“Don’t you ever speak?” asked the dainty thing decked out in a princess’s dress
and riding side-saddle a few feet from him.  Its name was Jill, he thought.  Such an odd
yet plain name.

     “Not unless spoken to.  I am a man of many talents, but few words.  The Elders
bade me to safely guide you to your destination.  They didn’t mention anything about
providing the entertainment,” he tried to pick a tone of voice that would best convey the
fact that he was six foot, well-muscled, and had been trained by the Elders of Jok to be a
one man army with little more than his fists.  Apparently, it worked.

     “I see,” Jill said then fell silent.  She looked briefly at the wolf  that followed her.
Cain wasn’t sure what to make of the animal.  It obeyed her like a well trained dog and
around its neck was a blue amulet on a golden chain.  Cain had tried to take a closer look
at it, but the animal made it plain he was not to touch it.  Not wanting to be embarrassed
by a dog, Cain decided to leave it alone.

     Cain thought back on his life and decided it was obvious he was destined for great
things from the beginning.  He had been orphaned at a very young age, he never knew
why.  He always assumed he must be the last of a royal line exterminated by a
treacherous relative.  The Elders avoided his questions on that subject.  The way they
looked at each other though...that had to be it.  Regardless of his origin, the Elders of Jok
took him in as they do with many orphans.  They taught him many things that he would
not have learned anywhere else, for the townsfolk have long been ignorant of the wisdom
of the ancients.  He was a quick study, and the Elders were very impressed.  At the age of
fifteen he found out how impressed: they began training him as an Uruk Til.  The Uruk
Til were acknowledged all over the five kingdoms as the best fighters one on one.  Cain
didn’t know what Til meant in the old language, but Uruk meant “death.”

     The intensity of the training was immense.  The only reason he made it through,
he admitted, was because he had concentrated on the physical training and paid lip
service to the mental aspect.  He’d made it though, and he had the laughing skull tattoo
on his left shoulder to prove it.  If only he had the chance to prove himself, to put the
training to work.  Instead, he had been assigned to escort this frail creature to some
backwater town for Fugisal knows what reason.  He...

     The wolf began barking and whining in tune with its master.  “...Cain!  Mr.
Bloodsword!!” Oh, how long had she been trying to get his attention?

     “Ca-in!  There are people ahead!”

     He cleared his throat.  “I know.”

     “But then...”

     Cain turned his cool, calm, seemingly all-knowing gaze on her and she quieted
down.  It appeared to be a half dozen men armed with various rusted weapons standing in
the middle of the road.

     “They haven’t seen us yet, we can go around them.”

     Cain smoldered, such a womanly response.  “I am not a coward, wait here.”

     Dismounting from his horse, he told it to wait here with the princess until his
return.  The six figures got rougher and rougher the closer Cain came to them.  He strode
mightily toward them, head down but eyes fixed on who he thought was the leader.

     “Hey, fellas, look like we got the night’s first customer right here,” laughed a man
a handsbreadth taller than Cain himself.  His eyes were a feral blue color.  Cain fixed his
cold gaze on the man.

     “The lady and I would hate to have to run you down on our horses, please step
aside.”

     The shortest of the six, a stubbled, stinking, fat, short man rolled along the ground
his laughter was so great.

     The leader spoke with a dangerous gleam in his eye, “Pardon my manners,
perhaps you haven’t heard of us.  You see, this little band here are all former members of
Jerrik’s Brigade that little armed force responsible for defeating some of the former
Empire’s finest troops.”

     That set Cain back a bit.  Jerrik’s brigade had been instrumental in bringing down
the old Empire, they were indeed dangerous men.  However, without Jerrik...

     “Men may fight greatly when well lead, but in the absence of such leadership,
they are no fiercer than any other man.  Sometimes they are less so, having forgotten how
to fight on their own.”

     Cain thought it was a good speech, but the six started hooting with laughter and
pounding each other on the back.

     “Ah, then we’re in luck.  I know time has not been kind to me, sixteen years of
this sort of life may take the look of the hero from one.  You see, young man, I am
Jerrik.”

     “I am honored,” Cain managed to say without quavering too much.  The gods
must be against him: his first real mission and he gets waylaid by the man who embodies
guerrilla warfare.

     Just then a distinctly feminine voice sounded from behind him, “Cain, what’s he
saying, Cain?”

     Cain was glad for the dark cloak, it hid his blushing.  He couldn’t look weak in
front of...Jill, that was her name, wasn’t it?

     A leer came to Jerrik’s face, “Your, sister?”

     “My assignment.” With that he rolled up his sleeve until it revealed the laughing
skull tattoo.  “For you see, I am an Adept of Jok.”

     Jerrik’s eyes flickered as he re-examined the figure before him.  “Jok, you say?
Isn’t that within the old Empire’s home province of Telmar?”

    Cain forced himself not to flinch, “I see you’ve heard of it.  Then you know what
goes on there.”

     Jerrik rubbed his greasy beard as he considered.  He looked at his five
companions, who had sobered up quick enough, and looked back at the young man.  A
fierce grin came to his face.  “I like my odds.”

     The seven men readied their weapons and began circling each other.  The wolf
seemed to give out a surprised bark when Jill yelled: “Wait!  This is stupid!”

     The men, including Cain, turned with expressions of confused disgust.

     “What?  Stay out of this, princess.  I will handle it,” Cain growled.

     A strange expression flitted across Jill’s face, but was gone instantly.

     “If you are Jerrik, then why are you ambushing travelers?” she asked.

     Jerrik and several of his men grew hot with indignation.

      “Because my king forced me out of his army.”

     Jill let out a girlish gasp, “Why would he do something like that?”

     “He constructed some treason charge against me and I know why:  he was afraid
of my popularity.” Jerrik imagined the ground at his feet to be the king’s face and spit on
it. “Popular generals sometimes become kings, as it happened with his father.  Not
wanting to lose the throne, he conveniently removed me.”

     “Why, that’s horrible!  A hero such as you should not be treated in such a manner.
If my uncle found out...”

     Longing, hope, desperation: all these emotions were plain in the eyes of the
general turned bandit.

     Cain sputtered with outrage.

      “Don’t let these ruffians know who you are!  Are you insane?”

     “Shut up, boy.  Let her talk.  You were about to say something about your uncle?”

     Jill smiled and nodded.

      “My uncle holds a small duchy to the east.  While I was just a small girl, he
would tell me of the empire’s downfall.  On his fingers, he would count off the heroes of
that era.  Always, he would stop on your name, telling me that it was for want of men like
you that his holdings were so small.”

     The short man grumbled.

      “Don’t listen to her, sir.  She’s tryin’ to trick...”

     Jerrik spun around to face the man with a speed no one would suspect he had
“Shut your mouth!  I think I count as a better judge of living people than you,
gravedigger.”  Turning back to Jill, his tone was calm but hopeful, “What might your
uncle’s name be, darlin’?”

     “Duke Tosh of Cortland.  Would you really be interested in helping him?  You
wouldn’t get much money at first, but I’m sure you’d get a fair share of any spoils.”

     “Cortland, yes, last I knew that was the Duke’s name.  If you’re his niece, I’m
sure you’ll understand this:” whereupon he spoke a quick succession of words in some
language Cain had never heard.  By the surprised squeal Jill made, Cain grimly guessed
she had.

     Jill answered him back in the same tongue then said “You’ve got a very bad
accent, Jerrik.  You didn’t learn it from Gulin, did you?”

     Jerrik chuckled heartily.  A shine, long absent, returned to his eyes.

     “Why, yes I did.  Girl, I think I believe you.”

     Jill smiled broadly then brought out some parchment and a pen. She quickly
scrawled a note and handed it to Jerrik.

     “If you accept, take this to my uncle as proof of our meeting.”

     “I just might do that.  What say you lads, how about a return to the good life, eh?”

     Reactions seemed mixed, but Jerrik dismissed it and returned his gaze to the note.

     “May we go now?” Cain said, somewhat testily.

     “What?  Oh, yeah, sure.”  Jerrik waved down the road.  “Thank you dearly, miss,
uh?”

     “Jill.” she supplied.

     “Thank you, Jill.  I’m glad you stopped the young man.  I would have hated to had
mistakenly killed such a lovely niece of a fine duke.”

     “The pleasure was all mine.  I would have enjoyed it even less.”

     Giggle.

     Chuckle.

     “Let’s go.” Cain urged his horse forward and Jill had to speed hers up to stay with
him.

     Cain’s insides were roiling.  Why had he let her do it?  His one chance at glory
and she had stolen it from him.

     “You could at least say thank you,” Jill said from behind him.

     “For what?”

     “Oh, I don’t know, for saving your life?”

     The tone of her voice struck every nerve in Cain’s body exactly the wrong way.
Furious, he stopped his horse and turned to face her.

     “Saving my life?  Is that what you think you’ve done?  I am an Adept of Jok!  I
have been trained by the Elders.  So you used your royalness to talk your way out of
danger, he could have just as easily killed you as you spoke.”

     Jill opened her mouth, ready to speak.  He cut her off.
 
    “No, let me finish.  My assignment is to protect you on your journey.  What
happens once we get there, whether you’re to be married to some prince for an alliance
or sacrificed to some ancient god for a good harvest, is of no concern to me.  But until
you get there, I am in control.  I will not risk the shame of failure because you thought
you could talk your way out of something.  You were raised in a gilded tower away from
the cares of the  world.  Don’t you ever presume to understand the real world better than I
again!”
 
     He fought to regain control.  Tears welled up in her eyes and he knew he had
gone too far, but right now, he didn’t care.  Five years of training were NOT going to be
upstaged by quivering royalty.
 
     The wolf took a hunting stance and growled at Cain.  Jill interrupted her sobbing
long enough to huskily say, “Seecu, hush.”
 
     They continued in silence for the remainder of the day.  Cain’s resolved slowly
faltered and before they settled in for sleep, he mustered an “I’m sorry.”
 
     The birds of dawn awakened the two with their songs.  Cain sweated the sleep out
by going through his routine of exercises.  Jill groggily petted Seecu for a good half hour.
 
     “Mount up, it’s time to continue.” Cain carefully examined his voice for signs of
harshness, found none, and was happy with himself as he asked his horse to take them
further down the road.
 
     “Does he ever answer?” Jill quietly asked.
 
     “Hmm, what?”
 
     “Your horse, does he ever answer.”
 
     Cain tried to hide his uneasiness.  “A Uruk Til understands many animals.  The
horse need not answer in words, I can sense it myself.”  Actually, Cain had just barely
passed that test while undergoing training, and the knowledge had since flowed out like
water through a wicker basket.
 
      “Could you understand Seecu?” Jill asked as the wolf barked along side her.
 Cain rubbed his hands on his cloak.  “What?”
 
     “My wolf, could you understand what he just said?”

      Cain turned his head haughtily forward, “It doesn’t work like that.”
 
     “Oh really?  I could make out what he said just fine.”
 
     He glanced back just long enough to catch the faint wry grin was replaced by the
girlish smile.  Cain’s eyes once again passed over the blue amulet the wolf wore.  Merely
decoration, he thought.
 
      “What’s it like being an Uruk Til?” Jill asked with eyes full of wonder.
 
     Cain sat up straight in his saddle.  This was more like it.  “I’ve never been just an
average person, so I can’t really judge.  It took years of intense training by the best
masters in the world for me to become one.  We Uruk Til only use our power for good.
We fight our own battles and are not controlled by any government.  Justice, honor, and
the protection of the weak,” he shot her a meaningful look, “those are the things we stand
for.
 
     “I’m pretty much like you and everyone else, only I could defeat everyone else.”
 
     Jill frowned thoughtfully, “I don’t know, my brother was pretty strong.  I don’t
think you could have beaten him.”
 
     Cain repeated the ‘was’ and said, “I’m sorry your brother is dead, but a Uruk Til
never meets defeat.  The battle would not have been close.”

     Cain smiled inwardly at her “humph.”  So few understood the ways of the Adepts
of Jok, but one must humor the ignorant.  He supposed that for the sake of pleasant
conversation he should ask her about herself.  However, the triteness of common people,
even royal common people, bored him.  The only one he could truly converse with was
an Elder or Adept of Jok.

     The wolf’s ears pricked up suddenly.  Cain called everyone to a halt and tried to
listen for himself.  Above the rustling of the grass and trees, he could just barely make
out whimpering and howls of pain.  He lead them slowly forward, increasing the lead
between himself and the princess.  The sounds grew louder and Cain began to make out a
large brown shape ahead.

      “Be on your guard, it may be a bear,” he told Jill, although he hadn’t heard of
bears being around this part of the forest for generations.

     His suspicions were confirmed, however.  A bear straight out of an old man’s
stories leaned its huge body against an oak tree beside the path.  Blood smeared its left
flank.

     Jill said pityingly, “What’s wrong with it?”

     Cain dismounted to get a closer look.  Seecu eyed him and whined as Cain
approached the enormous creature.

     “Fear not, I am Uruk Til. The beast will not harm me.”

     Then Cain saw it:  someone had been hunting this bear.  Half an arrow protruded
from the animal’s left hip.  He pointed it out to Jill.

     “Poor beast,  to be hunted from afar by cowards.  I must help him.”

     “Are you sure about that, Cain?  The bear is injured and angry...”

     Cain gave a long suffering sigh.

     “Oh, I forgot.  You’re an Adept of Jok.”

     Slowly inching forward, he made soothing sounds to tell the bear he was here to
help.  The bear’s labored breathing seemed to soften.  As Cain reached his hand toward
the arrow, the bear made a swipe at his head and snarled.

     “Cain!  He’ll kill you!”

     Surely this is a task worthy of an Adept, besides, he might finally gain some
respect in Jill’s eyes if he performed the seemingly impossible.

     “Easy, father.  I am here to help you.”  The bear seemed to calm down again.

     Cain tentatively placed his hand on the shaft of the arrow.  The bear made a low
growling sound as it watched, but seemed too exhausted to do anything else.

     Cain smiled, it would be easier than he thought.  Yank.

     “Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooowlllllll!” was the last thing he heard before being
smashed into unconsciousness.

     Someone was poking needles into every square inch of his skin.  No, that was just
feeling coming back.  Slowly, he opened his eyes.  For a moment he thought he was
blind, then realized it was night.

     “Uh...”

     “Cain!  You’re finally awake.  Are you all right?”  he heard her soft footsteps
approach him.

     “Yegh...yes...it seems so.  What happened?” he said as his wooden tongue was
slowly returning to flesh.

     “You pulled an arrow out of a bear’s leg, that’s what happened,” she said
somewhat reproachfully.

     He felt good enough to get hot under the collar.  “I know that much.”  His hand
still clutched the rusty red shaft.

     “Well, the bear knocked you down then left.”

     Somewhat doubtfully he said, “That’s it?  He just left?”

     “Yep.  Maybe he remembered you were Uruk Til after he calmed down.”

     The fact that he was currently coughing up some blood was the only reason he did
not send back a scathing retort.

     “I’ll take watch.  Get some sleep. We’ll leave before dawn and get you to your
destination before day’s end.”  A few seconds later she was on the ground breathing
softly.

     When he awoke at dawn, she was asleep. He shook his head as he tried to get
something clear in his mind.  Images of Jill speaking to someone...something...the images
fled with his grogginess.  After the horses were readied, he woke Jill.

     The longer they rode, the more his bruises reminded him they were still there.  He
thought it fortunate Jill said nothing, because he would have taken his frustration out on
her.  This assignment was bringing him anything BUT glory.

     However, the more he brooded, the better it looked to him.  He had gotten the
princess through bandits and a wounded bear, the details were minor.  Besides, he
doubted she would ever be close enough to Jok to tell the Elders otherwise.

     Towards evening, the sky became overcast.  The howling of the wind almost
seemed like speech.  Maybe his training had attuned him to the elements themselves.

     “It sounds like it’s saying brisket,” Jill blurted.

     Cain chuckled mightily, “Yes, the wisdom of the elements is extolling the virtues
of beef.  No, I hear it moaning ‘human.’  Surely a sign.”

     Jill sniffed, “I didn’t think it was a sign, just  that it was interesting.”

     A bright flash of lightning interrupted them.  It backlit a collection of buildings
ahead.

     “Ah!  That must be your destination, royal one.  What was its name again?”

     “Vermine.”

     “Vermin, such an apt name.” Cain chortled.

     “MINE, not min.  Vermine.  It was named after one of the emperors you know.”

     “Yes, and it was one of the last imperial strongholds to fall and blah blah.  But
look at it now: in less than two decades it’s become a hovel.  What business could such a
dainty royal as yourself have there?”

     Cain wasn’t sure in the gloom, but Jill’s face appeared more reddish than usual.

     “If you’re going to belittle it, I won’t tell you.  Is this what the Uruk Til stands for:
foolish pride and insulting superiority?”

     Cain’s mood was shattered and it took a feat of self control to stay on his horse.

     “Watch how you speak of my organization!  I don’t know why I was assigned this
task, but I’m sure the Elders had their reasons, reasons you might not like knowing.
Thankfully my task is almost complete and I can get on with more important matters than
escorting some...commoner!”

     “Somehow I gather that by commoner you mean ‘non Uruk Til.’  Just remember,
Cain, they don’t know everything, and you know a great deal less.” Her voice was colder
than any winter’s night Cain had known.  He decided to hurry towards town.

     She was drawing breath, preparing for another tirade, but the wolf barked twice
and she remained silent.  “Neat trick,” thought Cain.

     “Listen, let’s not end the journey this way.  I think we both could use drink  The
place I’m supposed to take you is a mile or so outside of town anyway.”

     A smile returned to her face, “I’d like that.”

     Cain was glad, parting on bad terms didn’t appeal to him.  One never knows when
contacts might come in handy and besides, she was rather attractive when she was angry.

     They stopped at the first tavern they came across.  It was near a park-like open
space, so they tied their horses to a stump and left Seecu in charge of their protection.

     Determined to make a dramatic entrance, Cain drew his dark cloak about himself
and hid his face in shadows.  He thought he must make a good contrast to Jill’s
white(even after several days’ journey) dress and open cheerfulness.

     A few heads turned towards them, briefly passing over Cain and settling on Jill.

     “Bartender!  A scotch and...”

      “Oh, I’ll have milk.”
 
      “...and a milk!”

     Cain’s haughty order and Jill’s quiet request caused a few smiles to appear among
the people.  Cain picked a table near the fire and sat as the bartender approached.

     “Here you go sir, one scotch and one milk.”

     “Thank you my good man.  Could you make sure our horses are fed?” Cain asked
as he drew forth a pouch heavy with coins.
 
    “Ah, your horses?  Well, I...” the man hesitated.  “Oh, why yes sir!  I’ll get the
help on it right away,” he finished as the pouch was deposited in his hand.

     Cain sipped his order as he looked at Jill.  “Why are you going to the uh...”

     “The ruined castle?” she supplied.

     “Yes, that’s what it was.”

     “Well, it’s not all ruined, you know.  The empire may have had a terminal case of
hubris, but not all of it was worthless.  I’ve been sent to find out if there is anything worth
saving.”

     Cain raised an eyebrow, not that anyone could tell.  “You?”

     Jill raised one too, and this was plain to all.  “Surprised?  I’m a fair judge of those
things myself, but I’ve been sent with a list of things to look for by those who know
more.”

     “Really?  How fascinating.”

     “Yes, very.  It’s also to be a lesson for me so someday I won’t need any lists.”

     Cain felt his earlier assumption about the drollness of commoner conversation
confirmed.  He was almost done with his scotch when a commotion erupted across the
tavern.  It seemed the mention of the empire had renewed some debate among the
patrons.

     “Excuse me, Jill.  I must see to this.”

     Jill looked into the general location of his eyes and said, “No, you don’t.  It’s not
your fight and you could get hurt.”

     She seemed genuine enough, but caution never created heroes.

     With long and proud strides he approached the center of the argument.

     A big burly man with an ale soaked beard was yelling at another man, possibly a
former soldier or mercenary.

     “I say you’re an imperialist pig for sayin’ something like that!”

     “Am I?  Look around you!  Oh yes, our lot has improved considerably since the
empire’s fall!  I’ll be sure to tell my wife that when our current house collapses or
another well goes dry!”

     Several more patrons joined in the shouting, almost all of them drunk.

     “Gentlemen, gentlemen.  Please, this is no way to solve anything.  Let’s all sit
down and avoid violence,”  Cain said as he held the two perpetrators apart.

     “Who are you to be talking?” asked one of the spectators.

     As the shouts began to rise, Cain decided to play his ace in the hole.

     He let go of the men, took off his cloak, and revealed his tattoo.
 
     “I am an Uruk Til trained by the Elders of Jok, and I say there will be no fighting
tonight!”

     They seemed to recoil from the name and return to their seats.  However, the
expressions on their faces led Jill to whisper to the returning Cain, “I don’t think it’s
over.”

     Cain just chuckled.  “Let them try something, the drunken fools.”

     “Let’s just go.  Maybe we can beat the storm.”

     Cain finished his drink.  “Agreed.”

     “Fine drink,” he said to the bartender as he flipped him an additional coin.

     The storm was hurling stinging droplets at them as they walked toward the horses.
A loud crack of thunder frightened the animals and they strained against their bonds.

     “Down boys.  It’s all right...”

     A booming peal of thunder rumbled across the sky like a stampede.  The bright
flash of light was finished before the thunder had stopped.

     After Cain’s vision and hearing returned, he saw Jill screaming and finally
registered the knife in his back.  He twirled to face his attackers: it was both sides from
the argument in the bar.

     The man with the beard spoke, “We may disagree on some things, but we all
think you should die, ‘Adept.’”

     With one fluid motion, Cain drew his sword and slashed the man’s belly.  The
other five stood back a bit, waiting for an opening.  A crowd formed at the tavern’s
doorway as people stopped to watch.

     “This is not an even fight,” Cain proclaimed.

     A man with a patch over an eye grinned, “Too bad for you.”

     “I meant for you!” the man would need another patch now, if he lived.

     The remaining four charged him from two sides.  He leapt forward and dodged
them, however, he had forgotten the bearded man.

     He showed it would take more than a slash in the belly to stop him as he
connected one of his beefy fists to Cain’s nose.

     The hit set the young man rocking on his heels.  Added to that, the wound in his
back was not as minor as he had thought.  For the first time in his life, doubt began to
seep into his mind.

     Through the blood clouding his vision, he couldn’t hear who said, “Admit defeat,
oh great Adept, and we’ll let you live.  Otherwise... you die,” but the grin was obvious.

     Cain attempted to say “The Uruk Til never surrender!” but it sounded somehow
less defiant bubbling out of his mouth as a kick in the groin and punch to the teeth both
connected at the same time.

     The pain dulled all his senses, but striking wildly he felled one of his opponents.

     The victory was short lived.  A wooden post to his knees introduced Cain to the
muddy ground whereupon he was kicked and stabbed unmercifully.

     Through the tumult and hazy consciousness, Cain thought he heard Jill ask
something like “Now?”

     He regained enough consciousness to hear, but could not open his eyes.

     It sounded like Jill speaking.  “...failed.  You were right in your judgment...”

     He slipped in and out  “...to confront the bandits just like the tavern, only couldn’t
lie our way out...”

     Disbelief and anger combined forced his eyes open, or one eye at least.

     Through the blurriness he could see they were in a clearing outside of town.  Jill
was covered with blood, but none of it apparently her own.

     “...bear!  I couldn’t believe it...”

     Who was she talking to?

     “Yes, I was watching that.  Ah, I see he’s awake at the present.  You might as
well explain things to him, Fugasil seems to be holding off his death long enough for
that.”  It was the wolf!  The amulet sparkled with each word.

     Jill walked toward him, but not as she had before.  She seemed different...

     “You see, Cain, there are more than two divisions of the Adepts...there’s Elder,
and what you are: Uruk Til.  Shh, don’t try to speak.  Only a few orphans get trained as
Uruk Til, but due to their personalities...they tend to spread the name well enough.  So
while everyone is chasing the Uruk Til, no one watches for the sect that does the actual
work: the Dal Ur or Wise Killer.  You were given a chance to graduate to it or die, for a
Uruk Til with your qualities could be dangerous.  The Elders allow no in-between.  You
were also part of my teachings, I am now fully Dal Ur.”

     Cain managed to gasp “...but..what...”

     “Uruk Til?  The name you were so proud of declaring means ‘Death Lesson.’  For
in the death of an Uruk Til the Dal Ur see what not to do.”

     “Good-bye, Cain,”  spoke the wolf.