After waylaying a ruckish supply train, the Army of the Ebon Quill then falls back to the cave, with the new recruits and all their loot in tow. That night, Lurg and Molq seize the initiative and act as any good ruckish commanders would. Without any prompting they execute one of their underlings, as a solemn warning to the other rucks of the price of cowardice.

The consortes decide that it is high time to rescue the poor villagers who are being held captive by the rucks of Gwynnon. Our heroes carefully reconnoiter Orestes' encampment, which consists of a small ruckish timber fort sitting above the burnt-out ruins of Gwynnon village. Based on this intelligence, the consortes develop an elaborate plan.

The Ruckish Fort at Gwynnon

Key Outer works consist of 15-ft high timber walls. Each tower stands 20-ft high. A—Barracks (two-stories) B—Prison (Brig) C—Officers' Quarters D—Storehouse One square = Fifteen feet

Our heroes take a sled that was seized from the ambushed supply train and load it with casks of ruckish fire and ruck-nog. The newest recruits to the Ebon Quill are then harnessed to the sled, and ordered to haul the load right up to the gates of Orestes' fort, while Valerius and several of the fighters wait in hiding nearby. Meanwhile, a team made up of St. James, Mendelor, Friar Sidrach, Ruik, and Vandoren sneak around to the other side of the fort.

Once the sled has been brought before the gates, most of the converted rucks dutifully obey their orders and run away as fast as they can. However, a few shirkers attempt to warn the Orestes' troops inside the fort. But before an alarm can be raised, Valerius hurls two flaming arrows at the gates. One arrow incinerates a defecting ruck, while the other strikes the sled, which immediately explodes into a huge ball of roaring fire.

The rucks inside the palisade sound alarms and rush about, attempting to put out the fire, while Renton and Dirk begin firing arrows into the confusion. To add to the tumult, Valerius summons two stony, snarling monstrosities to battle the rucks, and these monsters wreak great havoc on the fort's defenders.

Meanwhile, the second team enters the inner courtyard where the prisoners are being held. Friar Sidrach calls upon the Five, and several guards upon the wall are frozen fast in their tracks. St. James quickly scales the wall, Vandoren leaps over with his enchanted boots, Friar Sidrach and Ruik place some makeshift ladders, and Mendelor chops an opening in the wooden wall with his axe. Once inside, the consortes identify three buildings in the inner ward: an officer's barracks, a storehouse, and a prison. While St. James and Mendelor attack the half-dozen rucks guarding the prisoners, Ruik, Vandoren, and the Friar attempt to persuade the weakened and terrified villagers to escape.

Assured that fires and other-worldly horrors will sufficiently occupy the rucks in the outer ward, the fighters, Valerius, and the Ebon Quill rucks hustle to the rear of the fort to assist the rest of the group in getting the prisoners out.

One by one, the prisoners begin filing out of the fort while Mendelor and his fellows hold off the guards. Unfortunately, only a few prisoners manage to slip out before Lord Orestes and his bodyguard emerge from the officers' quarters to repel the invaders. The entire bodyguard—and in particular, two lieutenants—prove to be formidable veterans, and several of our heroes are badly wounded in the skirmish that follows.

Just then, Valerius and the rest of the group arrive on the scene. Lurg is able to identify the fort's commander in the confusion of the melee, and Valerius then casts flaming bolts at Lord Orestes. The magician follows up by conjuring forth yet another stony monster. But Orestes is wily and quick: he manages to avoid getting too badly scorched by the flaming arrows, and he then makes short work of the conjured monster. In the meantime, St. James had ducked out of the melee to sneak around behind Orestes. And thanks to a well placed back-stab, the cunning thief wounds the mighty captain badly.

With most of the prisoners outside, Valerius attempts to entangle Orestes in a great mass of conjured webs, but Orestes tumbles out of the way in the nick of time. Suddenly, St. James finds himself all alone with Orestes, cut off from his comrades by the magical webs! The furious captain runs St. James to ground, and the young thief is seriously hurt—only barely managing to scamper over the wall to safety.

Once the prisoners are all evacuated, the consortes conduct a fighting retreat, falling all the way back to Eredy and leaving the rucks of Gwynnon in utter disarray. The consortes then dispatch Vandoren to Heremac with a message for the Seekers, to inform them of recent events. When questioned, Lurg and Molq guess that Orestes will probably hole up in Gwynnon and wait for reinforcements.

The enchanted boots allow Vandoren to swiftly return from Heremac with an answer from the Seekers. The brother-knights do not see Gwynnon as having much strategic importance for either the Pentians or the rucks. The Seekers show little interest in pursuing the matter, and in any case, are unable to muster large numbers of troops in winter, and doubt that the rucks could do so, either.

After several days of rest and much needed healing, our heroes return to Gwynnon with the converted rucks of the Ebon Quill. Also accompanying the consortes are Godan the smith and about twenty other men, all of whom were originally from Gwynnon before the rucks drove them out. Dirk had spent much time in the last few weeks training these men, who hope to reclaim their lost village.

Once in Gwynnon it is clear that the rucks have abandoned the fort and destroyed anything of value that they could not carry with them in their retreat. The consortes and their rag-tag band then decide to move into the fort, occupying the inner ward and manning the walls with Ebon Quill rucks and Gwynnon villagers. During the day, teams of converted rucks work to clear back brush and to raze the ruined outbuildings to the ground.

Nearly a week passes after the initial assault on Gwynnon, and no sign of a ruckish counterattack appears. The consortes begin to question the very purpose of trying to hold Gwynnon, and some party members argue that it is time to abandon this campaign and return to Heremac. However, the men of Gwynnon appear reluctant to relinquish their village after only just reclaiming it. Friar Sidrach expresses deep reservations about leaving the villagers to fend for themselves should Orestes resurface. The Gerardian also senses that a large winter storm is brewing.

The consortes decide to scout out the nearest Black-blade outpost, to see what has happened since the rucks withdrew from Gwynnon. After several hours march east, St. James and Mendelor suddenly fall into a covered pit trap, and two dozen Black-blades spring from hidden ambush. Our heroes quickly recover from this nasty surprise and take only a few light wounds before they are able to escape from the ambush. Disheartened by this turn of events, the scouts abort the expedition and return to Gwynnon.

The next day, a fierce winter storm blows in from the Channel, with ripping winds and a heavy, wet snowfall. The consortes resign themselves to lingering just a bit longer in Gwynnon. Around noon the next day the storm finally subsides. But as the skies clear, the consortes spy an ominous blanket of dark smoke rising from the west, in the direction of Eredy. Noxumbra immediately takes to the air, and relays a terrible sight: All of Gwynnon is completely surrounded by a small army of Black-blades, perhaps three hundred in number. As the terrified garrison looks around, they can see glints of metal dancing along the edges of the tree-line.

Soon after, a ruckish delegation approaches the fort with much pomp, and a herald hails the consortes.

"Know this, you miserable weaklings, that his Mighty Eminence, Prince Busirane, in his infinite mercy, is willing to spare your wretched lives. He is willing to grant free passage to all of your worthless men, in exchange for one thing: Hand over the wizard. You have until nightfall, then Gwynnon shall be burnt to the ground and everyone within these walls slaughtered without pity."

Within the fort, all of the consortes turn to Valerius. The magician reflects for a moment, and then grimly tells his friends to accept the offer.

The consortes scheme and plot, but can see no easy way out of the dilemma. Hoping that Valerius will have an opportunity to make a break for it, Vandoren gives the magician the wondrous boots, Hamral offers his measure of St. Ulfan's draught, St. James parts with his amulet of protection, and finally Friar Sidrach lends his pentifix.

The consortes are forced to literally drag a tearful Mot away from his master, and along with the Gwynnon villagers and the Ebon Quill rucks, march out from the fort—leaving Valerius alone. The ranks of Busirane's troops part way, and the departing contingent passes through a gauntlet of snarling, taunting rucks, who jeer them on with tales of the awful destruction wrought at Eredy.

Meanwhile, the lanky magician in black paces the battlements, mulling the possibilities and waiting for the rucks to come for him. Valerius pieces together the series of events that most likely brought Busirane and his army to Gwynnon. Clearly, once Orestes filed his report, Busirane instantly recognized the description of the wizard who had humiliated him in the past. And so badly did the Ruck Prince hate the magician, he must have ordered his army to march in the dead of winter, going so far as to attack Eredy in a terrible storm—all in order to cut off every possible escape route from Gwynnon.

This reverie is interrupted when a friendly voice suddenly calls to Valerius. The magician looks up, startled: standing beside him on the battlements is the very semblance of Sir Reginald the Righteous. And though the figure looks and sounds in every way like the Pentian champion, it is soon clear that this is not Reginald at all.

The vision of Reginald appears calm and sympathetic to Valerius and his plight. When pressed, the vision will only identify itself as "a friend." The vision laments the hopeless nature of the situation, rails against the wickedness of Busirane, and shudders at the torments awaiting Valerius. But the vision hints that there may be a solution to the predicament, and finally asks Valerius if he would like to murder Busirane in front of this entire army. The vision suggests that, for a modest price, this wish could be made reality . . .

Valerius questions the vision further, but it becomes evasive, and notes that night is coming on fast—and exhorts Valerius to make a decision. After a moment's consideration, Valerius rejects the offer. The apparition immediately vanishes, leaving the magician alone. Just then, a group of twenty hand-picked rucks approaches the gates of the fort.

Valerius draws forth the magical horn found in the Hagges' lair. He winds a low, strange note that echoes and reechoes through the dusk, and all other sounds appear to fall away to silence. At the rucks' feet a mist appears, rising from the ground and growing thicker and higher. Valerius continues to sound the horn, and the fog looms up into a great, silent wall before the gates, swirling out to obscure the entire front face of the fort. At this, the twenty rucks fall a few nervous steps backward.

Valerius then takes up the draught of St. Ulfan and offers the potion to Noxumbra. The raven drinks deeply; suddenly she begins to grow and grow in size, until she is at last as large as a man. She lets out several ear-splitting caws that pierce the fog. Then she spreads her wings, snatches up her master in her talons, and carries him from the battlements and into the air. The giant raven and the magician circle once, slowly, around the astonished ruckish army, then soar away to the west.

The dejected consortes had heard the strange horn echoing through the hills as they fled from Gwynnon. And as they come around a turn in the forest path, they are shocked to find none other than Valerius waiting there, with no tracks in the snow around him. The magician appears completely nonchalant, offers no explanation, and urges his fellows to hurry on.

The group soon arrives in smoldering Eredy, which is littered with corpses. Busirane's rucks had sacked much of the town, burning several houses and killing a score or more peasants.

The consortes, bound for Heremac, bid farewell to their ruckish followers. They leave Lurg and Molq in command of the Army of the Ebon Quill, charging them with care of the ogre cave. The consortes urge the converted rucks to continue the good fight, which the rucks eagerly agree to do. Then our heroes turn toward Heremac.