The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold by Jeffrey Quyle Page A

officer, as Alec imagined him to be, responded.
    After only a moment’s hesitation, Alec replied, “Oyster Bay. I’m from Oyster Bay.”
    “ Well, here in Stronghold, the north bank is for residents of the city only. If you don’t have the papers to prove you belong here, I need for you to cross the river. Tell me first though, why have you been studying the Locksfort compound for so long, and then tell me why you’ve come here from Oyster Bay,” the man asked in a businesslike tone of voice. He wasn’t too upset by Alec’s presence it seemed, just doing his duty.
    Alec was completely unprepared for such a line of questioning and worried that the wrong answer on his part might bring trouble. He stammered and stuttered momentarily. “I met a member of the Locksforts in Oyster Bay, and that made me curious to see the home of such a great family. I didn’t realize I was staring so long; there were other things on my mind, I suppose.”
    “ And why are you here now? Why did you leave Oyster Bay?” the officer responded.
    “ Well, things are changing in Oyster Bay, and it didn’t seem like a good place for me to plan my future,” Alec said as vaguely as possible.
    “ So you made a career decision to move on? Is this your stopping place or are you just passing through?”
    “ I don’t expect to stay here very long,” Alec said truthfully, feeling very nervous about the length of the interrogation.
    “ Well, move along then and don’t let me catch you over here again,” the officer dismissed him.
    Alec led his horse directly down the steep descent, astonished at the notion that citizens in Stronghold had to carry papers to justify their presence in the city. Was it something of longstanding tradition he wondered, or had it just begun in response to the war in the Dominion? Such security posed an even greater challenge to his need to search for Noranda in the Locksfort catacombs.
    He returned to the ferry and crossed the river again. The ferryman gave him direct ano a market, where he purchased the items Parlton had requested and placed a large bundle of fodder for Walnut upon the horse’s back. Alec had been gone for hours now, wandering the city, and the sun was setting as he headed towards the reddened sky to his west, squinting as he faced the bright horizon.
    After a few minutes Alec turned a corner towards where he believed the Millershome docks were, and walked towards the landside gate. As the sky deepened during his approach, Alec heard noises of conflict, and realized belatedly the sounds were coming from the docks he was heading towards. Alec felt his heart start racing, a feeling that he had not experienced in many weeks. The surge that enveloped him reminded him of the exuberance he had felt when he first learned to control his ingenaire powers; the astonishing feeling of invincibility was as alluring as it had felt in those early days. He longed to be able to use those powers now, and reminded himself to be careful in what he attempted.
    Alec concentrated on the mundane aspects of entering a battlefield, as he had learned from the Guardsmen at Goldenfields. He slouched down and hung on the side of Walnut, then spurred the horse towards the gateway, observing the location of combatants inside the yards.
    Walnut carried him inside the yard, and he dropped off the horse, looking about for someone he recognized. He spotted Francis and a group of four others surrounding three opponents who were backed against a wall. Yelling loudly, Alec raced over to help his fellow crew members from the Current Rider . Francis and his supporters all wore blue ribbons on their arms, identifying one side in the fracas.
    “ Francis, I’m here. I’ll help fight them!” Alec shouted wildly as he stopped next to Francis. The man on Alec’s right, wearing a blue ribbon, swung his sword directly at Alec, and the healer moved swiftly to block the blow.
    “ Tell your men I’m with you!” Alec shouted excitedly in