"Are you sure that's going to work, Tarrin?" Darvon asked dubiously.

"It works very well, Lord General," Keritanima smiled. "There's a girl in Wikuna named Kalina, that looks so much like me that we look like twins. She made it easy for me to be in two places at the same time. Kalina was very good at acting, and she had everyone absolutely convinced that she was me. Trust me, what Tarrin's proposing isn't just effective, it's damn effective. As long as Auli and your new Tarrin don't mess up, they'll have every single person in Suld thinking that we all got on a ship and sailed off towards the horizon." Keritnaima frowned. "I'd rather not be on a ship, brother. Can I Teleport us all to Wikuna after we get out to sea?"

"We'll need a little more misdirection than that, sister," Tarrin said. "When you get on that ship, I want you to sail for Dusgaard, in Ungardt, and I want you to make a show of it."

Keritanima narrowed her eyes, then she laughed brightly. Miranda too was smiling in a malicious manner. "Tarrin, you impress me," she said sincerely.

"I don't understand," Ianelle admitted.

"The Ungardt are notorious for not liking outsiders," Miranda explained to her. "Tarrin is Ungardt, and he has close kin there. If he asked them, they'd take all of us in and protect us like we were part of their clan. By having us go to Ungardt, Tarrin is putting us in a place where it will make it very hard for any spies our enemies have to keep an eye on us, and he's also making anyone that tries to follow us have to wade through a forest of axes and swords tro get there. And the Ungardt are not to be taken lightly, my dear Ianelle. They're respected as some of the toughest fighters in the world. That means that anyone that wants Tarrin has to face an army of big, strong, well-trained, and very nasty foes to get to him. It's not something that anyone would undertake without a great deal of hesitation."

"My grandfather would probably enjoy the whole thing," Tarrin agreed with a nod. "He needs to give his warriors some exercise from time to time. My grandfather also happens to be a clan-chief, Ianelle, something of a king. Anrak will protect your daughter and my friends with an army, and its no army that any sane man would want to cross."

"They sound like they enjoy violence," Ianelle sniffed.

"Moderately so, yes," Tarrin agreed bluntly. "Nothing makes an Ungardt happier than a nice little war."

"I think your grandfather will be disappointed if we don't bring him some people to kill," Miranda teased. "And his warriors may not like getting their hopes up and end up having nobody to fight."

"Anrak'll have to take that up with his kinsmen," Tarrin shrugged. "Besides, if they can't fight with outsiders, they'll just fight with each other. They do it all the time anyway." Tarrin looked at his bond-mother. "I know it's asking alot, but I need Sarraya, mother," he told her. "We work well together, and I'll need her if I'm going back to the desert."

"I can have her here by midnight," she said confidently.

"Good. Thank you."

"Why can't I go with you?" Keritanima said. "Why just Allia?"

"Because I'm Selani, sister," she answered simply. "Tarrin did not undertake the desert alone the first time. Remember, he travelled with two Selani. My brother's wise in knowing that he will need a Selani with him."

"It makes things easier, Kerri," he nodded. "I don't have to worry about Selani groups attacking me outright, and Allia's knowedge of the desert will be very useful. Besides, they're going to need you in Ungardt to maintain the misdirection. It's not going to end as soon as you get there, because we have to make everyone believe that I'm there. That's important. Besides, Var and Denai taught me enough to survive in the desert, but it's still going to be much easier on me if Allia's there."

"What dangers are there in the desert?" Darvon asked. "I've heard that it's a barren wasteland."

"Well, first off, just about everything is poisonous," Tarrin said, ticking off a finger. "Then there are the inu and kajat, and quite a few other nasty desert animals that make life there very interesting."

"What are those?"

Immediatley, Tarrin turned and wove an Illusion of a kajat, a very detailed image that appeared to the side of them. It was fifteen spans tall, with mottled brown skin, and a huge mouth full of dagger-sized teeth.

"Karas' hammer!" Darvon swore as they all gaped at the massive Illusion. "Is it really that big?"

"This is an image of a small one, Lord General," Allia said sedately. "The adults are considerably larger."

" Inu are about the height of a man, with the same general build as a kajat," Tarrin said. "But they're very fast, smart, and they hunt in packs. Even the Selani fear them."

"We respect them, brother, but we don't fear them," Allia said pointedly.

"I'd fear them," Darvon muttered honestly, staring at the Illusion.

"After we get to the desert, I'm not quite sure what we'll do," Tarrin admitted. "Probably join up with a Selani clan and simply wait until Gods' Day comes and goes. After all, it's the getting there that's important." He looked at Allia. "Maybe we'll go see Ariana. I've always wanted to show you Amyr Dimeon. I think you'd be amazed by it."

"I would like to see it," she nodded with a smile.

"So, what do you think of my idea?"

"I think it's bloody clever," Keritanima said. "You're going to give gray hair to everyone chasing us, brother."

"I think that is the general idea, Kerri," Dolanna told her with a smile.

"It has merit," Jenna said soberly, tapping her chin with a finger. "We'll be pinning down the eyes and ears of our enemies, and putting them in a position that they will not enjoy. Besides, I like the irony of it. You pretend to seek shelter with one group of dangerous people only to go take shelter with another. It's a plan inside a plan. Even if they do realize that Ungardt is just a ruse, they won't have any better luck trying to ferret you out of the desert." She looked at him. "There's just one little flaw."

"What?"

"You know Grandfather, Tarrin. He'd never believe Kerri. I''ll have to take a little trip up to Dusgaard and have a talk with Grandfather. You know how he likes to argue."

"That's true," he conceded. "Since mother and father are back in Aldreth, I guess you would need to set things straight. Think you can Teleport up?"

"I don't know how," she admitted.

"Sister, by tonight, you'll know more about Sorcery than Ianelle," he told her confidently. "I haven't told anyone this yet, but when I was turned, the memory potion was affecting me. It has several, interesting side effects. One of them is that I picked up a great deal of information from the echoes of memories in the Weave. I can weave almost any spell any Sorcerer has ever used, and Mother told me to teach them to you. I only have one day, so you'd better be very attentive."

"How did that happen?" Jenna asked in surprise.

"I'm not sure," he said. "But it did. I've also had something of an expanded memory since I woke up. I can remember absolutely every second of my entire life, even from before I was born. It's a very weird feeling," he admitted.

"I say, what an amazing turn of events!" Phandebrass said brightly. "I really must talk with you, lad, I must! I thought that there may be some unusual side effects of your turning, but I hadn't expected this! I say, why, I may be able to manufacture a new potion that enhances the ability to remember! I may make a potion that increases intelligence, I may!"

"It'll have to wait, Phandebrass," Tarrin told him bluntly. "I have too much to do today."

Phandebrass looked a little crestfallen, but said nothing.

"Mother told me that the life memory will fade, but what I learned from the Weave never will," he told them to assure them. "She said that though it was a bit hard on me, I wasn't permanently harmed by the ordeal. My memory will return to normal after a little time, except for those things I learned from the Weave."