Finnie and Flippie sat on Tato's pegasus and clung to him -- one in front and one behind. Their faces shone pale white. They were near the brink of exhaustion after fighting with the Tzaenae. A pitiful song came forth from them: "Tato, Tato, Worse than a potato, Here we are, Here we are, How are you? Are you safe???" "Yes, girls, I'm fine." said Tato as he hugged them right back. Tato would be very close to the two of them from then on. The Ghost Warband had stayed mounted and now traveled on their way to catch up to the Refugees. The forest here was ugly with twisted trees that seemed to grab at them as they passed by underneath. The newcomer didn't seem particularly worried. Everyone could tell for sure that he was a fairy. He rode beside Tato and the two girls on his small dragon mount, Eyah. He talked without rhyme -- trying to encourage his two sisters. "I've got some sugar candies that Frazzle made with me if you want one." They both turned him down. "Cheer up, sisters," he piped. "Remember when we caught Eyah and how tired we were up by the cliffs?..." Tato interrupted. "What did you say your name was, Prince?" "My name is Fyli, of the Dondor Fayoin." Answered FyIi. "Isn't there something we can do for your sisters that would help them recover?" asked Tato with concern. Fyli shook his head. "I am not a healer, but I know how to make a tea out of some of the herbs that I brought with me. If we could stop ... soon." Without warning, they came to a clearing. The Ghost Band had caught up with the Kanokai. Murki and Tara had dismounted their riding beasts and attended the wounded Kanokai Senator. Tara turned toward Tato and waved happily. Tato spoke to her. "Tara," he asked plainly, "Shouldn't we wait until we get to the ruins before we treat the wounded?" Surprisingly, a voice spoke to Tato from behind a tree. "You are already here!" Out stepped Vilef with a broad smile on his face. "Don't worry, Elfin. The Kanokai are about to move inside. Myriel and his archers are guarding us even now. But here," he said proudly, "clasp my hands, Finnie and Flippie." "Gladly, Gladly, We will, We will!" Finnie and Flippie put their hands in Vilef's. The elf closed his eyes. The color immediately returned to the Fairy Sisters faces. Slowly they grew very sleepy and yawned quietly. Vilef opened his eyes. He released he sisters politely. Finnie and Flippie clung to Tato all the more. Vilef looked up at Tato and smiled again. "Tato," he said, "Your two battle weary bodyguards here were suffering from an evil spiritual disease. With a little rest, they will be fine." "And now for you, Fyli." Vilef touched Fyli on the forehead. And then, even Fyli yawned. "Thank you, elf," he said. Vilef smiled at them one last time, and then he turned to help Murki and Tara. Kohtu's Story Back to Arveta 6 Table of Contents Back to Arveta List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Abram Paradies. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com