Trial and Tribulation Copyright 1997 Renee a. k. a. Alethea All "NiGHTS" characters and related indica mentioned herein are Copyright and TM Sega Enterprises and/or Sega of America. Used without permission Etienne and related characters and indica Copyright Jeanette Merrell Used without permission Dunamis, Alethea, Aldwyn, Salpinx, Frost, Rhian, Talitha, Nettle, Tarragon, 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 3) Dunamis walked through a line of troops, all of which were at the infirmary. He looked around desperately before going inside. Alethea was very busy and Dunamis didn't want to take up any more of her time than necessary. Alethea glanced at him. " Alethea, have you seen Nights, or Salpinx for that matter." " No, Salpinx went with Aldwyn. Ask him." Dunamis walked outside and looked around for Aldwyn. He found Aldwyn sitting on a rock looking nervous and concerned. " Aldwyn, where is Salpinx?" Aldwyn gave him a distressed look. " I have no idea. He should have been back by now. Maybe he got lost." " I doubt that, Salpinx has a good sense of direction. What about Nights, I haven't seen him since we got back. I don't even remember seeing him come back with us." " We were sort of scrambling. He's probably around here somewhere." *** " We can't carry him back without someone recognizing him. Those metals are going to give him away the minute someone sees them." Tarragon looked at them. " Why don't you just take them off? They're only pinned to his vest." Nettle chuckled nervously. " Why didn't I think of that?" Tarragon paced like a caged tiger. He kept peering over is shoulder expecting someone to walk over towards them any minute. " Tarragon, the sun won't come off." Tarragon gazed at the metal. " Well, at least they won't realize who he is; I hope. Just keep him away from anyone else." " Alright, pick him up." The huge 'maren cat bent down and picked up Nights. Nights moaned softly. Nettle looked at the field. No one was nearby. " Come on." She whispered. The two hurried back to the camp. *Four hours later* Dunamis flew over to Aldwyn. Aldwyn had been flying around the camp and the forest looking for Salpinx. He hovered in mid air and turned to look at Dunamis. " I can't find Salpinx. I have a really bad feeling about this; I think they might have caught him." " I can't find Nights." " We have to do something! Where are they!" " I don't know. Nights has left by himself before, but I have an uneasy feeling this time. We had better start looking for them; the sun will set in a few hours. Wait here and I'll get a search party together." *** Nettle glanced over her shoulder. The camp was pretty much packed up, and the other troops were ready to go back. She looked down at Nights. She had bandaged the wound; that was all she had time to do. When the troops started moving back to the castle, Nettle had to join them. If she stayed someone would get curious and want to know what she was doing, and that could have fatal results. Tarragon waited next to her trying to look relaxed. He kept twitching the tip of his tail back and forth in an obviously nervous manner. The troops started moving, and Nettle motioned to Tarragon. The 'maren cat picked up Nights, then followed behind Nettle. She looked at the sun. It was setting, and soon the desert was going to be very cold, especially since Nightmare had an unusually thick cloud cover, and it was so near winter. They had several miles to go and she hoped that it would not be too much for Nights. She had noticed that he had started shivering, (thankfully, she had brought blankets), and she knew that he had been going into shock for awhile now. She also new he was in tremendous pain. She had enough herbs left over for a mild anodyne, but he needed more then that. When she got to her infirmary, she could give him a much more potent fast acting anodyne. She nudged Tarragon to the back of the army. " Try not to be noticed, and stop twitching your tail." *** Salpinx leaned against the wall of the cell. There wasn't a way out. He sighed and looked the ground. He knew for certain what was going to happen. wizeman would have him killed. He looked at the ceiling. " The least they could do is get it all over." *Half an Hour later* The army began to brake up, and one of the guards at the entrance to the Castle of Nightmare watched. A maren and 'maren cat headed toward the castle. The guard glanced at them. The 'maren looked tired, and the 'maren cat was carrying a 'maren wrapped in a blanket. The guard looked down at the unconscious 'maren. He was wearing a vest with a sun shaped metal. The guard stopped them. " Just where do you think you're going with that rebel?" Nether the 'maren nor the 'maren cat answered. The guard called the others guards over to them. " Take the rebel to the prison." They carried Nights into the castle, and the 'maren in white and black followed them inside. The 'maren cat tagged along behind her. Nettle soon quit following them and headed back to her infirmary. Tarragon followed her with curiosity. He had expected some sort of protest from Nettle, but she had not given any to the guard. She started gathering various things together, and Tarragon felt at a loss as to what she was doing. " Just what are you planning to do? You're not going to try to get him out are you! Please, say you have some sense left." Nettle gave him a look that told him not be ridiculous. " All I'm trying to do is keep him from dying, which is exactly what will happen to him if he stays down there." " Surely it's not that bad." Nettle stopped what she was doing and looked at Tarragon. " You have never been inside the prison, have you?" " No." " There is no glass on the windows, it's cold, which is good in the summer, but now it's winter, it's wet, they don't call the physicians unless you're someone important who's very ill. To put it quite frankly, it's very easy to die, and if you're hurt, that only increases the chances. At least the guards aren't cruel. Some of them are very sympathetic."