Knights: Legends of Ollanhar by Robert E. Keller Page A

own!"
    Galandra loaded her slingshot, while Lothrin and Brakthas
readied arrows. But by then the leader had vanished from the rooftop.
    "Now we're at war," said Brakthas.
    ***
    The Knights looked on with grim faces as Dallsa and Jace
tended to the wounded. Aldreya helped as well, though her healing sorcery was
very weak in comparison to the other two. After carefully extracting the arrow
from Jerret's thigh, they managed to stop the bleeding and seal the wound.
After that, they left Jerret alone to focus on healing himself while they
worked on Saranna.
    Saranna's injury was more difficult, as she didn't possess
the Knightly ability to heal herself. The barbed arrow had pierced one of her
lungs, doing significant damage, and had created a dangerous blood clot that
was seeking her heart. Dallsa had great trouble trying to dissolve the clot and
deal with other issues, while Jace helped keep Saranna stable. Meanwhile, the
moaning and bellowing of the injured Blue Vultures nearby was distracting.
    Fortunately, the barbarians in the tavern did not attack as
the two worked on Saranna, and at last they stabilized her wound. Unlike
Jerret, however, she would need a lot more care to recover.
    "What now?" Lannon asked. He was reluctant to let
the fight end here. He was still gripped by anger over what had happened to the
townsfolk.
    Aldreya sighed. "With Jerret and Saranna in dire need
of healing, our mission is jeopardized. Unfortunately, I feel we must move on
and deal with this issue later. We can't risk losing them."
    As much as it pained him to agree, Lannon nodded.
"They might not let us go, however. We may be forced to fight
anyway."
    Aldreya shrugged. "We shall see."
    "No point in letting it go now," said Brakthas.
"We've already angered their leader. They're going to seek revenge. I say
we charge the tavern and finish this. You Knights are some stout fighters. We
can take them."
    "Let's finish this!" said Daledus, who had
retrieved his axe.
    "This isn't the time," said Jace. "The fight
went badly for us, and that's just the way it is. We need to get out while we
can."
    "If we don't deal with them now," said Galandra,
"they will ambush us later. They're very sneaky. We should kill them all,
here and now."
    "I have no fight in me," said Bekka, who looked
utterly exhausted. "If you charge the tavern, count me out."
    Lannon sighed. "I wanted to see justice done, but it
seems we only made the situation worse. Justice will have to wait."
    "We could finish this," said Prince Vannas,
"with white fire. I could destroy the tavern before they could escape.
Problem solved."
    "Do it!" Brakthas said eagerly. He gazed at the
prince in amazement. "I can't even imagine power like that, but if you've
got it, by all means use it. Otherwise these devils will haunt us all the way
to the sea."
    "Burn them quickly!" said Galandra.
    Prince Vannas brought forth the White Flamestone, but
Aldreya again motioned him to put it away. "Why?" he asked, looking
frustrated. "Jerret and Saranna are severely injured--because you wouldn't
let me use it. Now our enemies are plotting against us, and still you refuse.
It doesn't make sense."
    Jace frowned. "Prince Vannas has a point, Aldreya. The
barbarians have not surrendered, and therefore we have every right to destroy
them. I think he should burn the tavern to ash and be done with them."
    "What do you think, Lannon?" asked the prince.
"You have just as much say in this as Aldreya, as far as I'm
concerned."
    In spite of Lannon's burning desire for justice, he wasn't
sure that blasting the tavern with white fire was the right thing to do.
"I don't know. Right now they're not attacking, but we're kind of at war
with them."
    "We don't need the Flamestone," said Lothrin.
"Lannon, we can take them. Dallsa and Jace can stay here and look after
the injured."
    "Why can't I use it, Aldreya?" asked Vannas.
"I want an answer."
    "We must be careful," said Aldreya. "Burning
the tavern with those men in there would be a burden