of them stretched an area of forest that had been clear-cut for lumber. Across it waited a small tributary to the river, and a barge loading-station.

Three creatures stood guard outside with cruel barbed iron spears: they were short, stocky creatures with green skin, and scraggly hair of orange kept in strange flamboyant styles. The largest one had a brass nose-ring, while the smallest bore indigo tattoos on half his face. When they laughed, it sounded out with a high-pitched, almost childlike shriek.

Grace's heart sank. "Oh no."

Faith cursed under her breath. "Hobgoblins."

Lord Hinterstrad squinted. He turned to Faith and Grace and hissed quietly, "Those are not the goblins camped to the west! Those goblins were Mongrelmen!"

"Well at least we know who's stealing the children," Grace said.

The door of the loading dock office opened. The first creature out was a big black-skinned Oerdoeg with an oversized jagged sword on his back and black armor on his muscular frame. Accompanying him was a well-dressed man, bald and pale, thin featured, wearing a cloak that glinted obsidian. Behind him, a black robed figure with one hand gloved. Behind him, a small, muscular Sworden with a pair of pearlescent falchions on his back. His face bore a short, unkempt brown beard on almost childlike puffy cheeks. He swaggered arrogantly behind his fellows, his hands in his pockets.

Steuben Trent.

Grace squinted. "Oh now this is interesting..."

The black robed man shook hands with Steuben and clapped him on the shoulder in friendly fashion, contradicting his ominous appearance. He turned and said something to the man in the obsidian cloak, who merely nodded once with a half smile. Steuben laughed.

The bandit-king waved, and the black-robed figure returned the wave, then gestured away with his gloved hand. The air seemed to ripple where he gestured, and then it was as if a hole tore in reality. The robed figure and the man in the obsidian cloak stepped into it, and the hole closed. Steuben went back inside and the Oerdoeg followed.

Grace licked her lips. "We can take the three outside easily. The trick will be to--"

"No." Lord Hinterstrad glanced at her. "He was so desperate he came to me and tried to blackmail me into hiding him. He needed help, and if those unsavory figures were so friendly with him, I wager he got it."

Faith sighed. "We could go back to Murkagh. At least we have a lead."

Lord Hinterstrad growled in frustration.

"Look," she said, "I know how you feel about him, but I promise he will help--"

Something leapt out of the trees with an angry, throat rattling scream.

"Faith!"

Faith rolled with a snarling grunt, throwing the hobgoblin off of her and against a nearby ironwood tree. With one thrust of her spear, Grace pinned the creature there. She heard Lord Hinterstrad tackle another behind her.

Faith turned, drawing her sword. She prepared to thrust at the next, but instead the creature stopped, raising a horn to its lips.

She threw herself forward to stop him sounding the alarm.

One short blast of the horn sounded before she split it asunder with a swing. On the back-swing, she cut him across the stomach, came up and around, and down through his shoulder with a splash of blood.

Lord Hinterstrad broke the neck of his quarry and jumped up. Grace recovered her spear and looked toward the clearing. The three Hobgoblins stood ready, their spears out and forward. The Oerdoeg strode out of the dock office ready for battle, his huge rusty sword out in his hands and ready. Steuben came out smiling, giving his shell falchions a twirl in each hand.

"Come on out, you old bastard! They already told me you're out there! Guess you finally got a pair! And I don't mean your Mirrorfolk paladins, either!"

Grace squinted. "Why the iron weapons? Are they afraid of faeries?"

Lord Hinterstrad sighed in frustration and stepped out into the clearing.

"What--"

"Follow!" Faith stepped out after him.

Steuben laughed. "There you are, tiger-blood! I wondered when you were gonna get tired of me!"

Lord Hinterstrad held his staff down across his waist in both hands, pacing a little. Faith stepped up next to him and began to recite what Captain Murkagh had taught her to say. "Steuben Trent, you are under arrest for--"

"Ahh, save it! You're no Staff, you don't have the authority!" He glared at Lord Hinterstrad. With an upward jerk of his head, he said, "I wanna hear it from him."

Lord Hinterstrad stopped pacing, and turned to face Steuben. "I've had enough of your mockery."

Steuben sheathed his swords on his back and stepped forward, his arms up in a gesture of empty-hands. "It's not mockery, half-breed. It's a chance to relive your glory days."

Hinterstrad shook his head. "You are delusional."

"Hey, I'm not the one who really believed all that protect-and-serve horse-shit. That was you, Hinterstrad. Remember?" He chuckled. "Or have you tried to forget."

The Oerdog gestured to Faith. "I want that one before she's dead."

"Yeah?" Steuben nodded. "Good choice. I get the other one then."

Faith sighed. "Enough, Trent. Surrender or we come get you."

"All in good time, babe. Why don't you ask your friend here what he and I used to do together."

Lord Hinterstrad growled low. "I will take pleasure in killing you, monster."

Steuben looked right at him with a glare full of hate. "Why don't you ask him why he's not a Staff of Justice anymore."

Lord Hinterstrad roared a full, animalistic roar. He lept in, spinning his staff out to its full length and came in for Steuben's head. Steuben ducked low, having his swords out in his hands in an instant. He spun in with deadly cuts, but Lord Hinterstrad kicked him backward. He fended back the three hobgoblins with another spin of his staff.

The Oerdoeg moved to cleave Lord Hinterstrad in two, but Grace dropped down to one knee, flipping her spear over so that shaft rested on her shoulder just below the head, and the butt rested on the ground. "Faith!"

Faith ran up the shaft of the staff. When her foot was firmly planted on the flat side of the spear-head, Grace roared and lifted off the ground on her legs, leveraging her sister up. Faith roared as she flew through the air, her sword drawn back for a devastating cleave. The Oerdoeg turned in surprise and raised his huge sword up for a parry. Faith knew it would not matter. There was a reason iron weapons were no longer in fashion when steel could be had:

Faith struck with all her might. Her sword hit the iron with a loud POP! The iron blade came cleanly off a mere three inches above the hilt, and the tip of her sword left an open cut in the Oerdoeg's cheek as she landed.

One of the hobgoblins moved to pin Lord Hinterstrad as he danced with Steuben. Grace flipped her spear back over and lunged forward, piercing him in the back. She leveraged him aside and out of the way. When the other two hobgoblins squared off with her, she backed up a few steps, to draw them off of Lord Hinterstrad. The one with the indigo tatoos made the mistake of thrusting at her. She feigned a parry but instead dodged, drawing the other in. Sinking down to one knee under his thrust, she pierced him through the throat. With a spinning bash toward the other, she forced him back. She rose back to standing, watching the hobgoblin through narrow eyes.

With a kick the Oerdoeg sent Faith rolling. She rolled away several more feet as he tried to stomp on her. He pulled a huge dagger, almost a short-sword into his right hand as he stomped again. This time Faith did not roll backward--she rolled forward. With a loud grunt, she thrust up between his legs. Blood spurted on her face as he roared. With another loud grunt and a twist, she wrapped herself around his back leg and forced him to the ground. Distracted as he was by the pain of her strike, he could not resist, nor could he brake his fall.

Faith struggled up. "You wanted me before I was dead." She stood astride him. "Here I am."

---

"Does it feel good?!" Steuben circled, his shell falchions moving in an almost serpentine fashion as he moved.

Morphiel held his staff up over his head, angled down, moving it in a slow circular motion himself. He had to set up an opening, but Steuben knew this style as well as he did--they had in fact both had the same teacher.

"Well?!" Steuben feigned a thrust for emphasis. Morphiel sank back a little, but did not attempt to parry. "Does it feel good to be playing Staff again? You loved it didn't you?"

"And you didn't." Morphiel started to bring the staff forward in a downward slam, but instead dropped low and extended the staff down under Steuben. Steuben went for it, hook line and sinker, but still managed to step back as he brought his crossed swords down to parry. With a loud roar, Morphiel slammed the end of the staff upward into Steuben's swords, slamming them together and up out of the way. Morphiel took the opening and stepped in, driving the end of his staff solidly against Steuben's nose.

CRACK.

"You're right." Morphiel stood over his prey. "I feel young and fiery again."

---

The Oerdoeg tried to roll over, but Faith thrust the tip of her sword into the back of his neck, finishing him. She looked to Grace, still circling with her hobgoblin. "Grace! On three! One!"

Grace circled, to put the hobgoblin between her and Faith. "Two!"

The hobgoblin glanced at both of them, nervously.

And then in unison, "Three!" Grace feigned a thrust low but came in high. Faith swung high, but dropped low for the leg. Even if the poor hobgoblin could have parried one of them, the other would have still landed. As it was, he lost a leg at the same time as he lost his adam's apple, wind-pipe, and spinal column.

The two sisters clasped hands and turned their attention to Lord Hinterstrad, now standing over the fallen form of Steuben Trent.

Steuben coughed. "Well?" He looked to Lord Hinterstrad. "Wad you godda do now, 'ero?"

Lord Hinterstrad knelt over him and said in a quiet, deep voice, "I'm going to bring you to Captain Murkagh, and they're going to interrogate you until you tell them where the children are."

Steuben coughed. "You' neva fide 'em."

Lord Hinterstrad narrowed his eyes. "You will talk."

"Oh whad?" Steuben smiled a bloody smile. "You' do me 'ike you did dat doppehgaeger?"

Lord Hinterstrad's face twisted in rage. He snarled as he pulled out his cobalt dagger.

"NO!" Faith stopped his hand. "We need him for information!"

Lord Hinterstrad looked at her in shock and shame.

Faith studied him in confusion.

"Yed." Steuben grinned. "Jud like ohd tibe, huh, you ohd sod ob a bit! 'Ou alwayd ad adimal!" Steuben cackled loudly, a sound that degenerated into coughs.

"And you'll always be alone." Lord Hinterstrad stood up and walked away.

Steuben scoffed. "I hab moh hep dad 'ou tink."

Grace began to tie his hands. "If that was all the help those two hedge-magi could offer you I'd consider a change of company."

Steuben chuckled as blood flowed down his face. "Dad waddet da help." He spat blood on the ground by his head. He looked to Hinterstrad. "hee 'ou id Hell, bastart. HOME!"

Before they could react, a black portal engulfed his body.

"No!" Faith lunged to grab him, but he was gone. Lord Hinterstrad turned back toward him and strode over. "What..."

Grace sighed. "We almost had him."

Lord Hinterstrad sighed. "Let's go tell Murkagh, for what that will be worth."

This time, the two sisters did not contest him. The three of them turned toward the town of Linden, defeated.