Naomi was still sulking that evening as they sat around a table in the library, poring over a collection of maps of the Overgreen Forest. Thomas sat with them, his back turned on the rows of books lining the shelves behind him. When they’d first arrived, the wizard had made the library his first stop and had raced eagerly up and down the bookshelves looking for rare tomes of arcane lore, but he’d been bitterly disappointed. No doubt those who’d stocked the library thought they’d done a thorough job, but there was nothing that Thomas hadn’t seen in the University’s library during his five years there, as well as various other libraries he’d had the chance to pop into during his travels, and he showed his disgust now by turning his back on the whole room, pointedly ignoring it as he studied the maps.

     “There’s Basso,” said Arroc, pointing a stubby, gloved finger at a tiny black spot of ink straddling the thin blue line that signified the river Ize. “Not very big, is it?”

     “There aren’t any very big communities out that way,” agreed Shaun. “It’s always been hostile country, not to mention being so close to the Shadow. They had a bit of a cheek calling it a city at all, really.”

     “Had?” asked Naomi.

     “Well, I doubt there are very many of the original inhabitants still there. First it was taken by the Shads, then retaken by the trogs. It’s probably not much more than a pile of ruins by now.”

     “What’s that?” asked Jherek, indicating a darker line that passed through the city before heading into the heart of the Shadow. “A road?”

     “An Agglemonian great road, yes,” agreed Shaun. “They’re incredible things! Made of solid stone, fifty feet wide and raised six feet above the surrounding land. Many of them are still in use today, kept in good repair by the people who live along them. Basso must once have been an Agglemonian city.”

     There were other people in the library, and Thomas saw that a couple of them had gone over to the window and were staring out at something. Others went over to join them, to see what it was. The members of Centaur team glanced at each other curiously and also went over to the window.

     A flight of griffin riders had appeared in the sky, circling around as they lost height, and a crowd was gathering in the courtyard to watch them land. Most of the riders seemed to be an escort, circling protectively around the one in the centre; a powerful looked black stallion whose wings were tipped with white and whose cruelly curving beak was trimmed with gold. It had two men in its long saddle. Its rider in front and a passenger behind.

     The passenger was just as impressive as the griffin. He was sitting firmly upright in the saddle, the yellow sun gleaming on his spike crested helmet and the hilt of his sword, and his blood red robes billowed in the wind to reveal the steely glint of chain mail beneath.

     “A priest of Samnos!” said Thomas in wonder.

     “Not just any priest either,” agreed Naomi. “Look at the gold stripe on his helmet. He’s a Defender of the Faith.”

     They glanced at each other, and then dashed for the door, joining the crowd in the courtyard just in time to see the stallionn land. The priest swung himself out of the saddle with the practiced ease of a veteran, leaving the rider to take care of the griffin. The priest then strode off without a word to meet Brigadier Burton, just emerging from the door of the administration building. They spoke together as the escorting griffins landed alongside, and a group of military policemen began telling the crowd to disperse, that there was nothing else to see. The crowd knew better, though, and stayed put.

     “I wonder what he wants,” said Matthew, standing on tiptoes to see over the heads of the people in front. “What’s he doing here?”

     “Who knows?” replied Shaun. “Must be something big, though. Something really big.”

     Burton and the priest then moved towards the administration building, but before they disappeared through the door the priest looked over his shoulder, giving them their first clear look at his face. Half the crowd heard Diana’s gasp of shock and recognition. There was no mistaking the hard, rugged features, the steel eyes that could burn through a man’s soul and the tight, thin lips that looked as though they would crack before bending into a smile. “Resalintas!” she gasped in surprise.

     “Are you sure?” asked Naomi as a buzz of excitement spread through the crowd.

     “Absolutely!” agreed Shaun. “You see him once, you never mistake him.”

     He shared a nervous glance at Matthew as they remembered that one, terrible time when they’d been alone with him. One glance from him could make you believe you deserved to be hanged for having dirty buttons.

     “What in the name of hell is he doing here?” asked Thomas, equally nervous. “He’s supposed to be in Bula Pass.”

     “Come on, he can’t be that bad.” said Naomi.

     She smirked with amusement at their obvious fear, but was taken aback by the looks the Claimjumpers gave her. “Wait ‘till you’ve met him,” said Matthew earnestly. “Then you’ll understand.”

     They waited a few minutes longer, but nothing else seemed to be about to happen and the crowd began to disperse. Whatever it is, we’ll probably never know any more about it, thought Thomas as they made their way back to the library, but he was wrong. They found out what it was all about the very next day.