The Night lay now calm before him.
A lone owl calling to the stillness.

Even the owls eyes could not have been as large and ringed as Palomides eyes were now.
This venomous hag was the cause of much more sorrow today.
His followers had their orders though not to risk facing her during the darkness and especially not upon the witching hours.

The monks of Armivir and the 3 priests who walked with the nakharar were not well suited to the campaign.
How, Palomides missed his missing brother, Janus. The priest of the heavenly cudgel. Bishop now in heaven if justice existed......but still, he had been a fighter of strong health and hand.
The current priests were more comfortable at gardens and farms than Battlefields. Good men, just not ready for this pace. Godly men and women, who were needed to keep the Black Magic from its worst.

Somewhere the sentry cry of a peacock was heard as the men returned to the campfires. The counter was heard. A new arrival from the patrols.

The nakhararn bed down on the grass beside their mounts. Palomides awake and pacing beside the command tent. He met each leader personally.

Always the message was the same.
Some of the hunting squads had been in conflict with the witch.
Each time she used wood and smoke and dark magic that would slow the righteous as the holy fought the influence, While they paused to deal with the illnesses or ailments she caused on the knights she would slip into the woods again.

Whenever the hunters lost her they would search the nearest village. It became a gruesome pattern. The peasants had hid her while the Empirial soldiers defended the peasants. The Akritans not yet arrived in force so they had not joined...but that was a blessing to Palomides.

The Akritans must have thought the Empirial Knights and the Armenians insane.
The story played again...... so many ways...and always with no winner.......except the hunted witch.

First,
The Armenian patrols would look to a peasant and try to search his hut and property.

Next,
fearing the witches revenge if they did not interfere the peasant would cry for protection.
Other peasants would arrive and shortly after so would the Byzantine merarches.

And then,
As the peasants fought the Armenians the Byzantine would try to intervene and keep the trouble to both sides at its least. In the chaos blades were drawn and weapons held. Injuries done.
The Armenians only fighting to continue the search...
The Empirial knights struggeling to hold back the crowds abnd to defend them from the Armenias....
Everyone defending themselves.......everyone getting hurt.....

Except the venomous daughter of Beelzebub!
Even when a bow or blade found the darkling she seemed not affected.

The sorrow of it all plagued The Armenian Regent.
A travesty of misplaced loyalties by the ill educated and unreligious peasants had toubled the search from the start! If they had more knowledge and faith, maybe it would have gone differently.
The witch surely enjoyed the chaos she reaped.
Palomides spit in the fire pit and spoke to the quiet stars above. Maybe if pigs were winged and horses had curly tails the coconuts would grow on fig trees!
A silly wish for things to be other than they are..... is never a wish to come true. Only the future had more hope than today.
Almost he could here the voices of his close friends all now gone to heaven before him, speak agreement and laugh at the dark humor he made.

The one positive time the witch proved not invincible was when she screamed in pain over a surprised monk.
It was one time as she ran from a village and fell over a bent old monk who was catching his breath and had not arrived in the village yet.
The man of God had a skin of Holy water which burst and wet the arm of the cursed creature when they collided.

As he heard the story from the patrol Palomides praised heaven.
Immediately he sent a messenger to the Empirial Commander and the Akritans.

A simple message.

QUOTE:
Bless you Brothers and Sisters under Heaven for the aide you gave this day.
Much is my regret over the casualties today. It was nobely done by all.
Your men defended the peasants well, while we continued the hunt.

A regret, I do not claim to hold her yet in the purifying flames of a Holy Fire.
If your men have captured her....know this good news.
Her body reacts as burned when Holy water is touched to her.

Please reply if you have the hag and we will not be faced to repeat this days honorable but sad battles.
If you do not have her then I and my nakharaim will continue the pursuit with daylight.

-Palomides Jaguar
Sparapet and Regent of Armenia

*********

The hope was stronger in Palo tonight as he lay down the next days plans with the other Armenian knights.

As God favors mercy and justice we will rest tomorrow in Rum.
I do believe the search has been thorough and driven the witch to capture by our allies or out of the lands of Armeniakon.

Take prayer tonight good and righteous warriors of heaven. Pray that heaven guide us with unerring path until this evil is ended in the foul witch's doom! Offer hope and heart to your fighters, that they have done as best as any mortal can when serving battle between Heaven and Hell.

I know we will be victorous. If not today, then another.
With our spiritual brothers of the Holy Roman Empire from Constantinople and the Heaven faithful fighters of near Akrita, their is No Other Chance but Victory for the Righteous!

Let us pray.

After the leaders had dispersed Palo allowed a sad thought.
How he could have wished to have Ser or Janus, or Conrad, or even Bruno fighting at his shoulder again as before. But these were good men and women today too. Just ....so much had changed.....