Trial and Tribulation Copyright 1997 by Renee a.k.a. Alethea All "NiGHTS" characters and related indica mentioned herein are copyright and TM by one or more of the following: Sega Enterprises, and/or Sega of America. Used without permission Etienne or "Eti" and related characters and indica, copyright Jeanette Merrell. Used without permission Dunamis, Alethea, Frost, Aldwyn, Nettle, Tarragon, Salpinx, Rhian, Talitha, and related characters and indica, copyright Renee. This document may be freely distributed as long as it is not modified in any way. Trial and Tribulation (Part 14) Salpinx glanced out the window in the infirmary. It was cold now, even in the warmer parts of the castle. He couldn't imagine what it was like in the prison. Salpinx sat up and instantly felt a stabbing pain tear through his side. He could not wait forever to get out; if he waited much longer, they might put him back in the dungeon. Salpinx glanced around. The two physicians were gone, and he had a chance to get away before they came back. Salpinx stood up and staggered to the door. *** The officials raced out of the throne room. None of them wanted to be near wizeman at the moment. Gulpo did not appear particularly flustered. Clawz slunk down the hall on all fours and vanished in a frightened black streak. Jackle was shaking all over, and holding his right arm. Puffy was already gone. Nettle watched them from a distance. Jackle leaned against the wall, obviously trying to calm himself down, as the last high official vanished. Nettle shifted slightly and Jackle glanced at her. " What are you doing here?" " Is your arm hurt?" " That's none of your business." " Since I'm a physician I think it is." Jackle gave her a hard look. " I've seen you before. You were the one who came to the throne room when Reala was injured. Do you always stand around here?" " No, only when a group of beings fail to catch Nights, and maybe a few other times." She glanced down at Jackle's arm. " Is it broken?" " No. At least I don't think it is." " Can you move your fingers?" " Yes." " Then it's not broken, but you'd better let me look at it." *** The snow was coming down so quickly that the rebels could barely see. Frost waited on the others. Alethea and Dunamis were behind him, along with a few other members of the Nightopian army. Aldwyn had been insistent on coming and was at the rear of the group. He did not really look up to it, but then neither did the others. Everyone was worn out from the recent battle. It would take awhile to get to the castle, and everyone was getting frantic. Salpinx would only be alive if the King had protected him. Aldwyn appeared a little guilty about Salpinx being captured in the first place, while Alethea seemed equally as guilty about leaving Salpinx. *** Nettle flew down the hall with Jackle behind her. He seemed to be back to normal and she doubted that he was going to stay quiet for long. Jackle could be quite a talker when he wanted to be, and she expected him to get on her nerves. This concerned her little compared to how he would react to the presence of Salpinx. She knew Gillwing would want her to keep as quiet as possible about her taking care of Salpinx, and Jackle was a talker. Behind her, Jackle growled something about spies. Nettle rounded a curve and stopped dead in her tracks. Jackle, who was not paying attention, bumped into her. Standing a few feet away, Salpinx glanced up at them. Jackle reached for something under his cape, and Salpinx took off at top speed. Jackle took off after him. " Where do you think you're going!" Nettle was left hovering in the air behind them, but she did stay there shocked for long. " Tarragon! Tarragon!" The pain Salpinx was in was excruciating. Even with an anodyne, the pain made him sick. He felt cold and dizzy. " I'm going to pass out. I'm going to pass out. I can't keep this up." Jackle tailed him with a fury that was still there from his encounter with Aldwyn. *Several minutes later* Reala was standing on the wall of the castle. Several guards stood rigidly beside him. They had not expected to have one of the most powerful and influential 'maren in all of Nightmare at their post, and consequently they very jittery. Only wizeman him self would be more unexpected and unsettling. The rumors about Reala abounded all over Nightmare and ranged from the ridiculous to the believable, all of which were ominous and frightening. Rumors that he could not be injured, that did not need to sleep, that his blood was icy cold, that he did not have blood at all; rumors that he had died, and wizeman had brought him back to life and other supernatural hearsay. Most beings were quite curious about him despite the fear he seemed to generate. Reala appeared to be ignoring them, but he was very observant. None of the guards wanted to be found the least unpolished. They felt rather embarrassed that all creepy prattle they had heard suddenly came to mind. Reala watched the surrounding landscape. He was very delighted that he could finally get back to doing something. Rest gave him too much free time to dwell on the past. Something diving behind a large group of boulders on the ground below caught his attention. He frowned and watched that spot for several minutes. A streak of white dashed behind another boulder nearer to the castle. Reala smirked as he realized what was happening and headed back inside. He was going to enjoy this. *** Salpinx slumped exhaustedly against the wall of the rain gutter. There was still about five inches of frozen ice water in the bottom of the gutter. He couldn't keep going no matter how much he wanted to go. His eyes were closing by themselves. His side screamed relentlessly at him. Salpinx collapsed onto the ice beneath him.