" Don't do that!" Tarrin said breathlessly, holding his chest. That amused the Elemental, causing it to ask if it has further use for it; it was very tired, and it wished to return home, but if Tarrin needed it, it was willing to remain to render aid as necessary. "No, I think we can handle things. You deserve your rest. And thank you," he added as he mentally dismissed the Elemental, which would allow its animating force to return to from whence it came. The Elemental dissipated in a gust of cool wind, and then it was gone.

Tarrin looked around, and recognized one of the Knights that was quickly rushing towards them. "Ulger!" Tarrin called loudly, holding up a paw. "Ulger, it's Tarrin!"

Ulger looked out of breath. The tall Knight pulled up with three younger Knights, looking to be barely out of the Academy, then he pulled off his burgonet helmet and laughed as he sheathed his sword. "Tarrin! By Karas' hammer, boy, what happened to you!" he said, looking up at him as he approached.

"Long story," Tarrin replied, clasping Ulger's wrist firmly. "What in the furies is going on, Ulger?"

"Well, that's a long story too," Ulger said with a bright, slightly evil smile. "But the short of it is that we've swept all the infidels and traitors out of the Tower. That Wikuni queen is one wicked nasty plotter," he said with an evil laugh. "She set a trap for them, and they walked right into it. We swept this rabble out, and from what I've heard, the Wikuni and the Council has rounded up all the katzh-dashi not loyal to the Tower."

Tarrin laughed. "That sounds like Kerri, alright," he agreed. "Do you know where they are? I need to find her, and quickly."

"Not off the top of my head, but I know where Darvon is, and he'll know where the Wikuni is," he assured him. "Well now, this one I remember," he said, pointing at Jesmind. "But who are the others? And who is this adorable little girl?" he asked, giving Jasana a wink and a smile.

"Ulger, this is Kimmie and Thean," he said, motioning to them. "And this," he said, picking up Jasana, "is my daughter Jasana."

"Hullo," Jasana said warily, looking at the bearded Knight.

"Hey there, little cutie," Ulger said with a cheeky smile. "I knew your father when he was this big," he said, holding his hand up over his own head.

Tarrin gave the Knight a look, then he laughed. "Care to show us where Darvon is now?"

"Certainly. Come this way."

The Were-cats followed the four Knights through a lawn littered with bodies, and the vast majority of them were the opposition. They all showed ghastly wounds, from the Knights' favored broadswords and the variety of oversized, lethal weapons commonly carried by the Vendari. Tarrin had thought to hide Jasana's eyes from the carnage, but he reminded himself that she wasn't a human girl. This was part of life, and it was nothing a little hunter wouldn't see when she made her kills. "I see the reputation of the Knights is well deserved," Thean remarked, looking around. "It looks to have been a complete rout."

"About that," he replied. "They weren't very good fighters. Some of the Vendari are very sulky about not having enough of a fight to satsify them."

"They must have tried to catch you off guard," Kimmie remarked.

"They didn't know we were here," Ulger said, looking back at her with a grin. "They expected to overrun an undefended Tower. We're the last thing they expected to see, believe you me."

"That does sound like the Wikuni," Jesmind said, giving Tarrin a smile. "I remember her. The little mouse has more guts than a Were-cat."

"You don't mess with Kerri, that's for sure," Tarrin agreed with a chuckle. "Or my sister Allia. Both of them will make you pay for it."

Ulger led them into the Tower proper, into the entrance hall through which all visitors entered. Darvon was standing near the back of it with another Knight and two Vendari, and there were both Vendari and Knights dispersed through the hall either talking among themselves or keeping guard to defend the Tower from whatever might come through the doors. The Lord General of the Knights was an aged, nearly elderly man, but it could only be seen in his face, for he wore the same plate armor as all the other Knights, and he wore it with an ease that told anyone that beheld him that the old man was still a formidable force to be reckoned with. His hair had not fallen out over the years, giving him a bushy mass of white over his wrinkled face, with a white moustache and a little blood on his armor. Darvon had been right in the middle of it. "Lord General, look who decided to join us!" Ulger announced as he brought them up to him. Ulger seemed to have become much more jolly since the last time he'd seen him. "Only two years gone, at that!"

Tarrin handed Jasana off to Jesmind and remembered to bow to Darvon as the aged commander stepped up to them. "My Lord General," Tarrin said respectfully.

"Well now, I know quite a few that are going to be bouncing off the walls when they see you, my boy," Darvon grinned. "Am I really that old, or are you taller?" he asked, squinting at Tarrin.

That made Jesmind chuckle. "Do they all start with that, my mate?" she asked curiously.

"Usually," Tarrin said with a rueful look. "Yes, I'm taller, and it's a long story," he said brusquely. "What happened here, Lord General?"

"Well, the katzh-dashi got wind that someone in the Tower was a traitor," he began. "They found out that the traitor was planning to infiltrate the Tower with brigands to attack the katzh-dashi by surprise while the Knights remained split from the Tower. Well, Queen Keritanima came to me and explained what was going on, and convinced me to move the Knights back onto the grounds. In secret, of course," he grinned. "She brought some of her Vendari in as well, and then she managed to find out exactly what the traitor's plans were about attacking the Tower. We took the appropriate countermeasures while still managing to conceal ourselves. We stopped them, and from what I've been told, they've managed to capture the traitor and all her sycophants."

"Who?" he asked. "Who was the traitor?"

"They haven't told me yet," he replied. "But we're wasting time. I'll send a runner telling them that you're here, and we'll go up so you can see them."

"I'd really appreciate that, Darvon," Tarrin said sincerely.

"Fine. Page!" he called, and a young man wearing armor started trotting towards them.

But he didn't get far. The door beyond Darvon opened, and Tarrin saw a dark-haired petite form explode from the doorway. His sense of the Weave began to pull in the direction of that form, and he realized that it was Jenna. Only Jenna could cause that kind of an effect in the Weave. Just behind her, he saw his parents step into the entrance hall, and it took them only a moment to spot him among the Vendari. Tarrin opened his arms as Jenna appeared behind Darvon, and she literally jumped up into his embrace. Tarrin held his sister gently, spinning her around in a circle and laughing delightedly as she hugged him. He took in her scent, reveled in the sense of her presence, and it reinforced solidly to him the fact that he had finally come back to them. He held her back so he could get a good look at her; seeing her through the visage of the possessed Illusion simply didn't seem the same, and at that time he'd been a little too worried about her to really get a good look at her. She was fifteen now, growing tall and gaining a similar buxom, curvy figure as her mother. Jenna's youthful face was filling out, gaining a little bit of a sharp cast that actually made his little sister quite lovely. Jenna was going to break some hearts, of that he was certain.

Jesmind took a step back as Tarrin set Jenna down, then hugged his mother and father in turn, greeting them warmly. They both looked very well; the travelling seemed to have been good for them. His father had lost the slight pudginess about his middle, and his mother was sleeker than ever.