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May 27, 708 CR
Three long days of journey brought them a few hours from the port city Menth. The moon, a sliver shy of full, was already limning the eastern sky, while the western glowed bronze with the setting sun. Two fires brightened the roadside, and an assortment of Keepers more than two-dozen in number shared their warmth after enjoying a hot meal. Three well-laden wagons and a noble's carriage flanked the fires, offering them some privacy in a land not touched by Metamor's Curses. An evening breeze brought hints of the sea.
Charles reclined against a stone, one hand holding the chewstick between his incisors, the other rubbing the soft flesh of his tail, while he stretched his toes near the fire. He watched his children scampering and tumbling about in the grass while his wife Kimberly and the fox Misanthe looked on, intervening when their play brought them too close to the fire. Mercifully, due to their young age, they had managed to sleep part of the journey each day; but it left them full of boundless energy when they awoke and kept most of the retinue busy trying to protect them. More often than not they had bounced from one side of the wagon to the other or capered along the verge of the trail; even letting them ride with the knights or upon Pharcellus only offered a moment's respite before they wished to scamper again. Erick seemed to be the most curious and adventurous, darting from discovery to discovery when he was not chivying their escorts for stories of battle or lessons in sword. Luckily many of the horses were intelligent residents of Metamor and did not startle when rats leaped onto their backs or darted beneath them; their calm demeanor kept the normal horses from spooking.
Charles hoped there would be room aplenty for little scampering rats when they took to sea.
Malger entertained the company with a spirited tune on his flute. Egland and Intoran accompanied the marten on cookpots, wringing melodic tamber from the cast iron by deft strikes with the pommels of their knives. Larssen the giraffe and the human Maud danced to the music, Larssen taking care not to step on his wife's delicate feet with his hooves. The youth Van and the ram Dallar clapped in time. Versyd and the other horses shouted encouragement between needling each other to join the dance. The gull Quoddy watched them from his perch atop Malger's wagon and tapped a webbed foot in time to the beat.
Sir Saulius and the bison Hesgebaern were busy inspecting the real horses, though their heads turned from time to time to listen. So too it was with the other rats who checked over their wagons with as much care as a mother inspecting her children for bumps, bruises and bites. And far overhead Jessica and Weyden circled, swooped, and soared, both to keep watch and to stretch their wings.
Only the two dragons, Garigan, and Jerome relaxed with Charles. Garigan stretched in the grass, eyes searching the sky; his toes twitched with the rhythm but nothing more. Pharcellus – who had taken a human guise once they left the Valley – perused the set of maps Kayla had procured for them while surreptitiously keeping an eye on his younger brother. Lindsey and Jerome lay next to one another as the young dragon combed his claws through the wolf's black fur.
Animals most of them appeared, and yet it seemed wrong to look at the wolf and know it was his friend. Jerome startled them all when he rose on four paws in the morning looking no different than a wild beast. But Lindsey assured them it helped Jerome stay himself if he 'let the wolf out' from time to time; none of them objected further but they had all kept a respectful distance from his wagon.
Charles sighed as he gnawed.
"What are you thinking about?" Lindsey asked.
"Tomorrow we enter Menth. Tomorrow we enter a world beyond the Curses. We did so in secret before; at least for most of our journey. This time we do so openly. All the world will see beasts who walk as men. My children will be seen as vermin. They've never been treated as vermin before, Lindsey. They've been loved; never hated. Will they remember the look of disgust they will receive because they are rats? I remember the looks we received in Breckaris and in Sutthaivasse."
Lindsey tilted his head to one side and offered him a draconic grin. "They are still young. They probably won't remember any of this except for the stories you tell." He ran his claws between Jerome's ears and the wolf lifted his head from his forepaws. "But if any man dares threaten them, Pharcellus and I can eat them!"
Charles almost choked on wood splinters. "Eat them? You should not be using dragon humor, my friend!"
Lindsey laughed. "I doubt I could ever do such a thing! I may be a dragon but I am still a man too." He twisted his long neck and nodded toward the red-haired young man. Pharcellus smiled over the top of the maps but said nothing.
Julian climbed off the nearest wagon and wiped his hands on his breeches. He drew up his tail and snagged the tip between his fingers. "We will draw eyes. Some will be curious; some will be afraid. But this is Menth. Many of the merchants here have been traveling to Metamor for years now. They are used to seeing people like us and they know we are not beasts. They are just not used to seeing us in Menth."
"In sooth. I shall try not to worry," Charles added before gnawing on his stick again.
"I intend to make sure they do become used to seeing us here in Menth. After we leave you with your ship, we'll spend some time in the merchant district. I'm sure there are many things they want we from Metamor can provide!"
"And your wagons can carry."
Julian's red eyes glimmered in the firelight. "We're going to need more wagons. I wish I could convince those horses to work for me. Ah well, there will be others."
Charles laughed beneath his breath and relaxed. "There are plenty more still living in the Glen. And there are plenty from Bradanes who will need work."
"We shall see." Julian stretched and sat down next to him. He was about to lean against the rock when his eyes narrowed, staring at Charles's back. "You have a flower growing out of your tail."
"Oh, it blossomed?" Charles set his chewstick in the grass and reached both hands to feel his tail root. The little vine, a few days ago no more than a tendril, had grown its first bud while he slept. Now he could feel delicate petals; he could not see them but he knew they would be purple like the vine clinging to his stable walls at the Glen. "I thought it would wait for the morning."
"Why do you have a flower growing out of your tail?"
"It was a gift from the Wind Children. It saved our lives last year when a strange plant in the Marzac swamps attacked us." He laughed at Julian's incredulous expression. "I have no idea who the Wind Children are, but we met them while journeying through Åelfwood. I was stone still and they planted a vine in my granite flesh. It grew into the massive vine you've seen I keep in my stables. Somehow it can slip in and out of my flesh without hurting me, and before we left it gave me a seed."
"A seed?"
"A seed I planted within my flesh, and as you can see, it too is growing."
Lindsey chuffed as he stroked the wolf's ears; Jerome panted as he leaned into the dragon's claws. "He's telling the truth. I remember the Wind Children. They shaped leaves and flower petals to appear as our faces before giving Charles his vine. Even the Åelves were surprised. Even Zhy..." Lindsey lowered his snout and thumped the end of his tail. "Even Zhypar was surprised."
Charles leaned over to pat the dragon on his side. He glanced down at Jerome and felt his heart tighten. Sitting back up he forced a smile to his whiskers and put his hand against the rock. "And, like I said, I was rock at the time." The pink flesh of his hand hardened and grayed before disappearing within the stone. Julian gasped and scooted away on his tail.
"I..." Julian stared for a moment before shaking his head. "Are there any more secrets you wish to share?"
"Nae," Charles withdrew his hand and returned it to flesh. "Nae, there is nothing more. It has been a very strange year." He touched the scar around his right eye. "It has changed all of us. Jessica's feathers are black. I have this scar, can turn to stone and have a vine growing from my tail. Lindsey is a dragon! And Jerome..." He sighed. The wolf lifted its head, golden eyes peering at the rat, waiting. "Jerome, my friend, needs our help. And so we go."
"You forgot to mention one change," Julian noted with a smile returning to his whiskers. "We have left the cellars behind. Forever."
He gripped Julian on the shoulder and leaned forward until their snouts touched. "Few things have made me happier, Julian. Thank you."
His fellow rat returned the grip. "Thank you, Charles. Now go. Dance with your wife. Don't waste such good music with moping."
Charles gave him a firm hug. There was nothing more to say. He went and danced with his wife for a song or three.
Malger searched the dreams. He did so at leisure, his pace and manner laconic. During the day the travelers acted as if they were out for nothing more than a pleasurable stroll to the next village. At night the tensions and worries were loosed and given shape. He witnessed brigands striking them down with swords, mighty waves swallowing the ship whole, slavers leading the children away in chains, and even an apprentice to Sideshow capturing them in cages for his terrifying menagerie. Malger would not add his own anxiety to the dreamers.
Instead, patient and slow, he offered a bit of joyful song or a whisper of encouragement into each unsettled dreamer. It was never enough to chase the nightmares away, but they were never as frightening again. And after each offering, Malger withdrew as quietly as he had come and continued his search.
He had only seen traces of the Matthias child each of the nights on their journey. Sometimes it was a flash of ears and tail disappearing into mystic underbrush, other times it was little scampering tracks left in the path darting from dream to dream. He did not blame the child for running away; here in the dreams he was without mother or father to protect him. And while there was much he could say in the waking world to help the little rat, the true teaching must take place in the dreams.
Which meant little Charles would need to stop running and hiding from him.
Malger did not have long to wander among the dreams of his traveling companions before he found the tell-tale sign of the boy. Paw prints which sparkled with moon-glow dust trailed through a nook of stone and trees. He followed at a leisured pace, listening for dangers and threats but hearing none, and watched.
The paw-prints ended inside a little hole in a tree far larger than its neighbors. It reminded him of the mighty redwood the Matthias family lived in, though the shape was distorted with a profusion of twists, branches, and whorls. The hole appeared too small to squeeze through but as he neared it swelled in size. He crouched at the entrance, peering into the dream without entering the dreamer.
The dreamer was the other Matthias boy, Erick. He could see a fantastic world of forest where everything was exaggerated with knightly banners draped from tree branches and familiar animals capering about. Erick and his brother Charles were both wearing armor and battling each other with massive swords. They laughed as they swung and squeaked as they dodged each blow.
Malger chuffed in surprise. Little Charles had entered his brother's dream to play with him.
He watched their play for a time and then reclined against one of the gnarled roots conjuring a happy tune from his flute. A small bitterness touched his heart; there had never been any simple play between him and his family. But this was one pain among many he had taken for himself over the years; he surrounded and cornered the hurt with grace notes, captured it with a trill, and scattered it from his heart with a boisterous arpeggio. He would let little Charles have his brother.
His thoughts strayed to the stone altar, the massive crow, the scarred rat, and the child between them. What little his goddess had explained to him still left him confused. It was a riddle within an enigma lost in an archipelago of mysteries. Would he ever understand? Would any of them? And what pain would there be in understanding? A sour note touched his flute with those thoughts.
Malger blinked and stared down between the roots to find a rat child staring back up at him, little paws curled around the tip of his tail. The boy gazed at him as if he'd been waiting there for hours. The marten sucked in his breath and let the flute fall from his muzzle. "Hello, Charles."
Whiskers twitched and dark, protruding eyes blinked while over-sized ears flicked up and down. For a moment the child appeared more alley rat than knight's son. And then he spoke, his voice anxious and interjected with little squeaks Yet it penetrated the marten more deeply than the melody he had chased his childhood regret away with. "You not dream for yourself."
He smiled. "Nay. You and I walk the dreams of others. I will teach you how. I will teach you how to help and protect the dreams of others, and how to protect yourself from them." The boy only stared at him and rubbed his fingers over his tail tip. "Do you know who I am?"
"Daddy says you Archduke Sutt."
"Very good. But as I am your teacher, you may call me 'Master Sutt'. Do you understand?"
The boy blinked and nodded. "Master Sutt. Bye-bye." Before he could react, the little rat fell to all fours and scampered into the dream brush leaving only moon-glow paw-prints behind.
Malger chuffed and shook his head. It was a start.
May 28, 708 CR
A half dozen wary guards watched the caravan once it emerged from the forest; the four at the gate exchanged anxious words, while the two manning the gatehouse parapet looked down with curiosity. For many minutes traveling Keepers and resident men merely eyed each other until the distance between them had closed to a few wagon lengths.
One of the guardsmen stepped forward and held up a hand. The three behind him rested hands on sword pommels while the tower guards knocked arrows to their bows but did not draw. "What... what brings beast men to Menth and so many?" The man demanded gruffly, narrowing his gaze to stare up at Malger, who had ridden forward from the train. "You... State your business!"
From his lofty perch astride Versyd Malger offered the guards a reproving stare. "Beast men?" He scoffed with perfect aristocratic annoyance, glancing back at the wagons. "Do not caravans of Menth journey to Metamor and back? Does not your lord swear fealty to Duke Thomas of House Hassan? As a horse is he, too, a 'beast man'?" Egland and Intoran rode forward slowly to flank Malger. Charles and Saulius rode beside the first wagon with his family; four little rats peered over the side of the wagon, noses lifted to the pungent air of a port city for the first time. Jessica, Weyden, and the other soldiers stayed back along either side of the second wagon, their hands upon the plainly visible pommels of their weapons. Lindsey and Jerome hid in the final wagon beneath a stretched canvas. "Do we demand human men who come to Metamor's gates state their business?"
The mustached man in charge of the gatehouse gawped a couple of times before regaining his composure, realizing by dress and stature, even if he was some sort of furred creature, he was of a far higher station than a mere town guard. "Such caravans do journey to Metamor and we are loyal to the House Hassan. But all visitors must state their business in Menth; especially the rare visitor from Metamor."
Malger snorted haughtily and let both hands rest upon the front of his saddle. "Sire," He muttered flatly.
"Sire?" The guardsman blinked.
"Aye," Malger snapped. "Do I look a passing churl? Now, I have hired a ship berthed here in Menth. My companions wish to do business of their own in your marketplace." Leaning forward in the saddle Malger fixed the guard with a hard penetrating stare. "Unless you wish to deny us entry, which I am sure to tell his Lordship should I need to return to Metamor with my business unfulfilled, you will let us pass."
The guard chuffed and cleared his throat, then stepped aside. "We are not accustomed to Keepers here," he explained with a slight bow. "Even here, where the cursed of Metamor are known, you would do best not to wander freely." The two guards on the tower lowered their bows while the four at the gate stepped aside. Malger nodded his thanks even as Versyd trotted with regal air into the city. One by one the wagons followed. Little Baerle and Bernadette waved at the guards as they passed.
Charles smiled at his children and tried to keep his smile as he gazed about the city beyond the gates. Menth was a port town and trading center for the Northern Midlands. Wide streets allowed easy passage of commerce from both northern and eastern city gates to the marketplaces and the wharves. Already he could see the tall masts of sailing vessels over the top of the clustered row houses. His nose wrinkled from the scent of refuse even the sea could not hide.
The streets were filled with vendors selling fish, fruits and vegetables as well as garlands made from flowers, townsfolk buying them, and children playing. The presence of so many Keepers, particularly beast-cursed Keepers, was noticed the moment their wagons rolled through the gates. Charles could almost sense the ripple of news radiating through the town as a palpable force. It was the children who took the keenest note of the Keepers, pointing and gawking in surprise. Brave boys rushed up to get a closer look. Charles watched a pair daring each other to touch the tip of his tail dangling off Malicon's flanks; neither could work up the courage or shame the other enough to be so foolish.
Soon all eyes were upon them and the raucous noise of the streets died down to a susurrus of curiosity. Charles could hear their whispers if not their words. Their eyes were uncertain; some were afraid, others merely curious. A few even appeared excited as if they'd always hoped to see a beast-cursed Keeper one day, without having to risk the curse itself by visiting. Some took the hands of children and kept them from coming any closer, but most of the young boys were unattended so they continued to pace the beast men of the north and their train of wagons.
Charles's four little children waved and called out happy greetings to the other children and for a time their high-pitched voices were about the only ones heard upon the streets of Menth. He scoured the crowd looking for faces filled with disgust or hands reaching for vegetables to throw; of the latter he saw none, but scowls were easy to find. Despite their disgust at the sight of animal-shaped men, he was grateful to be a rat; the shape of his head made it easy for him to watch everyone along the road without turning.
A tense half-hour followed as they maneuvered three wagons and the Sutt carriage down the wide street toward the wharves. Guardsmen watched them and the people thronging the streets to catch a glimpse of them with one hand on their weapons. Some from the crowd followed after them, while others rushed to the streets ahead of them. Merchants grumbled curses as their booths were swamped by gawkers. Charles and the other knights did their best to appear imposing but not threatening. Malger rode with snout lifted high, noble elan undisturbed by the regard of the crowd.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief when the road turned onto a broad, flat esplanade overlooking the wharves. Official looking houses loomed over the street, each bearing a sign upon its lintel and many dangled pennants from foreign lands from their windows. At least two dozen ships of various sizes were moored, most of which were crawling with roustabouts heaving cargo and supplies. Soldiers wearing the sea-green livery of Menth patrolled the esplanade and stood guard at both ends. They permitted the Keepers passage but shooed away most of the gaggle of curious townsfolk.
Malger turned to beckon him forward and he nudged Malicon ahead until he was even with the marten. "Ah, Sir Matthias. Yonder is the Venture Swift." He gestured four ships down the line. The kasshet hull was long with a wide-bottomed keel and almost two-dozen oarlocks per side. A single mast with rigging prepared dominated the center; a leaping dolphin decorated the prow. Dozens of men, sweaty from labor, moved supplies up the gangplank, checked the oars, tightened the rigging, and cleaned the deck.
"She looks seaworthy enough. Will there be enough room for everyone?"
"If we only carry supplies for the voyage," Malger replied. "Captain Calenti knows to expect us today, and with our welcome this morning I expect he already knows we are here. You are free to see the Venture for yourself. I must find Calenti and ensure everything is satisfactory."
Charles nodded and stroked one hand down his pony's neck. "Then I suppose it is time we said our last goodbyes and parted ways."
Garigan, Kimberly, and Misanthe helped the four children out of the wagon, while Pharcellus lifted the canvas from the last wagon so Lindsey and Jerome could crawl out. Jerome was still a black wolf; he kept close to the wagons where he wouldn't be seen. Larssen and Dallar lifted their supplies from the second wagon and set them down on the stone esplanade. Charles watched them for a moment before dismounting.
"Erick," he led Malicon by the reins around the first wagon to where his fellow rat knight watched. "Sir Saulius, I leave my steed in your care until I return."
Saulius dismounted and took the offered reins. "I shalt care for thy steed as my own, Sir Matthias. May Eli speed thee and protect thee and thy family on thy way."
They hugged, patted each other's backs, and parted. Nothing more needed to be said. Charles thanked each of his friends for their help on the journey to Menth and wished them an easy return home. They in turn wished him a safe journey as Saulius had. A few he embraced, but only a few. They had been saying farewell for almost a week; the actual parting was welcome.
Charles, Garigan, and Pharcellus carried their supplies down to the stone wharf next to the Venture while Malger disappeared to seek out the Captain. The pier was slick with sea foam; the waves sloshed against the stone and made the oars creak in the locks. Even next to the sea the sludge of the city made the air foul and he did his best not to breath in too deeply.
Lindsey and Jerome followed along behind the trio, both on all fours; they continued to the end of the pier and did their best to stay out of everyone's way. If anyone remarked upon the odd pair it was with no concern of the large black wolf for it strode alongside a dragon. A dragon! On the Menth docks! Gawkers clustered as close as the guards would allow, crowding nearby piers and the balconies of roofs of surrounding buildings to point and chatter like magpies spying a sparkling coin lying on a crowded street; alluring but unattainable.
After setting down the trunks and casks of clothing and what few personal items they dare bring on such a long voyage, Charles stretched and stared back to the esplanade at his friends. Saulius had hitched Malicon to the back of the wagons and Versyd was now on two hooves helping to rearrange what little was left between the wagons. Jessica, Weyden, and the rest of their patrol group apart from Larssen climbed aboard the wagons for the return trip. Versyd joined Hesgebaern on the carriage. One by one they turned the wagons around and started back north. Charles did not look away until they had disappeared behind the cog moored next to the Venture.
"Pharcellus!" A squawking voice called from above him. Charles lifted his head and saw three birds circled down from the mast before the midday sun blinded him. Shielding his eyes, he blinked the spots away as the sea birds landed on the wharf.
When he could see clearly again he recognized the black cormorant and puffin as Quoddy's brothers. The gull had flown ahead to find them and now their voices were filled with excitement and joy. It warmed his heart to hear it. Lubec stretched out his wings and cawed, "Pharcellus! Lindsey! Are you ready to see the sea we know and love?"
The dragon masquerading as a young red-haired man smiled and pumped his fist. "We are ready, my friends! We merely wait for yon Archduke's return with the Captain of this fine vessel. Are you ready?"
Machias bobbed his head. "We're going to do a little more fishing while you wait. Don't worry, we'll keep Venture in sight!"
Lubec folded his wings behind his back and craned his neck to the sky. "I think you'll like the fellow Calenti hired to help protect us all on the voyage. If he ever comes down..."
Pharcellus and Lindsey peered up. Charles and Garigan did too, both shielding their eyes. Jerome panted at the end of the dock, eyes lost to the sea. Far overhead a shape circled slowly. It was larger than a bird with an oblong shape. Charles frowned; he could make nothing else out; Malger had said he wanted to hire another flyer or two. Pharcellus seemed to know what it was as he clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Impressive fellow. I'm curious how he was hired given the warm reception the people of Menth offered us."
Quoddy shrugged his wings and took a step toward the edge of the wharf. "You'll have to ask him when he decides to land. I think he's saving the story so he only has to tell us once."
Pharcellus laughed and a moment later the three birds leaped into the sky to scour the waters for fish. Garigan lowered his eyes and blinked the spots away before saying, "I'm going to inspect the ship. Do... do Sondeckis ever get seasick?"
"Young ones do," Charles admitted. "I would be very surprised if you do."
Charles watched the ferret bound up the gangplank and disappear over the gunwale. He noted the oarlocks and pondered how many weeks he would spend rowing; he was physically fit and would do his share of the work no matter what anyone else said. After a moment he turned to the two dragons and his breath caught in his chest. Jerome had shifted into a crouch, his muzzle retracted an inch and his forehead swollen; there was no mistaking him for an ordinary wolf. Yet his golden eyes still peered across the waters lapping against the wharf, sea foam and city flotsam beating at the stones with each gentle wave. The rat wondered if his friend even knew he'd changed.
"Sir Matthias?"
Pharcellus's question snapped him from his distraction. "You may call me Charles when it is just us. No need to stand on title among friends. And I certainly would never lord a title over a dragon!"
The red-haired man laughed and shook his head. "We dragons delight in your titles. They are one of the threads binding your society and giving it shape. And yours is a title of honor, O Rat Knight!"
"If you insist then!" Charles offered him and Lindsey a smile. Lindsey kept close to Jerome, his vermilion-tipped gray scales bright where the sun struck them, but said nothing. "Have you decided how you will be traveling?"
Pharcellus smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "We will follow along on your journey; at least at first. It will be bad enough for the crew without us three on board."
He nodded. "Of course. I know you can keep an eye on us with ease from the skies. And if we need to send you a message one of the birds will help."
"They will. As you saw, Sir Matthias, they are as eager for this journey as we are!" The dragon's smile appeared to show fangs though his human disguise had none. "And your family?"
"My family will be fine." He waved one hand toward them to reassure them. "I am here to protect them, as will be Garigan and our other friends. Besides, should any threat arise I daresay it will unlikely reach us before dragon fire convinces it to go elsewhere. And... a journey like this will be good for them all. If it does not bankrupt us. I wonder what deal Malger has arranged for us."
"What of the deal?" asked a calm voice behind him. Charles turned in surprise; the sound of the ships groaning against the wharves had masked their approach. Malger approached with one arm draped over the shoulders of the slender red fox Misanthe; she had dressed in a simple servant's gown of gray and bore in her arms his youngest daughter Baerle. The young rat's cheeks were plump and dimpled with glee as her tiny fingers clutched at the claw the vixen used to tease her whiskers. Malger smiled at them with regal aplomb, his eldest boy clutched in the tall marten's other arm. Beside him walked Kimberly with his middle children clutched one in each arm; his second boy squirmed a little trying to see everything. "I believe it was a single merchant per soul per week at sea."
"Ahh, there you are, and they! I was beginning to wonder..." His eyes lifted and he felt an anxious worry at the price. "I certainly hope the captain is not demanding a coin for each of the wee ones similarly?"
"Oh, indeed so." Malger winked, casting an affectionate look down at the rat child held easily in the crook of one arm. "Because babes wail, or will be, once the Venture makes the water." His gaze and then snout lifted back to the rat child's father, pausing a moment to study the hand-print scar surrounding the right eye. "But this is a price you needn't worry about, as I told you. You are my guests on this voyage, Sir Charles. You need know nothing more of the cost for it is not yours to bear."
Charles held out his arms and took his eldest boy from the marten. Little Charles yawned and began to gnaw at the leather armor over his father's shoulder. "And I thank you again! When do we disembark?"
"Captain Calenti will be here shortly to oversee final preparations. With no cargo and the currents behind us we have only a light crew. But we will make quick time to Sutthaivasse regardless. For now, unless you have need of anything more in the city, we should board and secure all we have brought."
Charles shook his head. "I am ready. Garigan is already aboard."
Malger smiled and swept his now free arm up the gangplank. "Then shall we?"
The Venture was a cargo ship and looked the part, wide and shallow of beam. The upper deck spanned the entirety of the vessel from gunwale to gunwale, though a good portion along either side was little more than open lattice above the benches for the rowers. Charles gazed down into the dimly lit oar benches and assumed two or three men could seat each oar, of which there were a good two down on each side of the vessel.
What a crew they would have if the oar ranks were full! The effort simply to move the boat and a hundred men would be no mean feat, much less the tonnage of trade goods. He could only marvel at the scope of the endeavor he had embarked upon. For his sake, for Jerome, Malger had shouldered the financial burden of supporting not only his family, but the pay of an entire ship and its crew for he knew not how long.
Just below the top deck was an open passageway from bow to stern, blanked by heavy beams and only broken by the spar of the mast piercing the deck from above. Between the beams hammocks were neatly strung, drawn close and empty while the crew was, ostensibly, spending the last of their hours in Menth.
A single broad shouldered, stooped man met them at the base of the gangway stair, his rheumy eyes sizing them up. "Ye lot our fare, aye?" He growled though not unpleasantly. His voice was rough by years at sea more than a gruff manner.
"Aye," Malger nodded, moving to the fore. "And you are?"
"Mogaf, galley master, yer grace." The man knuckled his brow and bowed, though hardly affecting very much change in height considering he was already stooped by years spent belowdecks. "I'll be preparin' yer meals and sundries, an' overseein th' care of yer animals too. Saw th' wolf and serpent above, Ah did, meanin' them, not yerselfs," he corrected hastily with a quick glance at the group slowly gathering at the base of the stair.
"The dragon will see to itself, good sir." Malger smiled with a slow nod in return. "And the wolf was once a man, like us. The Curse was not so kind to him as us, but he has a man's mind." He paused and pursed his lips, whiskers angling forward before lying back and drooping. "And a wolf's nature, I might warn. He's still learning to grasp the enormity of his change."
"Ah, aye then well, ah'll be lettin' 'im be on 'is own, then." Turning the man shuffled down the passageway toward the bow. "Cabins fer yer grace 're up t' th' bow. Be a sight more rough when th' water's up, but be forward o' th' bilge s' not quite such a bite t' th' nose, aye? Cabins fer th' rest 're below. Wit no cargo t' speak of we put up some partitions, like, so's ye'll have some pervacy an' all." Coming to a wall at the bow end of the passage he waved toward the lone door, and a gangway leading deeper into the ship to one side of it. "'Fraid be naught below thems but th' bilges an' ballast, so's nae let the little 'uns be wonderin', aye?"
"They'll be in good hands and under watchful eyes, master Mogaf, never you fear," Malger assured him.
With a nod the man made his way through them back toward the stern. "Good, good. Galley be in th' stern." He paused to glance at Malger, then Charles and Kimberly, taking in the children held among them. "Won't be a'fttin' fer yer lordly mouths, ah'm jes a ship's cook. But it'll keep ye full and healthy like. Yer grace." With a bob of his head and a touch of knuckle to brow he turned and shambled into the dim shadows toward the stern.
"He seems put out," Garigan opined laconically, earning an uneasy chuckle from the others. "Couldn't give a damn if we've got fur, or three eyes." He shrugged and peered down the nearby gangway into the darkness below. "Well, I'll go see about a cabin."
"Secure one for me as well, lad," Malger said, turning toward door before them and pushing it open. Despite being wood exposed to the endless damp of the sea the door opened smoothly with little more than a rasp across the jamb. "Charles, you and the Lady Kimberly will need this cabin. I daresay you'll need the space."
"Malger?" Charles quipped in surprise. "I'm sure the Captain expected you to..."
"I'm sure he did." Malger nodded as he stepped inside, securing the door open with a strip of leather bolted to the wall within. "But I need only enough space for myself. You've an entire family."
Just within the entry was a short corridor with a door to either side, beyond which proved to be two smaller rooms hardly larger than closets. Ostensibly those were for the servants of whomever would be using the cabin. The end of the corridor opened out to a relatively large, considering they were at the bow of the ship, somewhat triangular room. At the apex of the triangle was a simple bedstead built to accommodate enough bedding to satisfy a pampered lord though it was still bare. A table was secured to the floor to the right and a bureau to the left complete with mirror of polished bronze.
"We'll have to see about arranging things for the children, but it's certainly better than a mere cabin in cargo." Malger nodded approvingly as he looked around. There were no port holes but some square ports in the ceiling proved themselves to be covered hatch windows to the deck above. Not big enough for a man to use as a way in or out but sufficient to let in the sun and redolent salt air.
The cargo space below the main and rowing decks proved to be spacious. The forward portion of the hold had been partitioned by sturdy, though clearly temporary, wooden walls creating a dozen cabins. More than enough for the entirety of their retinue and more. From the middle of the hold rearward it was open, save for the heavy wooden beams and mast. Aft of the mast the ceiling was open and through it sunlight spilled into the hold, revealing a large slab of wood five paces to a side on which all of their cargo was piled. Ropes secured at each corner rose into the sunlight, clearly the manner by which the cargo had been lowered from above. The light also revealed ranks of boxes and barrels along either wall, the scent revealing they carried water, food, and various sundries for their journey. Spare ores were slotted along the top of the hold in wooden racks.
As above, hammocks were strung between the beams though all of them were toward the rear of the hold, beyond a curtain wall of canvas which divided the cargo hold forward and aft at the mast. At the moment it was drawn open to either side while crewmen loaded the ship. Two were present, young men perhaps nearing their late teens, rough of look and wary of countenance as they paused in their labors to look at the gaggle of passengers.
"No mo' cargo comin' down." One of the young men offered diffidently, nodding toward the huge pallet and their property. "So's ye can leave the lot there, er to yer cabins as ye like." As he spoke the sunlight abruptly waned and vanished with a heavy wooden boom from above. The main deck hatch had been closed, plunging them into darkness but for a single lantern swaying above where the two men were working. "Gots jes a mite t' lash in, then we'll be ashore 'til th' tide."
They left the two men to their tasks and retreated past the cargo cabins, making their way back to the main deck. Charles squinted at the sun, blinding bright after even their brief time below. A few crew had appeared during their absence, men with small bags slung over their shoulders, crossing the deck to the mid-ship stair. A trio of them abruptly stopped whatever laughing conversation they had been engaged in and gaped openly when they spied the passengers clustered near the mast.
"This is going to be awkward," Malger observed.
The tide would turn in early afternoon, so the Keepers busied themselves moving the cargo from the pallet and bringing it to their cabins. Misanthe helped Kimberly arrange the state cabin so it would be comfortable. The large bed was more than enough space for all of the rats and as the children were used to sleeping huddled in a pile – Kimberly had seen them do this often enough after a morning of rough play – they laid the little quilts down at the footboard and the larger quilt at the head. Charles and Garigan brought the three trunks of clothes, grooming equipment, and all else he knew they would need and placed them wherever they would fit and not get in the way. The four children scampered about the room, explored under the bed and in the two anterooms for servants, and pestered their parents with questions, most of which began with "Why."
Once everything was to their satisfaction, Charles and Garigan left the children with the women to help Malger. The marten had selected the cabin next to the ferret's own; both were big enough for a trunk of clothing or two, a hammock, and not much else. They found Malger reclining in the hammock, staring down at his toes in the wan light of the single lantern. He regarded them with a mercurial grin and shrugged. "It will be even more comfortable when we are out to sea! Has Captain Calenti arrived?"
Confused, Charles asked, "I thought you already spoke with him ere we boarded."
"Aye, I did, but only to inform him of our arrival." He twisted his body all the way around and landed with a muffled whump on bare paws. "Let us go topside and see."
"And be seen." Garigan suggested. "No sense hiding from the crew."
Malger nodded. "Let them look. Let them gawk. Ere the voyage is done they will admire we Keepers!"
"Hear, hear!"
They returned to the main deck, their beast eyes easily navigating the shadowed hold and passages. All three shielded their faces when they returned to the full light above. A moment more and they could see what their ears had already told them, the main deck was beginning to fill with seamen returning from whatever haunts they'd enjoyed in port. A good dozen inspected the oar locks while another checked the rigging and cleaned up after the many birds who'd perched on the gunwale. Reclining at the prow and half sprawled across the leaping dolphin masthead was Lindsey, with Jerome sitting on his haunches and Pharcellus standing akimbo between them and the crew.
Charles started walking toward them and both ferret and marten followed a pace behind. The red-haired young man smiled when he saw the Keepers, turning his head so a gentle breeze ruffled his long hair. "A lovely day for casting off, is it not, your grace?"
Malger chuffed, eyeing the dragon on the masthead with a smirk. "It is. If the weather favors us we will make remarkable time. I thought you were going to fly the first few days?"
To their surprise, it was Jerome who replied. His voice was guttural and felt at times both a snarl and a whine coming from a wolf's muzzle, but they could still hear the man in it. "I asked to come aboard. Staying on the wharf felt like being left behind."
Charles wrapped his fingers about his chewstick but did not lift it from his beltloop. "I'm sorry, Jerome. Would you care for a tour of the Venture? It's going to be your home for a few months as well as ours."
Jerome backed his ears and shifted on his haunches; his shoulders spread outward even as his snout drew back into his face. The black fur of his back softened until it was a tattered Sondeckis robe. His eyes, ears, legs, and tail remained those of a wolf. A softness touched his features as he half-stood on beastly legs, resting a clawed hand on the gunwale. "Thank you, Charles. Thank you, Malger. But I think I would rather wait here until it is time to depart. After this morning hiding in the wagon, I need open air. I need for..." He stopped himself, a flash of pain crossing his eyes.
Charles glanced at the dragon who had spread his wings to soak in the noon-day sun. "Lindsey, Pharcellus? Would you care for a tour? I'm sure Malger would be pleased to show you."
Lindsey craned his neck and blinked. "Will I fit below decks?"
Malger nodded. "Aye, as long as you do not stretch your wings or lash your tail. We'll give any crew we meet below a bit of a start, but they may as well get used to it!"
"Garigan, why don't you go with them. I'll keep Jerome company here."
The ferret nodded and after both he and the marten stepped out of the way, Lindsey uncurled himself from the masthead and with his older brother followed the two Keepers toward the gangway below decks. All of the crew working the main deck kept clear. Charles watched them for a few seconds before turning to his fellow Sondeckis. Jerome had fallen to a crouch but was mostly man-like. He slumped his arms and head over the gunwale and stared out to sea. White clouds drifted across the sky, flocks of birds enjoyed the air, fishermen plied their trade, and the waves gently undulated to the horizon.
Charles reclined next to him and gnawed on his chewstick for almost a minute. "How are you doing?"
"I wish I could lope in the woods with you and Garigan and take down a deer." He sighed. "I need to be a wolf; I ache without it. I know it is what... he... did to me, but..."
"Do you remember when I was stone? I had needs I could not explain to you or anyone else back then. I thought in ways human tongues cannot express. I do not understand all you mean when you say you need to be a wolf, Jerome, but I understand the need of a nature forced upon you."
Jerome grunted, triangular ears lifting and turning as the crew prepared the oars; the heavy spars groaned and the wood of the oarlocks creaked as they scraped against each other. "I won't run off. I want to reach Sondeshara too."
"I never thought you might."
They stared at the sea listening to the lap of waves and the noisome cries of roustabouts making the last preparations for the Venture. Nothing more could be heard, not even the bustling noise of the city. Charles wondered how Julian, Jessica, and the rest of their friends fared as they toured the marketplace. He gnawed his chewstick.
Rat eyes let him study Jerome as well as the sea. His face, other than the ears and the golden eyes, was the same stocky man he'd grown up with in Sondeshara. But where the Jerome he knew had been calm and reserved, almost unreadable to those who did not know him, this Jerome was wild and ever on alert. The tattered Sondeckis robe covered a pale muscular chest and back covered with long scars he'd never spoken of. The fur began at his lower back, a dark black glimmering with moonlight, thick and soft all the way down his misshapen legs and the heavy paws and thick claws digging into the deck. A long tail dangled between those legs, twitching back and forth with every anxious thought.
He wished he could become a wolf to join his friend in the forest.
"There will be many woods along our journey if you need a night to run and hunt." Charles turned so he faced Jerome. "I know we cannot run with you, but it is something for when you need it. Don't give in too much. Guernef had to warn me many times from thinking like stone. We are Sondeckis. We are brothers, Jerome. I will make sure we reach Sondeshara together."
"Thank you," Jerome replied, a smile touching his lips. Charles set his hand on Jerome's shoulder. He felt the man's flesh tremble a moment and then all was still. Jerome took a deep breath and said again, "Thank you."
Charles smiled and together they watched the sea.
No tour of a sea vessel would ever take long – there was not enough space to tour – unless you were giving the tour to a dragon. Lindsey was a young dragon and small enough to fit on the leaping dolphin masthead, but his long quadrupedal body found navigating stairs and maneuvering through the tight corridors below decks a challenge. Pharcellus offered helpful advice to his brother every step of the way, while Malger and Garigan gave him as much room as they could.
"You can change into a human shape, Pharcellus," Malger pointed out after Lindsey almost tore one of the partitions in the hold out while squeezing his hindquarters and tail around a narrow bend. "Is this not some dragon magic you can teach Lindsey?"
"I don't have enough magic yet," Lindsey said while craning his neck to inspect his tail for scrapes or missing scales. "I am starting to feel normal walking on all fours; I know I'm not an animal but it still seems wrong."
"It is not wrong for a dragon," Pharcellus reminded him with a faint chuckle. "And you will grow into dragon magic soon. If I could, I would transform you while aboard the Venture, but I can only change myself."
Lindsey clicked his tongue against his fangs and lifted himself onto his haunches, bringing his serpentine neck up to eye level. "If I get much bigger, I won't be able to fit below decks at all. How do we even live in caves?"
The red-haired man laughed and wrapped an arm about Lindsey's neck, cheek to dragon cheek, "You will see, brother! You will see. Now, is there anything more to see of this Venture?"
Malger shook his head. "This is pretty much everything. We should return to the main deck and see what is keeping the Captain. I thought we would have cast off by now."
"The tide is starting to turn," Garigan murmured. "High tide is almost over."
"How can you tell?"
The ferret gestured at the floor of the hold. "I can feel it in my legs. The waves. They just... it feel like they are pulling away from the wharf."
Malger narrowed his gaze at the ferret – likely it was some sign of his Sondeckis powers – and asked, "Are you sure you are not secretly a sailor?"
"I am not. I've never seen the sea before today."
"I know lad. But I have been on the sea many times and I feel nothing. I only know because I consulted the charts!" Malger flicked his eyes to the two dragons and then at the deck above them. "Let us see the sky again. I think Lindsey needs to stretch his wings."
Lindsey had an easier time climbing the stairs back to the main deck. All of them breathed in relief when they felt the sun on their faces again. Malger noted Charles and Jerome leaned against the gunwale at the prow, the many sailors going over the rigging and the oars a third or fourth time, and a general air of expectancy. The three arctic bird brothers were perched on the port-side gunwale – Lubec had his wings spread to dry them – talking with a middle aged man in comfortable and colorful attire beyond the means of any common sailor. Malger smiled and started toward him.
"Captain Calenti!"
The dark-haired and olive-toned man turned, and an exuberant smile etched into his weathered face. "Your grace! Welcome aboard the Venture! I understand you have already seen to your passengers."
"And everyone's gear. We are ready to depart at your command."
"Excellent. Thank you for sending Lubec and Machias with your last message. Having birds who are men as companions these last few days has better prepared my crew and I. And now I have met their brother Quoddy. I see this is one of the dragons you spoke of. Lindsey is it?"
There were too many people standing nearby for Lindsey to stretch his wings, but he did stand on his haunches; the serpentine arch of his back brought him to a little more than man-height. He craned his neck to meet the Captain's gaze. "I am. You have a marvelous vessel, Captain. With your permission, when the night's are pleasant I may sleep by the prow."
"At your pleasure, master Lindsey. Having a dragon aboard will put to flight marauders faster than a volley of Whalish fire!" His eyes shifted back to the marten. "Now, your grace, will you introduce the rest of your companions?"
"This is Pharcellus. He is an older dragon who has mastered the art of taking human shape when needed."
"I am much too big as a dragon to sleep aboard your vessel, Captain Calenti, but at this size I can manage."
"And two dragons will be even better! We are well met!" They shook hands and Calenti gave Pharcellus a manly slap on the shoulder.
"And this is Garigan, Sir Matthias's student."
Calenti offered him a hand, even as his eyes narrowed. "Garigan... you are a... weasel?"
"Ferret," he replied as he took the offered hand, careful of his claws. "We're related but not quite the same."
"I shall remember. It is good to have you aboard."
"When will we be casting off, Captain?"
Calenti looked to the sky and nodded. "My men are ready. If the dragons and wolf are going to fly alongside, they'll want to disembark now. Unless you mean to jump from the gunwale?"
"The aft looks big enough," Pharcellus noted. "I'll have to learn how to at some point. But today at least we will disembark and fly from the wharves. Come Lindsey, let us fetch our friend and be off."
As the pair headed to the prow, Malger stretched his back and felt a thrill of excitement build. "Captain, is there somewhere my companions can watch while you and your men work? I am sure the ladies and children are going to tire of the quarters below."
"Bow and aft are big enough. Stay clear of amidships when we are rowing; otherwise they can watch from there too. Now, your grace, if you will excuse me, I must see to my ship. The tide is leaving quick and we must be on it."
As the Captain walked away, Malger glanced at the gunwale. The three birds were already gone, having flown higher in the rigging where they could watch and keep out of everyone's way. He chuffed to himself and looked to the ferret. "Garigan, let Charles know I'm going to bring his family up to the aft to watch. And hopefully get their sea legs. I know you and Charles will be fine, but I do not know of Misanthe or his family. Poor Versyd would have retched just trying to board the Venture!"
"I will let him know."
Charles smiled as he took his youngest daughter from his wife's arms. Little Baerle wrapped her arms about his neck and her legs about his middle, while her snout nuzzled his cheek and her tail thumped against his belly. "Do you like your room and bed?"
"Aye, Daddy!" Baerle squeaked as she looked around the boat and wharf. "Can we swimmin'?"
He laughed and shook his head. "Not right now, my treasure. Maybe later." He caught Kimberly's gaze; his eldest boy squirmed in her arms trying to climb onto her shoulders. "How long have they been asking?"
"As soon as they saw the water." She plucked little Charles's hand from her face and chided, "Careful! You almost poked my eye!"
The little boy ducked his snout. "Sorry, Mama. Can I be on your head?"
Misanthe had already given up trying to keep Erick in her arms. The boy straddled her neck with his legs and was holding on to her head fur, snout framed by black ears. Malger was having more luck with the older daughter Bernadette; she sat in his cradling arms and pointed at each of the bird brothers high up in the rigging and tried to say their names. Charles could only chortle as his wife surrendered, hoisting his namesake on her shoulders like his brother. The boy squeaked in delight, eyes wide and dashing from mast to sea and back again.
"Isn't Garigan going to join us?" Malger asked. He jerked his snout toward the bow where the ferret reclined by himself.
Charles shook his head. "He wanted to 'welcome the sea' as he put it. I think he wanted a moment to himself."
"None of us will have much time to ourselves for many months. I'm sure Calenti will let him serve in the crow's nest if he asks."
"I think Quoddy, Lubec, and Machias will be there ahead of him."
The marten chuffed and nodded. "How is Jerome?"
"As good as can be expected," Charles replied. The wolfish Sondecki was back on the wharf with the dragons. Pharcellus was helping the sailors undo the mooring lines while Lindsey stretched his wings. "He should stay on board with us as soon as he is ready. The crew will be used to us in a day or two. Tomorrow I will help row; they'll accept us better if we sweat alongside them."
"And if the winds are all we need?"
"I will teach my children of the sea. You know they'll eventually…" Charles flicked his eyes toward the rigging and grunted. Malger suppressed a chuffing laugh.
Before the marten could offer more, the Captain began shouting orders at the men in the oar ranks. Wood groaned as the last of the moor lines were collected and the sailors heaved the massive spars in their locks. The paddles pressed against the water, and they felt the deck jerk beneath them. The wharves of Menth shifted and began sliding backward. Kimberly gasped when she regained her footing, staring at the city as it drifted away behind them with each stroke of the oarsmen.
"Daddy, Daddy! We're moving!" Erick squeaked as he bounced on Misanthe's shoulders. The fox smiled through the discomfort.
Charles smiled and tickled his daughter's sides. "No gnawing on your Daddy now."
Four Keepers and four children watched from the aft as the Venture slid away from the wharf. As soon as they were in the clear they watched Pharcellus shift into a dragon. Sailors on the other end of the wharf bolted up the esplanade when the vermillion-tipped gray dragon stretched his wings and lashed his tail. Lindsey helped him secure the leather saddle and straps to carry a man while Jerome hid from sight beneath an awning wing.
The fleeing tide drew the Venture far from shore. They were joined in the water by fishing trawlers and flocks of birds riding the waves. Flotsam and seaweed marred the waves but the oarsmen plowed through each. The grunting of the sailors and the straining of the rigging filled their ears while the pungent tang of salt and the dwindling refuse of the city filled their nose.
After rowing for a few minutes, the Captain turned the wheel and the Venture tilted to the left. The sun shifted until it was ahead and on the right; they were now heading south. The deck beneath them shifted with the waves; Misanthe and Kimberly reached for the gunwale to steady themselves.
"Are you well?" Charles asked, taking a confident step toward his wife. Baerle finally seemed to notice the way her siblings had climbed atop the big people's heads and dug her claws into the back of his head fur to do the same. Charles grimaced and helped her stand on his shoulders; he could feel one of her little hands digging at the burn scar around his right eye.
Kimberly tried to smile. "I'd forgotten how the sea moves. I… I think I'll be fine in a… in a little while."
Misanthe slipped beside her and patiently moved one of Erick's hands off her ears. "I brought a few things to help if you need them, milady."
Bernadette scrambled even higher on Malger's head, trying to brace her foot with his ear as she pointed at a shadow in the sky. "Daddy, look atta bird!"
They all glanced upward and watched as a winged shadow descended from the sky. It circled around the Venture a few times, and once it was out of the sun, Charles could see the oblong shape clearly. It was not a bird.
Both he and Malger moved next to the ladies at the aft gunwale as the gryphon came to a landing on the deck between them and the Captain. Calenti cast a backward glance and offered the eagle-headed gryphon a smirk. "Did you finally wear out your wings?"
The gryphon dipped his head and folded his wings. "I waited until we were well away from the city. Why worry about me when you have dragons on this voyage too?"
Calenti laughed. "My bravery stops at telling gryphons what to do. But after seeing how well they and our passengers were received, I see no reason you cannot join us when we dock. Speaking of, let me introduce you." The captain stepped around the gryphon, who turned around in place, golden eyes wide and intent. "Your grace, allow me to introduce the last member of our voyage, Kurgael. I hired him to help guard the ship. Between Kurgael and the dragons we have nothing to fear."
"Well met, Kurgael," Malger said, sketching a slight bow. "It is good to have you aboard. You seem comfortable around Keepers like us. Are you also from Metamor?"
"I was cursed, but I prefer to live on the cliffs to the south." He lifted his beak and one wing, gesturing to the three birds capering high in the rigging. "Lubec and Machias stopped by my nest to tell me where they were going. It sounded like an adventure and so I came along."
"I am very glad they did."
Calenti cleared his throat and gestured at the marten. "Forgive me your grace, but allow me to introduce you. Kurgael, this is his grace, Archduke Malger dae ross Sutt of Sutthaivasse, Sir Charles Matthias of the Narrows, his wife Lady Kimberly and their children, and the Lady Misanthe of Metamor."
Kurgael glanced briefly at the rest but his eyes stayed on the marten. "Oh? I had heard…" For a moment the gryphon's astonishment seemed to envelop every muscle in his massive body. Tension filled every sinew and for a blink of the eye it seemed he might leap as a cat toward the marten. But then he relaxed and a warm camaraderie touched his avian eyes. "I am glad to have a chance to be of service, your grace." He turned to the rat and bobbed his head. "And to you as well, sir knight."
He then turned to greet both ladies, but before he could speak, all four of the little rats roused themselves from marveling at the gryphon and squirmed free, scrambled down parents, fox, and marten, across the deck, and up the startled avian forelegs of Kurgael in an effort to reach the feathered nape of his neck first.
"Well, I'd say we've had enough introductions," Malger remarked with a thinly veiled laugh. "You wear rat very well there, Kurgael!"
Little rat voices chorused, "Can we fly you! Can we! Can we!"
Charles wrapped his arm about his wife's middle and pulled her close. Kimberly leaned her head against his chest as they watched their children play with the gryphon. He sighed and relaxed, letting the rocking of the waves soothe his anxiety. The voyage would be long and uncertain, but they were making it together. He kissed his wife between the ears, glancing at his friends around the boat and in the sky above him. Sondeshara could wait.
Garigan leaned against the prow and stared across the leaping dolphin toward the horizon. He knew from studying the maps Kayla had given them they would need to sail first south, then west along the northern coast of Sathmore, before turning south again until they reached Whales. From there they would turn east through the coral basin gap between Marzac and Boreaux and then follow the marshy Boreaux coastline southeast. A journey of five months, four if the winds favored them.
And at the end of the journey was a desert and a city nestled deep within the desert built around an oasis rising up from untold depths. A thousand generations of Sondeckis had made this city their home. The very sands thrummed with the power imbuing him, a power until a few years ago he never knew had a name. He had learned much from Charles in the last two years and there was a great deal he had discerned on his own. But in the city awaiting them he would learn so much more.
He would learn to spin a Sondeshike.
He would learn to shatter stone with a song.
He would learn to shape metal with his fingers.
He would learn to move without sound and without muscle.
Perhaps he would even understand why he had been gifted with the Sondeck.
Garigan was grateful to Charles for all he had shown him already. He was grateful to Malger for helping them make this voyage. He knew they journeyed to Sondeshara to help Jerome break free, but he came because of the Sondeck. It needed to find its home.
Garigan dug his claws into the gunwale, savoring the wind in his fur, thrilling with every passing league.
Cool sea air ran through his fur. He held tight to the leather straps framing Pharcellus's neck and shoulders. Each beat of massive wings pressed dragon muscles into his chest; his breath fell into rhythm as they ascended high above Menth. Far below the Venture rowed away from shore into the sea lanes; the sails were ready to capture the winds to take them south.
A journey of many months now begun. They would reach the ancient city in the desert, the only place in all the world he might be helped. Sondeshara.
To the north, he could feel something. His heart ached for it. He could smell the warm earthiness and feel the loam beneath his paws. He knew his place in the world. He could see a wall with glowing baubles. He had brothers to run and hunt with. He had a father.
A father he disobeyed.
A father aware of him.
A father beckoning him home.
He pressed his muzzle against the dragon's hide and forced his tongue to still; he would not speak the words tumbling from his heart. Sorrow. Regret. Remorse. Determination.
Forgive me, Father.
Gmork's Prodigal dug in his claws for the long flight.


text:
The purpose of screening is to find a health problem early and treat it. Tests are given to people who do not have signs of a problem, but may be at risk for one.
People are not screened for panic disorder unless a doctor thinks that they may have it. There are different questionnaires that may be helpful.
Anxiety disorders. National Institute of Mental Health website. Available at: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml. Updated July 2018. Accessed February 22, 2019.
Panic disorder. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T115030/Panic-disorder. Updated September 21, 2018. Accessed February 22, 2019.
Last reviewed December 2018 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Adrian Preda, MD Last Updated: 2/22/2019

subset: commoncrawl


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Never Too Late to Learn
Somehow Fortune has smiled on me and I've managed to fall in with some of the most awesome Indie authors around. It happened with the Celestial anthology and now it's happening again.
The Blazing Indie Collective writers have inspired and taught me so much over the past few months. Although I think they were all born with super-human doses of energy and ideas -- and I can barely keep up -- I was able to sneak my way into an upcoming box-set of novellas that will be published this summer. Check out our FB page for the collection: Falling In Deep
I'm working on the book right now and, while I don't normally love research, I'm loving this!
The novella, Immersed, is Steampunk that takes place in Chicago circa late 1850s. Now I knew that Chicago was built on marshland and was basically sinking into the muck. And I also knew that disease was rampant in this environment, since the sewer system needed to be overhauled, and good. But I didn't realize how the city streets were actually RAISED between four to eight feet to accommodate a new sewer pipes, gas pipes, etc.
This meant that since the streets and sidewalks were raised, the buildings needed to be as well. Using jacks, buildings were lifted several feet and new foundations were laid underneath. But not all owners wanted to do this or could afford to do so. Therefore, some decided instead to relocate entire buildings, pulling them down the street on rollers! And others...well, others just decided to leave their homes as is. That meant the ground floor became the basement, and the second story was now the first! You can still see houses in certain areas of Chicago that were never raised:
from urbanohio.com /Pilsen Plus on photobucket
Now, seriously? How cool is that?
Check out some blogs and webpages on the raising of Chicago streets: An Illustrated History from Chicago Magazine, Street Grades from Encyclopedia of Chicago, Raising of Chicago on Wikepedia


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text:
|Campaign Against Sanctions on IraqPLEASE NOTE THIS SITE IS NOW AN ARCHIVE, AND IS NO LONGER UPDATED. For information on Iraq since May 2003, please visit www.iraqanalysis.org.
Press release
18th December 1999
New Security Council Resolution continues to punish Iraqi citizens
A national campaign group opposed to the non-military sanctions on Iraq has sharply criticised Friday's Security Council Resolution on Iraq. The resolution would suspend sanctions on Iraq after 120 days of co-operation with a new weapons inspection body; Britain fought to keep the definition of co-operation deliberately vague.
"The resolution contains some fairly obvious good ideas but, at heart, we're back to 1991", warned Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (CASI) co-ordinator, Colin Rowat. "As in 1991, sanctions are being used to punish Iraq's civilian population in the hope of swaying its leadership. As our government claims that the Iraqi regime doesn't care about its population, this is a tragically confused strategy. In 1991, it might have been excused because we were making decisions quickly and didn't know better; we can't use these excuses now."
In August, Unicef estimated that an extra half million Iraqi children under five have died under the sanctions. The British government denies that the sanctions have led to hardship in Iraq, preferring to blame the collapse in living conditions on the Iraqi leadership. This position is at odds with the purpose of economic sanctions, which restrict economic activity by design. They therefore intentionally create economic hardship, to which the poor are the most vulnerable. The new Resolution acknowledges this by noting that "the fundamental objective" of suspending sanctions is "improving the humanitarian situation".
France, Russia and China all abstained from the vote, objecting to the 120 day compliance period. They argued that the non-military sanctions should be suspended once Iraq began to co-operate with the new weapons inspectors. As the Security Council can re-impose the sanctions at will, the purpose of the 120 day period is questionable. "We don't think that this is about Iraq's weapons: diplomats involved in the negotiation tell us that the US is afraid to be seen as weak, to be seen to make concessions to Saddam", explained Rowat.
The waiting period forces Iraqi citizens to wait longer for the benefits of suspended sanctions. It may also encourage the Iraqi government to keep its promise to not implement the resolution. "Why would the Iraqi government implement it?", asked Rowat. "They don't trust the US and the UK: these countries bomb them without Security Council authority; Bush, Clinton and Albright have all stated that the US will lift sanctions when the Iraqi regime changes - nothing to do with the weapons talked about in UN resolutions. The new resolution asks the Iraqi government to comply for 120 days in the hopes that the US will change its mind and start to respect UN resolutions. This would be quite a gamble even if Britain had not insisted on keeping the definition of compliance vague. If the Council had agreed to suspend sanctions once the Iraqis began to co-operate, we would have had the opportunity to build some trust. Instead, I fear that we're doing the reverse."
When pressed, Foreign Office spokespersons have expressed confidence that the Iraqi regime would comply, but have refused to substantiate their beliefs. "This is naďve," accused Rowat. "In 1991, weapons inspection was supposed to last 120 from start to finish. Non-compliance by the regime started on day one and has lasted over eight years. The Iraqi regime is less vulnerable now than it was then, and is not being offered anything more. Attempts by the Foreign Office to ignore these details suggest that they're not particularly concerned about the humanitarian consequences of this resolution."
This archive site is hosted by the Iraq Analysis Group, to whom queries should be directed


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Decorate Your Home Screen With Awesome Wallpaper
We all like to decorate the home screen of our Android devices with amazing wallpapers. And most of us spend a lot of time looking for cool wallpapers which match our tastes. There are so many wallpaper apps available in the market. A recent addition to the family of wallpaper apps is one named 'Awesome Wallpaper' by Banana.
Awesome Wallpaper is one of its kind. It provides wallpapers in high definition quality and caters to the requirements of people with different tastes. The wallpapers are so colorful and attractive that all users would find them appealing.
Awesome Wallpaper sports wallpapers in about 43 unique categories, ranging from professional sports and 3D to landscapes and babies. Images under the super cars, airplane and military categories would surely draw the attention of teenage boys. The girls would be mesmerized by wallpapers under the cute, flower and fashion categories. There are also many other popular categories for people of all age groups.
You can select your favorite category by tapping on the category name. The collection of images under that category will be listed. You can then view and choose the wallpaper of your choice. You can swipe left or right on the screen to check out wallpapers in other categories and scroll up or down to view more pictures of the same category.
You have options to comment on the images. You can share them with your friends via email, twitter or Facebook. If you do not find the image of your choice, there is a search engine available through which you can search for the image anywhere online.
Setting the chosen image as your wallpaper is easy. Tap on the image to get it to full screen. You will find options to set the image as your wallpaper and save it to the media gallery. All the images load from the company's own server and hence the loading speed is very fast.
I was quite impressed with the variety and quality of images. This app is also a great entertaining tool. Awesome Wallpaper is available for free in Google Play and it requires an Android version of 2.2 and above.
Rating: 4/ 5


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Passionfruit and Mango Eaton Mess
Serves 4
Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Warm Rice Pudding With Caramelised Banana And Fresh Passionfruit
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Roast Chicken with Peruvian Passionfruit Sauce
Prep Time 30 mins
Prep Time Overnight
Cook Time 70 mins
Passionfruit, Chia and Coconut Porridge with Toasted Nuts
Cook Time 10 mins
This website is funded through the Hort Innovation Passionfruit Fund, using the Passionfruit marketing levy. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
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Robert Burke Warren lopes into the Phoenicia Diner a few minutes late, hair windblown. He sprawls in a booth, orders black coffee and steel-cut oats, and says with a grin, "Let's talk with our mouths full."
Warren has the easy charisma of someone who's stood on a lot of stages. Two things are making him happy today: It's his son's 18th birthday, and his first novel Perfectly Broken (The Story Plant, 2016) is racking up stellar reviews.
That running order is not accidental. Warren has been many things—bass player for (among others) RuPaul and the Fleshtones, East Village bartender, Buddy Holly on London's West End, Gregg Allman's ghostwriter, children's music phenom Uncle Rock, freelance writer for Chronogram—but the hat he wears with most pride may be family man.
Married to music writer and editor Holly George-Warren, Warren was a stay-at-home dad before SAHD was an acronym. "Well, we didn't stay at home that much. We had a circuit," he says of the days when he toted young Jack around New York's still-edgy East Village.
Perfectly Broken follows Grant Kelly, a rocker turned SAHD, and his publicist wife and young son from the East Village to the Catskills, where midlife takes unexpected directions.
Anybody we know?
Warren is quick to dismiss autobiographical assumptions. And though his fictional village shares floodplain DNA with the creek that runs past this diner, "Mt. Marie is not Phoenicia. It's a distinct place I invented, like the characters."
He's been over this turf as a singer/songwriter. "No matter what you say when you're introducing the song, if it's in first person, people think it's about you," he explains. "It's a grand literary tradition to invent a character in circumstances similar to your own life and put him in situations that never happened. Grant does some shit I would never do."
Also, he points out, "If you write memoir, people don't believe it's true. If you write fiction, they don't believe it's not true. At the end of the day, these are not really problems. I know what problems are."
Warren grew up in urban Atlanta, the younger of two brothers. His parents were young too, creative and troubled. When he was seven, his father drove off the Interstate in a drunk-driving accident.
Tall and lanky, with oversized glasses, Warren picked up the bass at 14 and joined RuPaul's club band Wee Wee Pole three years later. "My dear friend Todd, my Huck Finn, had crossed into Atlanta's New Wave Queer Underground," he recalls. They loved Prince, Bowie, Rocky Horror floor shows.
Wee Wee Pole did well, traveling to New York to play Danceteria and the Pyramid Club; Warren booked the tour from his grandmother's kitchen.
In 1983 he started college in Athens, joining another New York-bound band Go Van Go. "I fell in love with New York, plain and simple," he says. "I was so lucky. Unbeknownst to me, I was in the last wave of people who could move to Manhattan and live cheaply." He worked at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut ("kind of a queer punk-rock Cheers") and played for two years with the Fleshtones. When they double-billed with all-female punk polka band Das Furlines, he bonded with guitarist "Holly Hemlock."
"This is crucial, because literature brought us together. I was reading The Vampire Lestat, and I was riveted. Holly was a big Anne Rice fan. She thought that was cool."
Smitten, Warren watched their set. "She was...adorable. She was playing a 1958 Fender Jazzmaster, crazy hat, bustier, little black boots." After the gig, he wondered if he should kiss her good-bye. "We'd spent hours talking about vampires. So I bit her on the neck." Ten days later, she showed up at his bar.
Between bartending, bands, and woodshedding original songs, he took acting classes, eventually landing "this crazy gig to go to England and play Buddy Holly for a year" in the hit musical Buddy. "I think I was Buddy number 13."
He applied to Rosanne Cash's "Essence of Songwriting" workshop at the Omega Institute, attending three times. "Those workshops really changed my life," he says gratefully. Cash "was a mentor but also a friend." After trading long e-mail letters, she told Warren, "You really should sharpen your prose pencil."
He took her words to heart, but not right away. Holly was working long hours as head of Rolling Stone's publishing imprint, and they agreed he'd be Jack's daytime caregiver. Despite turning down gigs in touring bands, he has no regrets. "One of the only hardcore certainties I ever felt was that this time would not come again, and there was no better way to spend it." (The fictional Grant is a lot more ambivalent.)
In 2002, the Warrens lost their apartment to landlord greed and moved to a cabin in Chichester, then a rambling Phoenicia Victorian. Warren found work as a preschool teacher—expertise that would help create Perfectly Broken's pitch-perfect kid characters—and launched Uncle Rock. The "kindie rock" persona took off, generating five albums and major airtime on Sirius. He often performed with Jack. "I used to tell people, 'We don't go fishing, we don't throw a ball, we don't hunt—we make music together."
They also read together. "Holly and I read to him every night," Warren says. "When he was about eight, he and I started making stuff up together." For Jack's ninth birthday, his father wrote a five-page story starring characters they'd invented. First reader response? "Dad, you have to keep going!" By the following birthday, he'd finished a fantasy novel called Yelloweye.
Holly's agent Sarah Lazin forwarded it to a colleague. Under her tutelage, Warren revised extensively and started another YA novel, Angel Blues. He also joined long-running writers' group Glaring Omissions and started his novel for grownups.
"In my 40s, I noticed the intensity of stories playing out among my peers, whether they were plumbers or singer/songwriters, lawyers, financial analysts, or waitresses. They were stories I found fascinating and beautiful, full of pain, heroism, loss, and forgiveness. How does anyone reconcile being betrayed by the person they love most?" he asks. "I wanted to write a book about changing relationships, including families and kids, but with a strong erotic undercurrent."
Indeed, Warren's sex scenes may raise readers' body heat, blending the raw and the awkward with vivid carnality. And anyone who's hung out with musicians will recognize his characters, authentic from the opening words ("The ache in my thighs reminds me of jumping off speaker cabinets during a show") to the smorgasbord of mind-altering substances, legal and otherwise.
While writing the book, he met Story Plant publisher Lou Aronica at a Woodstock party. "We just hit it off," Warren says. When he sent a few chapters from his work-in-progress, Aronica loved it.
Bookjacket designer and sometime Catskill 45s bandmate Mark Lerner gave Warren some studio time to record songs that function as plot points in Perfectly Broken (free download at Robertburkewarren.com). "There's an aspect that's cool about imaginary songs, but I thought, 'What if they were real?'" Warren says. "People don't have to hear them—it's not necessary to reading the book—but if they want to, they can. I'm a full-service provider."
Appearing 3/5 at 7pm, Kleinert/James Auditorium, Woodstock, book release party with reading and music; 3/25 at 7pm, Spotty Dog Books & Ale, Hudson, reading with music; 4/1 at 7pm, reading with Weeklings contributors, TechSmiths, Kingston; 4/9 at 2pm, Woodstock Writers Festival Fiction Panel (see sidebar).


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Stony Heart. Isa. 64. 1; Ezek. 11. 19; 36. 26
J. Hart L.M.
O for a glance of heavenly day,
To take this stubborn stone away:
And thaw, with beams of love divine,
This heart, this frozen heart of mine!
[The rocks can rend, the earth can quake,
The seas can roar, the mountains shake;
Of feeling all things show some sign,
But this unfeeling heart of mine.]
To hear the sorrows thou hast felt,
Dear Lord, an adamant would melt;
But I can read each moving line,
And nothing move this heart of mine.
Thy judgments, too, unmoved I hear,
(Amazing thought!) which devils fear;
Goodness and wrath in vain combine
To stir this stupid heart of mine.
But something yet can do the deed,
And that dear something much I need;
Thy Spirit can from dross refine,
And move and melt this heart of mine.


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Want To Live Like Neo? Alternate Reality Games Might Be Your White Rabbit
NEW YORK -- The thing that helped college senior Reid Borsak get over playing a lot of video games arrived in the mail by surprise one day.
It was a tarot card -- a death tarot card. And it made him realize there was something he could like even more than video games: alternate-reality games.
"It freaked me out for a little while, but then it occurred to me what it was from," he said in an interview last month. "I was pretty much hooked after that."
What Borsak was getting hooked on was a game called "Chasing the Wish." That game, like the rest of the titles in the young genre of alternate-reality games, or ARGs, was an adventure designed to be played in the real world. ARGs aren't played on PlayStations and don't take place exclusively on computer screens. They commonly play out by enmeshing gamers into networks of fake Web sites and tantalizing them with mysterious breaches into the real world, like strange text messages, suspicious phone calls and the occasional mystery package that shows up to further the mystery.
ARGs have been bubbling up for about half a decade but have not yet become mainstream. While some doubt that they can, Borsak's current favorite "Perplex City," an ARG that launched in the U.S. this year, is making a play to be the first.
"These are the really early days for alternate-reality games," said Michael Smith, CEO of "Perplex City" developer Mind Candy, which claims the game has 20,000 registered players worldwide. "But I think it's close to tipping."
Many ARG aficionados consider "The Beast," a game used to build hype for the 2001 movie "A.I.," the first significant effort in the genre. "The Beast" sent players down the proverbial rabbit hole with clues hidden in movie posters and trailers before bringing them into an interweaving complex of Web sites and a story line that had plenty of the not-so-real people on those sites discussing a mysterious murder.
" 'The Beast' was amazingly cool because the developers behind it never came out and talked about it while it was running," Smith said. "That did make the whole experience more exciting, engaging and real for the players."
The game had come unannounced. There had been no release date. Movie fans interested in "A.I." simply started noticing odd things and, by doing some digging and teaming up with each other through the Internet, suddenly found themselves playing a game. That inspired community began creating its own ARGs and looking for more. It's still a matter of debate on sites like the Alternate Reality Gaming Network (ARGN.com) as to whether the latest weird thing on the Web is actually the beginning of a new game format.
Like a more traditional form of advertising, it didn't cost any money to experience "The Beast" -- the game was free to all players. That, too, set a trend. Three of the most prominent ARGs of the last two years -- "ilovebees," "Last Call Poker" and "The Art of the Heist" -- were produced to hype "Halo 2," the video game Western "Gun" and Audi cars, respectively.
Last year in England, Smith and a team of 13 other designers and artists created "Perplex City" as an ARG designed to actually hype itself. The game involves collecting oversize trading cards that feature mazes, word puzzles and optical illusions but also clues -- sometimes hidden with ultraviolet or heat-sensitive ink -- that tease a deeper story. That tale involves a city in an alternate dimension and that city's lost treasure, which has arrived here on Earth. Somewhere in the real world, Smith's team has buried that treasure and will award $200,000 to the first player who follows the clues and tracks it down.
While the sale of the cards keeps "Perplex City" from having to be a commercial for a sponsoring product, it still resembles "The Beast" in that it involves a network of convincing but fake Web sites -- along with a host of other intersections with the real world designed to keep players always guessing about what's real and what's not. One chain of puzzles had players in New York finding a business card that led to Web sites, which in turn led to fake band posters in London, which in turn led to a clue-laden movie trailer playing in London, which then even led to a hint that was delivered from a plane that flew over Manchester, England, with a secret message in tow.
The majority of the game is played through fake Web sites, and, like "The Beast," the designers' intent is to make the mysteries hard to crack. But no matter how obscure they try to be, Smith acknowledges that the hive mind of an international community of ARG players makes it tough to pull one over.
"I think about 98 percent of the puzzles that we've released on the cards have been solved," he said. But there is an exception. "One is a very complex piece of cryptography that we've calculated would take about 30,000 computers running in tandem several months to solve. They haven't managed to get that one yet."
As alluring as the chain of mysteries might be, they aren't without their pitfalls. The first ARG Reid Borsak ever played, 2001's "Majestic," failed to catch on even though it was backed by the mighty Electronic Arts. Gamers weren't interested in paying a monthly fee for one thing, and after September 11, the title proved too unsettling to keep around. "[The game] was quite controversial because of the fact that they would call you up and scare you," Borsak said.
Game designer Frank Lantz, who runs a company called Area/Code that also makes games staged in the real world, said that the puzzle-based nature of many ARGs may wind up hindering widespread popularity.
"There's a very narrow sweet spot for puzzle design where it is challenging, entertaining and rewarding, but not just frustrating," he said.
But Lantz says ARGs still have great potential. Rockers AFI have even entangled their fans in an elaborate online treasure hunt tying in with the release of their next album (see [article id="1527079"]"AFI Fans Surfing, Phoning, Traveling In Cryptic Treasure Hunt"[/article]). And Lantz recalled playing an ARG and stumbling across a site of poems that seemed to contain important clues. The site looked real, but Lantz saw some clues that seemed to tie into the game. But maybe, he thought, it was just an ordinary poetry site with no hidden messages.
"I think it was the exact quality, the exact state of mind that ARGs are trying to conjure up: the sense of not knowing, of planting the seed of uncertainty that shifts your perspective on everything you're looking at in the world. You start to see patterns and become sensitive to these kinds of vibrations that you're not normally aware of and that maybe aren't even there." It turned out that the poems Lantz thought he saw clues in weren't even part of the game.
Now Michael Smith hopes gamers will be equally eager to be so mystified with "Perplex City." A third wave of "Perplex City" puzzle cards will be released this month. For more on the game, go to PerplexCity.com.


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The Bridge to Success (BTS) program provides an alternative route towards County employment for qualified people with developmental or intellectual disabilities.
Under the Bridge to Success program, people with developmental disabilities can enter the County workforce for select positions without going through the competitive merit process.
Employees hired under BTS are expected to perform comparable to their non-disabled peers.
BTS-qualifying positions are non-Merit System positions within Contra Costa County. These positions are classified as Project positions. The classifications that have been identified for the program are: Institutional Services Worker and Institutional Services Aide in Health Services and Clerk – Beginning Level in the County Library.
Bridge to Success candidates may be eligible to receive assistance with the application process and job coaching from a nonprofit supported employment service provider or the state Department of Rehabilitation. There is no cost to the County for this support.
The California Legislature in 2013 adopted an "Employment First" policy for people with developmental disabilities, which identifies competitive integrated employment or real jobs at real wages in real job sites as a priority of state resources, if this is what the person wants. Bridge to Success reflects this priority.


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What Golf Courses Need to Know About Marketing After COVID-19 image
Nearly every state has lifted their stay-at-home orders, and Americans are ready for life to start returning to normal once again - which means NOW is the time for reopening golf courses to reach out to their patrons and prospects with an uplifting message of reassurance and resolve. Your direct mail marketing strategy is going to be an invaluable tool in terms of accomplishing exactly this and more. So if you really want your golf course and hit the ground running after COVID-19, there are a number of essential things to keep in mind. Proactive Direct Mail is a Game-Changer By far, the biggest thing you can do in terms of navigating your marketing strategy in the post-COVID world has to do ...Continue Reading


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From ASMBits
Write a function that returns the sum of its two parameters. The parameters and return values are both 64-bit integers. 64-bit operands are passed in two consecutive registers. Thus, the first parameter is in r4 and r5, while the second parameter is in r6 and r7, with the return value returned in r2 and r3.
long long add64 (long long a, long long b);
Expected solution length: Around 5 lines.
Sample Input
(1, 1)
Sample Output
The difference between regular addition and big-integer addition is that you need to detect the carry-out from the low-order adder and feed that to the high-order adder (much like a ripple-carry adder). Nios II does not have an easy way to detect carry-out from an addition. The method recommended by the ISA reference is to compare the result with one of the operands: If an addition overflows, the addition result is always (unsigned) smaller than both of its operands.
Write your solution here


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Robert Groden, veteran JFK researcher, tells Dallas Morning News editorial writer Rodger Jones that he is likely to challenge the city's plans to restrict access to Dealey Plaza on November 22, 2013.
While portraying Groden as an eccentric idealist, he sympathizes with the city's desire to have a ceremony that shows "reverence" for JFK.
The underlying question, still unresolved, is whether the city-sanctioned ceremony is going to ignore and acknowledge the views of the the vast majority of Americans who don't accept the official story of a lone gunman.
Groden speaks:


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Your alternate news source. Connecting the dots between politics and organized crime.
Let the Ghetto Gospel go forward into every hood possible." Ja Rule
Getting the Gangsters out of Government. Podcast - Vlog
Friday, June 7, 2013
The Right to Bear Arms
I've already mentioned how Jessie Ventura said that the intent of 2nd Amendment was not to preserve the people's right to hunt. It was to protect citizens from tyranny. Many others share that opinion including Ice T. Bruce Willis said that if they take one of the people's rights away in the Bill of Rights, what's stopping them from taking all of the rights away? I agree with both. Taking rights away is bad and the right to bear arms isn't about hunting. It's about letting citizens protect their families from criminals and tyrants both foreign and domestic.
One of the people speaking in this Youtube video is a US soldier. Ironically enough, he admits going to war for the people's right to buy oil. Yet he asks a profound question. He asks the journalist that was pushing for gun control if he would feel as passionately about doing away with the first amendment as he does about doing away with the second amendment. I agree. The second amendment protects the first amendment.
Years ago I was a big supporter of the US Constitution and the right to bear arms. Realizing many in Canada have a huge fear of guns as well as the legitimate concern about domestic violence and guns getting into the hands of children, I metaphorically gave up on the issue. Yet now more than ever when the government is invasively taking away more and more rights I do think the right to bear arms is just as important in Canada as it is in the United States. We have seen here in Canada what happens when only the criminals have the guns. It's not working.
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It's been a good week for co-operative, uncommon birds. Last week, I posted an article with many photos called Barred Owl in L'Amoreaux Park
This morning, I had this beautiful bird in and around my backyard for over 3 hours.
Anyone with a bird feeder will have this species as an occasional visitor…and it isn't interested in the sunflower seeds.
The Cooper's Hawk is a member of the Accipiter family and its principal diet is other birds.
Knowing this, I became concerned when a pair of cardinals landed very close to the concealed hawk.
Can you spot the hawk by the crack in the fence?
Strangely the hawk paid no attention to the cardinals who were themselves unafraid. There must be some truth to a recent suggestion that brightly coloured birds do not taste good. Whenever a house sparrow arrived, the hawk took chase but captured nothing this morning. Last fall, I wrote an article about the Cooper's Hawk's hunting habits called:
Later, a squirrel arrived to harvest some of our magnolia buds and he quickly chased the hawk away. The hawk soon returned.
Cooper's Hawks are crow-sized with long tails.
As you can see, they are slate grey above and finely rust-barred below.
The tail is rounded at the tip and this is a good way to differentiate it from the smaller, square-at -the-tip-of-the-tail Sharp-Shinned Hawk. The species was named after the naturalist William Cooper (1798 – 1864), one of the founders of the New York Lyceum of Natural History.
A few days later, I found the hawk enjoying a sparrow meal in our snowy backyard.
Miles Hearn


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The cost of your orthodontic treatment would depend on your unique individual needs, based on which your treatment plan will be customized. At Putnam Orthodontics, your needs will be evaluated by Dr. Pai and next, all your possible treatment options along with their costs will be shared with you so you can decide what works best for you.
Flexible Financial Options
We will work closely with you to create an affordable payment plan that fits your budget so you know what to expect before your orthodontic treatment begins. We also offer our families customized payment plans to meet each individual patient's needs.
We work with a big list of insurance providers. Our office staff is always available to help you with insurance claims and paperwork, if you have insurance that will be covering any portion of your orthodontic treatments.
OrThoBucKs is our incentive program which is based on your orthodontic compliance as a patient and the success of your treatment. So every dental visit made by you is an opportunity to earn OrThoBucKs and other cool prizes!
Here are a few things you can do to earn OrThoBucKs on your OrThoBucKs card:


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- Anonymous5 March 2012 at 20:50
Pretty good info. Just a quick update FYI. Once SP1 is installed for Sharepoint Server and running 220.127.116.11 you will need to upgrade your Sharepoint db's with:ReplyDelete
1. Open an Administrative command prompt.
2. Change directory to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\BIN
3. Run PSConfig.exe -cmd upgrade -inplace b2b -force
Otherwise the search service will not start and work and Veeam wont be able to connect to the search server.Replies
Hello Anonymous, thank you very much for the comment. Cheers!Delete
- Anonymous18 July 2012 at 02:59
Cheers for this helped alot Im a bit nervous when it comes to large products like veeam. We also needed to setup a replication job. If anyone needs to do so we referencedReplyDelete


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Just a suggestion.
I would love it if the interface for iCompta was refined to resemble that of the program Things (http://culturedcode.com/things/). They have the same basic structure, but I find Things to be much more refined and easier to view and work in.
Interface refinement request
Discussions about iCompta on macOS
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