To my shock it was Karyn. The man who strode down the marble steps towards us was tall and broad chested with a square jaw, but his eyes, his thin nose and round cheeks...it was definitely Karyn. He surveyed us cautiously, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, but predictably when he actually saw us, he paused shocked.
"Trisha? Jen?" he gasped, staring wide-eyed at me and Treyzah. Before either of us could answer, he saw the face of the wizard and gasped an equally predictable (to me) reaction, which yet again the wizard deflected. However this time the wizard followed with an enigmatic statement that hooked us all in "I shall answer your questions soon. Well, some of them at least. We need only collect the final member of your group," he chuckled, "I trust you all know how to ride?" And with that he was off, leaving us all once more to hurry after him (and I for one glad it was for the final time, this mystery was beginning to get repetitive and it was only the countless questions buzzing in my mind that only the wizard seemed to be able to answer that was dragging me along...well, that and the familiar faces, even if it turned out they belonged to strangers, were a comfort and a touchstone in this unfamiliar world I had found myself in).
