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Geraldine looked at each other. Her
eyes were pulled away by a shadow blocking the light at the door as
Baldwyn entered, carrying the crying baby. She rushed over to her
daughter, ignoring the possible threat of armed men. She grabbed
Maxine up and smiled thankfully at Baldwyn.
    "You're all wet?" she asked, confused by the
dripping infant.
    "It's just water they used to get her down.
That spiderweb was sticky stuff!" Baldwyn answered.
    "Oh, well I'd best get her in something dry."
Geraldine hurried deeper into the house, disappearing behind
Evan.
    Baldwyn moved through their ranks in the
increasingly crowded house so he could take Evan's hand and clap
him on the shoulder. "Good to see you're okay! What of the
others?"
    "Some were taken," Evan said in a hush.
"Maybe all of them. It started with a few farms, but after you
left, it grew worse. Those bees descended on us like a swarm! There
must have been a hundred of them. Sent us running when we realized
what they was. We locked ourselves up as best we could but they
found ways in. We heard screaming and crying but as the days passed
there was less of it. None of us went outside; that's why I think
we're the only ones left."
    "Even..."
    Evan grimaced. "Farther out, away from the
forest, they might not have had any problems. We've been trapped
here."
    Baldwyn nodded. He turned as Kar and Karthor
entered the room. "These men said they'd help. That man in the
back, Karthor, he's a priest of Saint Leander. The lot of them
fought in the battles to the north earlier this year."
    "How can five men hope to fight giant
bees?"
    "Those weren't bees," Alto interrupted. "They
were wasps."
    Everyone's attention shifted to the former
farm boy. He cleared his throat and continued. "Small difference, I
suppose, but a bee would sting once and die. Wasps can sting over
and over again, plus they've got a nasty poison in their stinger.
Giant-sized, I don't know what it would do. I once saw a boy stung
a dozen times by normal wasps and it left him so sluggish and
swollen he nearly died."
    "You're not making me feel any better about
this," Namitus pointed out.
    "Sorry, just trying to help."
    "Stop helping," Tristam advised. "You say
these things came from the west? From an enchanted forest?"
    Both men nodded.
    "All right, stay put then. We'll search the
rest of your village and go from there. Take up that spear to
protect that baby and your pretty wife, Evan."
    Evan nodded and grabbed the spear from where
it rested against the wall.
    "I'm going to head to my farm," Baldwyn said.
"It's to the east. I need to know if my family is safe."
    "Wait until we've secured the town," Tristam
suggested. "Then I wish you the speed of the saints."
    Baldwyn offered a smile and then nodded
acceptance of the delay. Tristam turned to the Blades and tilted
his head back to the door. "Let's earn our keep."
    They filed out and gathered in the road away
from the residue of Kar's spell. Tristam looked up and down the
street at the handful of buildings. "There's not enough of us to
split up so we'll go at it one place at a time. One thing, though,"
Tristam paused and turned to stare at Alto and Namitus. "This is
not the time or place to be boasting about what we done. These
people are a simple lot; they're scared and grieving. They're not
children you can impress. They need to be reassured we can do what
needs to be done, not that we've lain with nymphs or fought off an
army of trolls and walked away to tell the tale."
    "We weren't—"
    Tristam held up a finger to stop Alto's
protest. "Think before you talk, lad. You've good intentions but
there's a lesson to learn here. It's not just making them feel good
about themselves. I could care less about that; I'm talking about
spreading good word about us. It'll come back to us one day if they
share word of what a good job we done and how we were nice to boot.
It'll get you more than just jobs down the road." He flashed a grin
and added, "It brings the ladies in, too."
    "Alto