The highland forest gave way to a vast, open field of grass, waving dead and brown in the breeze and standing as tall as Gerrick's arm-pits. He led them into it, creeping low, like an animal on the prowl.

Gerrick's mother had come from a family that raised Heilan' cattle, great shaggy beasts with fur of auburn, and a pair of horns that dwarfed even the crowns of the Maradonian longhorns. Whenever she said "We're in tall grass," that metaphor was to be filtered through her experiences as a rancher's daughter. The cows represented the family, and tall grass was meant to symbolize wealth, abundance, and contentment. It was a metaphor that always confused Gerrick, who tended to think of tall grass the way Sine did:

Something growled through the stalks, a little ahead and to the left, far too close for Gerrick's comfort. Gerrick tensed for a fight.

Ansley raised her crossbow and snapped off a shot. Something yelped, and Sine lunged through the cover. The thing fought valiantly, but was no match for a dirk through the back of its neck. It took Sine only three seconds to silence the creature, a war-mastiff.

Gerrick nodded appreciatively to Ansley.

To him, being in tall grass meant fear, vulnerability to unseen dangers that lay in wait to ambush. He led them on, staying low.

After another hour, and a few tense moments of dodging patrols, Gerrick realized that none of General MaCaigh's own men were out here, only the Marsaukans.

Ansley whispered, "Where are all the outpost patrols?"

Ballymoran Outpost came into sight, a small granite fortress built against the side of a jagged gray and green hill, at the mouth of a pass south to Marsaukan. Gerrick studied the parapet walls. A flag flew from the gatehouse blazon with a sword through a chalice adorned with a shell. "That's our flag, but they're nae under siege."

Digs whispered urgently, "Everybody get down!"

Gerrick ducked down, looking around him and pulling his dirks. He started to wonder what Digs had seen, but soon he did not have to: the air filled with the roar from before, when they fought the black scout-ship. This roar was much louder, much deeper. Gerrick looked up.

It was easily three times the size of the Glacier, sable black, just like the scout ship, and shaped like a broad arrow-head.

Fearghas squinted. "are they gonna attack your outpost?"

Ansley shook her head. "Gerrick, we have to--"

Gerrick held up his hand with a sharp "sh!"

The ship began to slow, eventually coming almost to a complete stop right over Ballymoran outpost. It slowly lowered itself to the open field in front of the gatehouse.

Spider squinted. "Do you think they'll offer terms of surrender?"

The gatehouse rumbled open.

A man in black armor exited the ship, and was greeted by another man stepping out of the gatehouse to meet with him. Both had an entourage of servants who were very visibly not Innesfolk.

Gerrick felt his heart sink as he recognized the man from the gatehouse. "Hermann."

Ansley's face fell. "Oh gods. They've got Ballymoran."

Giacomo looked to Gerrick worriedly. "Gerrick, this is bad news. We have to get back and warn your father. They're going to use this place as a staging ground!"

"I know." Gerrick clenched his fists in frustration. "Come on. I wanna get a closer look."

Giacomo looked angry for just a second, then sighed and shook his head. "If we die, I'll kill you."

Gerrick grinned. "I'll remember ye said that." He signalled to follow.

And so they walked. Sine led them on a wide berth around the outpost, to one of the rocky hillsides to its north. After a few minutes, she instructed them wait and went scouting. A few more minutes yet and she came back.

"I foond a small cave. It's got a great view a' the ootpost, an' we can make our plans there whilst we take a wee rest."

Jonas nodded, winded. "Good. I could use a break."

Rose leaned back against a rocky outcropping. "Thank gods. Sine, could you slow down a little?"

Sine scowled. "We have tae move fast. We're sittin' ducks."

Giacomo sat down with a wince. "We're not doing anyone any good if we drop from exhaustion."

Sine looked to Gerrick. "What do you think?"

Gerrick watched the walls of the outpost carefully. He glanced back, surveying his friends with his eyes. They all glistened with sweat, even in the cold air, their breaths heaving in the autumn cold.

Gerrick nodded to Sine. "Take us tae the cave. We'll rest up."

Sine turned to go. "Tryy an' keep up, ye lot!"

The cave entrance sat about halfway up the slope of a hill. Gerrick only thought the journey this far had been difficult. Sine squeezed through the entrance first, a narrow crack formed by a boulder falling across the entrance of an otherwise large cave, and Gerrick went in after. Digs turned his skin granite gray and stayed out to watch the outpost.

Sine went to work on a fire. Gerrick set his pack down. "Alright, everyone get rested and take refreshment. If ye dinnae have water yerself, get some from someone else."

Rose began to dispense water as Gerrick sat down, scratching in the dirt of the cave floor.

Fearghas checked his pack. "Food. I knew I forgot something. Hey, can anyone spare any jerky or granola?"

Gerrick absently pointed behind him to his pack. "Take what ye like."

"Thanks, man." Fearghas began to dig.

Ansley pressed a cup of water into Gerrick's hand and crouched next to him. "What's yer plan?"

Gerrick scratched out a map of the outpost. "We have tae get inside an' see if any a' our vessels are still there. If so, we take one an' gae home tae warn Da."

Ansley arched both eyebbrows. "Ye wannae break intae a fortress captured by Marsaukans."

Gerrick shrugged in frustration. "Unless ye ken hoo tae fix th' Glacier."

Jonas sat down against the cave wall. "It's risky, but Gerrick's right. We have to get home some way."

Rose's voice in the background. "I can't believe you brought beer with you."

Fearghas's voice. "I didn't. Gerick did. This is good stuff, too."

Gerrick waved dismissively. "I dinnae bring beer. Noo let's get some ideas."

Jonas pointed to the makeshift map. "All their guards will be on actual entrances. If we can get one person up a rope here--" He pointed to a position on the rear wall, facing the hill-side, "They can...uhh..."

Gerrick waited for Jonas to finish, watching his face as he scrutinized the map. Gerrick could sympathize. This was a very knotty problem.

Gerrick squinted. "Hells, ye got me." He shrugged. "Normal options are create a distraction or open one a' the real gates, but--"

Fearghas sat down next to them. "This is great beer. Where'd you get it?"

Gerrick looked, about to demand to know what the hells Fearghas was on about--but then he saw the bottle.

The brown label showed only a chalice, the symbol of the Jester Divine.

Gerrick went wide-eyed. "No! Shyte! Ye dinnae drink that, didye?!"

Fearghas leaned back a bit from Gerrick, worried. "Aye..."

"Why?!"

Fearghas looked positively terrified. "You said I could take what I wanted!"

Gerrick took the bottle out of his hand. There was less than a slosh of liquid in it. He stared at it in horror. "Fearghas, this was blessed beer! I was savin' it fer when we need it!"

"Well whoever blessed it didn't do a very good job," Fearghas defended. "There was a fly in it."

Gerrick felt his heart sink. "What did ye do wi' the fly?"

Fearghas gestured over to where he had been standing. "I picked it out. No sense in wasting good beer."

Gerrick closed his eyes, clenching his fists in anger.

Digs leaned in. "Guys! The ship just took off! They unloaded a bunch of stuff and then left!"

Gerrick gave Fearghas one last rapproachful look before turning to Digs. "We have tae find a way in."

Digs squinted. "In?! Why the hell do we want to get in there?!"

"To steal a ship," Spider answered. "You were--" He coughed violently. "You were outside for that part of the plan."

Digs shrugged. "Okay, Fearghas gave me one of those grapples. Then what? I can't very well steal a sloop by myself."

Ansley smiled. "I got an idea."

Gerrick looked to her. "Oh?"

"How many grapples have we got between us?"

Fearghas said, "I brought four."

Ansley nodded. "Make a rope ladder oot a' two. Digs climbs in on the third an' lowers the rope ladder fer the rest of us."

Gerrick looked at the others, hoping to guage their opinions of the idea. No one seemed to object. Instead, they looked to each other, waiting to see what they all thought.

Giacomo was the first to venture his opinion. "Now there's a plan."

Gerrick smiled warmly at Ansley.

Spider chuckled. "Not bad."

Jonas pointed to the dirt-map. "The shipyard is here. We make our way there as quickly as possible and get gone as fast as we can."

Sine nodded. "We just might be able tae swing this."

Gerrick grinned. "Aye. Alright. Let's make this happen. We gottae move quick, so let's get to work on that rope ladder." He glared at Fearghas. Just before Gerrick turned away, he saw the boy looked down, shamefaced.