A week later, on the tenth of September by the old reckoning, a small boat appeared on the horizon, floating on the still-turbulent waters of the river. It was a rough-looking craft, made by hollowing out an old log with axes and knives. There were two small benches that crossed inside to provide structure and seating, and two paddles cut and smoothed, that dipped freely in the water.

Inside the rough canoe sat the easily recognizable figure of Mausi in the back seat, while in the front sat the stranger they'd seen in the pool. She seemed small, much younger than Mausi for certain, and looked more like a fox then a wolf. Her ruby-red fur covered most of her body, including her face and hands, but the tips of everything, her fingers and ears and the very end of her hair, was frosted white.

Jake looked curiously at her as he flew high overhead, swooping low and revealing himself as he called out a greeting.

"Welcome home Mausi! Welcome home Tom and Stacy! Welcome to you as well stranger!"

Mausi waved and Tom and Stacey stood up from where they'd been sitting on the newcomer's shoulders. The newcomer dropped to the bottom of the canoe with a yell and threw her hands up over her head in obvious terror. Stacey whispered into her ear, coaxing her to drop her hands and take another look.

Jake followed them for some distance, drawing ever nearer the mountain. After a while they were able to convince the newcomer to raise her head up out of the boat. Jake made sure to make no overt moves towards them, but fly at a slow and steady pace some distance above them. Seeing no aggressiveness, the stranger relaxed a little and even took her place back at the head of the canoe to paddle.

When they made it to the dam, the canoe turned left and drifted under the spreading boughs of the forest. Jake left them there and flew on ahead to the glade (as it was the only place left big enough for him to land) to spread the good news.

He found his friends there engaged in various pursuits. Rachel lay comfortably on the ground going over her maps and plans, while Brian stood at an archery target loosing arrow after arrow at the remains of a tree that had not survived the dry time despite Serena's care. Someone had painted a bulls-eye on it and I had become a practice place for archery. Brian''s were clustered so close together that each shaft nearly touched the other. Near Rachel, also relaxing, Asbiorn stretched in his catamountain form with Shyla leaning against him studying her spell books. Serena stood grazing placidly some distance away near the trunk of the Great Tree.

"Tom and Stacey will be here in a few minutes." He announced as he ambled his way over to Rachel and Brian.

"That's great!" Rachel looked up with some relief. "I''d begun to worry that they wouldn't make it today."

Brian put away his bow in a quiver stitched from deer hide and made by him to his own specifications. "We should see what they are up to." He said. "They won''t know about the paths through the forest or the side streams that we've been digging to irrigate the farms. They might get lost."

"Not a bad notion." Jake agreed.

Seeing no dissension (though Serena snorted at their thoughts and laughingly told them that the forest was as alive as their old one and would not let any it deemed friendly be lost), they hurried their way to the stream. There they found the little boat already drawn up on the bank, the four travelers looking around bemusedly at the dense forest.

"Hello!" Jake called attention to the party that wend its way through the trees.

Tom and Stacey darted over, laughing giddily. Stacey flew to each of her friends, hugging each of them. It was an interesting sight and Jake marveled at it even as he watched her hug one of his cheek spikes. For Serena she tackled the horn, and for Brian and Rachel she managed to get them right on their foreheads. Shyla and Asbiorn, too, were not forgotten, though Shyla's was much more tentative than the others. Shyla pretended to take no notice of this and welcomed her as strongly as anyone else, if not stronger.

Tom settled for simply hovering in the middle of everyone and greeting them by name.

"How was your journey." Brian asked him as Stacey left off Asbrion.

"Oh, not too bad." Tom said airily. "Plenty of fresh air and warm sun to make all the miles disappear out from under us.""

"Nothing too interesting then." Brian said drily.

"A dust-up or two." Tom shrugged, as if it hadn't been much more difficult than walking out the door.

"We saw." Jake said around his own grin. "Remind me not to pick a fight with you. And everyone says I'm the strong one!"

'You were both very brave.' Serena said solemnly in all their minds. 'The knowledge you have brought out of great difficulty is invaluable, but I want to know more about our young guest, for I sense an evil magic has touched her.'

Startled, everyone turned to Mausi and the stranger. Both women stopped when they saw everyone looking at them, and the younger brisson shrank against Mausi.

"This is Lana." Stacey introduced her, moving over to the young girl. "She's Mausi's sister." She said with a grin that would melt butter.

It took everyone a moment to absorb what she said, and then everyone had a hundred questions at once. Chief among them was how Lana could look like a fox while Mausi looked like a wolf. Mausi gave them the whole story while the group moved to the shade of the Great Tree, finding comfortable seats in the soft grass that grew around its base.

Despite Mausi's efforts to shorten her tale, the sun had moved a fair distance in the heavens above, though in the forest below it was difficult to tell how far it had traveled.

When she finished speaking it was Tom and Stacey's turn to ask questions about how the reclamation was going, and the awakening. Brian and Rachel filled them in, alternating turns between them as they talked about one project or another.

"So, why isn't everyone out working right now?" Tom asked when they'd finished.

Brian and Rachel looked uncomfortable, while Serena turned away. Only Jake allowed the irritation he felt to show.

"Everyone's scared right now." He told them.

"Scared?" Tom and the others threw him startled looks.

"Scared." Jake confirmed. "They're terrified of the forest. They moan that they'll get lost or the trees will attack them. Serena's done her best to calm their fears, but it hasn't done more than keep outright panic from breaking out. Volgelson''s been doing her best to persuade everyone, and for a while I was with her, but at last we realized that everyone would need to adapt at their own pace. So we declared today a holiday and encouraged everyone to relax and celebrate the return of the water and explore the forest, promising that they wouldn't harm them so long as they didn''t harm them. We left early so people could see us walking among the trees, but so far..." he trailed off in frustration.

"Wow." Tom said softly. "In'nat something?"" He looked up in the direction of the mountain, hidden from sight by the gnarled and moss-covered boughs of the trees.

Everyone sat in companionable silence for a while. Jake couldn't think of anything to talk about, so contented himself with a light doze, alert for any sound out of the ordinary.

None ever came, leastwise that he could detect. When he woke, the others were groggily starting to rouse themselves, having fallen asleep on the green grass. Serena stood silent sentinel over all of them, grazing nonchalantly at the far end of the meadow. Jake felt millennia younger, and immediately suspected that his nap hadn't been natural.

"Oooh, I'm so going to get her for that." Rachel's threat didn't sound nearly so dire with the blissful smile on her face.

There was a round of chuckles at the joke, though most didn't mind in the least. Their footsteps now carried a spring in them that hadn't been there before. As they made their way back up the slopes to the cave's entrance, everyone started to mark other people straggling out of the very edge of the trees to the cave, out of which already, came the delicious smells of supper preparing.

"Yum!" Tom sighed as he sniffed the air. "That smells good enough to make me want meat again (he'd been a vegetarian since the transformation).

"Well, if you want some, there should be plenty." Jake told him. "I was able to bring in several deer from the surrounding countryside. Can't hunt in the forest, of course, but there are still many making their way in."

Tom nodded as he looked back East, and the long ribbon of water that ran shining into the distance. What he thought, none could tell; his face remained closed and wholly devoid of expression.

They left him there, flying steadily above man height, and only Jake stayed by the entrance to wait for him. At last he sighed and came into the tunnel, lit within by torches mounted in silver brackets.

As the last person passed the gate, Jake rolled the great stone door shut. It closed with a snap and rumble, sealing everyone securely inside.

"What's with the door?" Tom asked. "Have you had trouble of some kind while we were gone?"

"Not yet." Jake said grimly. "But we saw the bodies from your pleasant little party in the mountains. We figured that now would be a good time of getting into the habit of being prepared--", he nodded his head to the trio of rangers standing guard. The two grim-faced men and solemn woman nodded back at him as they clutched the unfamiliar weapons at their hips, their rifles slung across their backs. "--so that we aren''t caught by surprise." He finished.

"I see." Tom said faintly. He remained silent as they entered the hall with tables laden with meat. There were few fruit and roots to be seen yet. Jake did not doubt though, that as people grew more relaxed with the forest, they would soon start to fill the larders and cellars.

Everyone was distracted by happy squeals and turned to see Stacey's trio of sisters checking their mad dash so they didn't hurt Stacey, who flew to them with remarkable dignity and grace, spoilt only by her happy smile that threatened to split her face in twain.

The happy group moved off while Tom found himself called over to his family's table. With a "See you, Jake!" he flew over to his brothers and baby sister.

Jake watched them go, before making his way to the table occupied by his parents. Serena had turned human and seemed to be away gathering a salad for the three of them.

Jake settled himself at the table, his bulk casting a shadow over his family. To his surprise, Nacomi made her way over from where her family had been sitting, bringing her plate with her.  

"It's good to have everyone back." She said happily as she clambered up his leg and onto his offered neck spikes. There she perched comfortably, light as a swallow on a thin rafter.

"It is indeed." Jake said.

They settled into silence for a while, as everyone ate. Due to the usual short commons everyone languished under, almost nothing was left over but bone. These would be carefully collected to be turned into fish-hooks and other tools and handles and useful things for the colony.

After dinner, several people stood up wearily to collect the silver-wrought plates, golden spoons and forks, finely wrought knives, golden cups, and other trappings they had salvaged from the dwarves.

As the dishes were swept away, Jake got up to follow, going to light the fires for heating water was his job after all. Rachel and Brian followed as it was their turn of the company to join the dishwasher crew.

In the kitchen, Jake snaked his head through the doorway to the great fireplace where huge copper kettles of water stood ready to cook. With a whoosh and puff, the flames leaped to life under the kettle and crackled merrily on their fuel of desert sage and sheep dung. A sickly sweet odor filled the space, making noses wrinkle and eyes water. Jake knew that most people couldn't wait to use actual wood again, but that time would be a long ways off and be limited only to fallen wood on the ground.

Retreating from the kitchen, he left them to their business and took Nacomi on a stroll through the deeper chambers and passages of the great city. They passed the great crystal lamps that lit the broad boulevards, the glinting walls of the palaces and simple homes of the dwarves, and the black, gaping maws of their mines leading out into the mountain.

After an hour or two, they ascended to the surface world where the stars glittered in the night sky like jewels in the dwarf mines and the moon gazed benevolently on the lands below.

Spreading his great wings, he sailed into the sky. Together they stared at the face of the moon, gazed at the lands around, peered into dark places looking for the slightest signs of the enemy, and patrolled the lands around the mountain. Neither spoke a work in all the time, simply enjoying each other's company.

At last Jake returned to the cave. Landing with a quiet boom, he strode back inside the cave tunnel, sealing the door behind them and nodding to the guards.

Back in the hall, Jake bid Nacomi good night, receiving a kiss on the cheek. He watched her lithe form disappear down the side door leading to the sleeping chambers on this floor.

Settling on his golden couch, Jake felt sleep drag down his eyelids. Allowing them to shut, he felt his breathing start to even out as he slipped into a light sleep. Here he could dream pleasantly and yet still be aware of the world around him. Night passed very quickly for him in this way, and he spring instantly to full wakefulness as Shyla and Asbiorn (the earliest risers of their group) wandered into the hall.

"Good morning." He greeted them, gold falling from his check spikes and wherever it had lodged itself as he slept.

"Good morning." Shyla yawned. "We were thinking of getting some breakfast. Care to join us?"

Jake hesitated. "Thank you, but no. I will do some hunting here in a bit."

"That's what I meant." Shyla giggled. "Asbiorn wants to do some hunting and that deer meat last night was pretty good. I said I'd tag along."

"Ah, well you're both welcome to come with me then. There are no deer not under Serena's protection for some distance all around the mountain, so we have to travel out into the desert."

"All right." Shyla said with a smile. "Beats walking, right Asbiorn?"

The big man did not look overly thrilled at the prospect, though Jake couldn't tell if it was the idea of riding a dragon or missing running around in changed form that bothered him more. Stoically he got on behind Shyla and protectively hugged her around Jake's spike.

Walking smoothly outside, he passed the morning watch who waved at the trio. Lunging into the sky, he followed the lay of the land for seven leagues West of the mountain, before they came across a little dell that sheltered a tiny pool. Here they found signs of deer drinking at the water source not an hour gone. Encouraged, Asbiorn shifted into great cat shape and raced across the ground, Shyla astride his shoulders while Jake took to the air above them.

They found the deer herd handily; about a dozen individuals strung out and feasting on moss and flowering cactus plants., their sandy brown coats blending in with the rocks. On one, a magnificent buck, a pair of horns grew from his head in fashion similar to a moose, but on smaller scale, and these horns had hundreds of sharp, smaller horns ringing the edges that Jake knew from experience would tear and shred flesh.

Asbiorn crept within a dozen yards of the edge of the herd, Shyla lying flat against his back. Suddenly he sprang forward with a great roar, freezing the deer in place in their shock and terror. He smashed into a young buck that had been too near the outer edge, bringing him down without fuss, the deer dead before it registered the attack.

The does sprang away, guiding any youngsters that could stray, while the other males charged Asbiorn behind their leader, determined to drive him off or kill him.

As Jake went in for his kill, selecting a strong bull near the herd leader, he reflected on how different deer of this modern era behaved compared to the animals he remembered from his time. His feet struck flesh, and the deer went down with a surprised squeal. The boom of his wings and backwind scattered the deer.

Asbiorn and Jake ate like madmen, ripping chunks off their prey and swallowing them whole. Shyla stood a little ways off, holding a portion of flank that Jake had roasted for her. She had turned away, slightly green when she saw them eating, but made no further comment and even delicately nibbled her meat.

By the time they returned, they found the mountain waking up under the light of a beautiful morning. People were moving in long, steady streams down the slope to the forest, which itself had advanced up halfway to the tunnel entrance.

Landing at the forest edge, Jake saw Nacomi hurrying to meet them, loose stones clattering under her feet. Slowing as she neared, she fell into step next to him as he made his way under the first boughs.

"What are you going to be doing today?" She asked him.

"I am going to be working on more of the planned feeder streams." He told her. "The water is calming, so it would be a good time to do so."

"Okay." She said "We can do that."

"Sounds good."

They went out with the others and started to work on the feeder streams. It was dirty, long, hot work that had even Jake panting at the end of the day. Their efforts yielded four irrigation channels shaped to flow naturally with the land. The fields were being cultivated using similar layout methods, looking more like natural meadows from the sky while being ringed with thick trees that prevented them from being seen by curious outsiders.

After the sun had set, the weary straggled into the cave, placing their burdens down in the armory and filing slowly through the washrooms on their way to the dining hall. Already Jake could smell the delicious smells of dinner wafting through the entry hall.

The meal was excellent, consisting of more tubers and roots then meat, but Jake did not complain; he had an entire haunch to himself to eat, and while the whole thing would hardly satisfy him, he pretended that he was satisfied.

As everyone sat basking in the glow of dinner Jake saw Matcha, Gavin and Annabel walking over to them, looking worried. They halted just shy of him sitting at the head of his table, his sister on his right side and Brian and Rachel on his left, Volgelson seated just past his parents and Tom and Stacey sitting on the table in front of their siblings.

"Sir Jake, we were hoping we could talk to you today." Gavin began a little stiffly.

"Jake, I've not been knighted by anybody." Jake corrected. "And you can always talk to me. I'm not that remote."

"Yes, well. We were hoping that we could beg your pardon and bid you all farewell." Gavin continued awkwardly.

Jake stayed silent, so Gavin continued on. "We've lingered here longer than we should have, and really need to return to home. Our families will be worried about us and I must report on our failures to the university."

"I see." Jake said slowly. "And you?" he asked Mausi as she had come up with the others, her sister close behind her, fingering still the flower in her hair that Stacey's sisters had placed there. Not about to let a single brisson out from receiving a proper makeover, they had attacked Mausi's sister with the determined energy of a salon operator on fifty cups of coffee and no sleep. Their results were impressive, and Lana had gone from a dirty munchkin to a rare beauty; wherever she walked, though she was a different species, heads turned to stare, admiring the glossy red of her fur and lithe form.

Mausi nodded in response to Jake's question.

"We have been long away from our tribe. I will fulfill my contract with Annabel and the others, then return home."

Jake settled back. He had known that they would have to go sooner or later, indeed he had expected them to go sooner, but now that they had come to it, he found himself conflicted. He was happy that they would be going back to their homes, but he was worried that they would be attacked on their long road.

Some of his thought must have shown on his face, because Tom flew up from where he had been sitting. Hovering a foot from his ear, Jake listened as he spoke.

"They'll be fine. Mausi will be able to take care of them, and soon they'll be bound on a ship for London."

"I do fear for their safety nonetheless." Jake said to him. "The Enemy knows that something happened up on the mountain, and he knows at least, that Lana had been a prisoner of his, and the same power risked much to free her. His thought will be turned to answering the question of why, why is she so important to this challenger that they would save her? She, at least, is in graver danger than ever before."

Jake's words gave them pause, and he continued on. "I think, at least for her safety, she should remain here at the mountain, at least until we can send more warriors with them to ensure their safe return home."

"Who would we send?" Rachel asked. "Should any of us go, our secret will be out in the wide world. Even Volgelson's rangers could not conceal themselves well enough to remain hidden, especially from those who have lived their entire lives on the land."

"I would have to be the one." Jake said reluctantly. "For I have the ability to make myself unseen, and few of their people would look for danger in the sky."

Mausi bristled a little when they intimated that she would not be enough to protect Lana, but as they continued to talk, she calmed to listen. At last she spoke. "I do not think that they would pursue Lana any worse than she already is. Our tribe is large and strong, and we have fought them off before. They will probably think that we had pursued their kidnappers and killed them in battle at the caves."

Jake frowned, wondering what she was talking about. "Tom, you and Stacey will have to relate your tale in its entirety to us, and soon I think." He rumbled. "There is much here that I am ignorant of, and that is bad for decision making."

Tom laughed. "Soon." He promised. "First we need to finish our good-byes and figure out how we will see our guests safely back across the deserts outside our borders."

Serena turned to them. "When will you depart?" she asked. "For it is plain to me that you want to be off at once."

"If not sooner." Gavin nodded.

"What counsels have you taken that advised this course?" Serena asked curiously. "I have not seen any messengers arrive to bear tidings."

Gavin laughed shamefacedly. "Well, you see, in all the work and the discoveries of the cave and you people, I had lost track of time and only recently uncovered my date book. I was supposed to be back in London yesterday, getting ready for my wedding next month. I can only imagine what Geraldine is going to say to me when I return now."

At once the hall rang with congratulations from the assembled. Toasts were proffered and drinks taken, and Gavin and the others seemed overwhelmed. They stood making their thank-yous for the kind words. It was some time before anyone remembered the original conversation.

"Well, I am sorry for having kept you so long." Jake said at long last. "But I wonder if you would make it back in time even now. You have a journey of some weeks, unless I'm much mistaken."

"At least two to get back to the coast, then another three to get across the sea." He confirmed. "But if we leave tonight, I might make it back with a day or two to spare."

"Only if everything goes right for you" Jake told him.  He will never make it, his heart told him.

"I will do this much for you." He said, quieting the hall again. "Tomorrow, I will carry you as far as I can on my back to the coast. From there, you will have to make arrangements to travel back to London on your own, but that should not be a problem. You will have to leave behind most of the stuff you brought along." He warned. "And take only what you need with you."

Gavin seemed delighted, and the others gabbled excitedly at the prospect of riding him around like a horse. Jake snorted, caught his sister's eye, and grinned widely at the amusement sparkling in her face.

"In the meantime, however," he called, quieting the riotous hall. "Why don't we hear your adventures in full? That should make for fine entertainment this evening."

Tom shook his head, looking round at the suddenly attentive hall. Then sighed.

"All right, let me start at the beginning, when we were on our way to leaving the mountain..."