Continued from S3-5-4: Sisters in Suffering. “I’ll return here as soon as my scolding in court is finished,” Avan advised, as they stood on the bleak shore and surveyed the barren slops of the Iron Hills before them. “It’ll likely be five or six days.” “If we’re not here by then, we will not be coming.” Rynard replied in an uncharacteristically grim tone. Syn had used his scrying spell to see the abuse Nykira and Nadjana were enduring at the hands of these so called Knights while he could do nothing to stop it, and though he could only imagine what he had seen, he had watched his rage grow day by day, until now even he feared the wraith he would unleash upon their tormentors. “If you do not see our fire, sail on to Old Hrolmar without stopping.” He told the Duke, as he took his hand, and then he turned away to catch up with Syn, who had stalked ahead in furious silence. As he watched them head toward what would be almost certain death for most men, Avan could not help but feel a pang of regret that he could not go with them. Not just because of his loyalty to Nadjana or his outrage at the Inquisition’s affront, but because he knew in his heart that this would not be the last time he saw them, and that the Knights of the Cleansing Flame, who reigned unchecked terror upon the people of Vilmir, were about to face their worst nightmare… The fury of a Dragon Lord! Most men would have called the bleak, barren hills, baffled by the cold winds from the Oldest Ocean and breeched by pockets of thermal vents that billowed noxious steam, hell on earth. But, as they rode on into their second day and caught their first glimpse of the high, dour walls of the Abbey of the Cleansing Flame, Rynard knew that name would be more appropriate for what would be left in their wake. Syn had seen Nykira and Nadjana taken from the ship in Vilmiro and carted through the city in a jail wagon, exposed naked before the hooting mob, with his scrying spell. Then they were driven along the river, passed a number of mines whose dispirited men glared at them with eyes vacant of humanity, and eventually into the fortress-like Abbey. At least, aside from their humiliation of being displayed as prizes of the Inquisition, they were left unmolested until their captures stopped for the night. Perched upon the crest of a hill overlooking the den of the fanatic monks, Rynard and Syn surveyed the stronghold as the sun’s waning light stained its dull grey walls a fiery red; an omen of what was to come before it rose again. Syn’s eyes blazed with cold blue hellfire, as his scrying spell let him see within the fortress and described it in detail to Rynard while they planned their assault. “We rescue Nykira and Nadjana first,” Rynard asserted, eyeing Syn with a weary look. “Then we punish these Knights for what they have done to them… But their safety is our first concern!” “They will be made safe before their captures face my wraith,” Syn assured him. “But they have been separated, so the Mabden is yours to see to.” Then he looked back toward the Abbey, and in a tone that made his blood run cold said; “But their tormentors will know the true meaning of a “cleansing flame” this night!” To be continued on S3-5-6: The Hospitality of the Abbey. The fifth installment in the fifth book of my Stormbringer characters' adventures. Thanks for looking... Hope you enjoy! Comments and suggestions always welcome and appreciated!