After all the business of the Vineyard folk is concluded, Miho places
her trump call.

Obi feels the tingling of someone trumping him, about three and a half
hours later. He estimates it is about mid-day. His and Marie's walk
through the cave exited them somewhere in the mid morning. Where the
tide was going out when they came to the beach, it has finished going
all the way out, and now is starting to creep back in.

There's been no contact or sign of anyone watching. Occasional hawks
and falcons? Yes, there have been some, but no way to tell if they're
just wildlife, or if they're Julian's eyes. There have been gulls
aplenty as well. Even so, there is a stillness in the morning, and no
beach traffic to the stairs. Marie confirms Obi's sense of caution,
she feels like there's someone watching as well.

Or, they're just feeding off each others unease.

When the Vineyard party arrives, they will find Obi and Marie are
settled at the tree line where it meets the beach. Down towards the
sea, Dina and Miho will spot the Cairn. If they shade their eyes they
can see the tips of the bannister before its swallowed by the waves.
Its still low tide, but it is coming in.

When Eduard, Terry, and Graham look around, they will see Kolvir lit
up by the morning sun. Twenty miles distant, they can see the top of
the city cradled on the mountain, but the lower sections and the
harbor are obscured by the horizon.

Obi offers greetings as he pulls everyone through, suggesting they all
stay within the tree line.

Obi gets a quick hug and peck on the cheek from Dina. "Thank you,"
she whispers, and all her relief at having gotten this far is in her
voice. "Now let's just make it down those stairs with everyone
alive."

"Has anyone been around?" (Dina) asks, already scanning.

"Not yet," he answers, but I found a friend of yours." He nods toward
Cavallo, tied beside Geb.

"I'd like to catch up with everyone, but I think time is of the
essence. Shall we?"

Last to arrive, Miho gives Obi a fond smile before stepping to the
back. "We arrived as quickly as we could, and we are ready to
continue. Let us go."

"Agreed. Unless you want to start ahead and I should Trump my mother?"
The question isn't directed at anyone specifically.

No one in the group answers, but a second later there does come a
reply. A long brazen note from a hunter's horn. Gulls scatter as
falcons take flight from the trees to over the beaches. Two more horns
answer the first.

Perhaps not unexpected, but whoever it is waited for them to be
committed before trying to spring a trap. The EMTs and the Vineyard
folk look around to see where the riders might be, for at moment
instant the hunters remain unseen.

Then perhaps Obi or Miho might spot them, coming from either side down
the beach. Horsemen and dogs in a full run. That's the bad news.

The good news, Corradina's tactics will tell her, is that they
couldn't get too close to Obi and Marie without being spotted. They've
probably been watching from some distance, or using those infernal
birds. If they had gotten too close, Obi might never have brought the
rest of them through in the first place. The head start this group has
on the riders, at the very least, makes it a race. A race with
precious little time to waste however.

Not realizing the obvious Terry asks a question, "What do we do now?"

"Run," Obi says with certainty, taking Marie's hand and not waiting
for anyone. "Corwin, take Geb," he says nodding toward the Arabian.
"You'll need the speed and he's descended the stair before."

Dina seconds Obi's "RUN" to her men, but with the edge of 'Run or Die'
behind it.

The look Miho gives Graham echoes Dina's sentiment completely.

Terry and Graham take off in a sprint, Eduard behind them. Its no fun
to run in the sand, but they do it just the same.

He sets off across the sands with Marie in tow, hoping that he can
reach the stair quick enough. "When we start down the stair, just
breathe. It's magic. Trust me."

"Magic," echoes Marie as they run. She replies without discomfort, her
career as a professional athlete really shows here. She moves
gracefully and quickly, and doesn't lose her breath. She does slow a
little bit to help Eduard along. Benium is going to have the most
trouble out of all of them; he's in fine condition for an older man...
but he is an older man.

Corwin takes off in a jog as well, but evidently is hanging back with
Dina and Miho.

When Obi sees that Corwin's disregarded Geb, Obi frowns and whistles,
calling his mount.

Faithful Geb comes running after his master, leaving Cavallo behind.

Dina will bring up the rear, ready to be the one to fight if it comes
to that. "Damn, wish we had Deirdre," she mutters. She pulls daggers
out and prepares to start leaving dead bodies on the beach.

Miho stays at pace with Dina, and says, "Go. Rangers. Julian. My
province, and I will distract them. They won't kill me, and I don't
wish them to die."

"You think they have orders like 'Don't Kill Miho?" Dina asks
incredulously, still moving. "You don't want to kill Julian's men,
okay, I don't want to either. Not good politics. If I leave you up
here by yourself and they run you right over, Gerard will have my ass.
So will everyone else here. I'll stand behind you and I'll let you
talk but if they move to engage Miho, all bets are off."

Dina's plan is to get in a defensive stance before the stair, behind Miho.

Quietly. "Agreed." A small smile, as she takes the place before
Dina. Her own blade is drawn, and she stands ready. But while the
blade could be brought to bear quickly, it is not held in a
threatening manner yet. She half expects Julian himself to be here,
and she does intend to talk.

"You're both insane," growls Corwin. "Just don't wait for them to
close the gap. If we have to slow them down for the others, lets not
do it till we absolutely have to!"

Corwin has a point, at least in so much as the riders are not yet upon
them. The entire group can continue down the steps and there is a slim
chance they all might make it. Certainly Dina thinks they might make
it no less than two-thirds of the way.. if they don't stop now. But
making it all the way will depend on how fast they run, how well those
horses will take to the sea, and how lucky they are.

Obi has to slow long enough to coach the EMTs, and even Eduard and
Marie a little bit. Fortunately, they're prepared to believe the
impossible.. and the adaption is not as difficult as one might think.
Its all in resisting the urge to panic, once the first breath is taken
the mind starts to relax and the body stops fighting.

Lastly, Miho notices something first, followed shortly by Dina....

Julian is nowhere to be seen. Miho will recognize the sound of his
horn, but he and Morganstern are conspicuously absent. Perhaps he is
hanging back, or this is some ruse, either way he's not making himself
available at the head of the charge. However the overall threat is
very real, there are certainly numbers of riders enough to literally
run them down.

"Sh*t, Miho, he's not even here. They don't have orders not to kill
you, I promise they don't. He'll let you live with having to kill
them for his plausible denial on both sides. F*ck this, Corwin is
right, we need to get underwater. We won't meet them until we have
to, but let's have it to our advantage when we do," Dina says, and
reaches out a hand to grab Miho's arm. "Come on."

Miho nods curtly. "We all go, quickly. You ought to go first, to
have a woman in the lead, and I'll take last. Keep Corwin near the
front and as far from these as possible."

"You know I can't do that. Strongest fighters guard the rear," Dina
sighs, turning to run. She looks at Corwin. "Don't get killed now,
or I'll never forgive you."

"I haven't died on you yet," Corwin replies looking her right in the
face. "And I don't intend to today either." Then he gets moving down
the steps.

Miho is as good as her word, making sure everyone's moving, and then

following herself, fully intending to stay well ahead of their
pursuers.

Geb finally catches up by the top of the stair, Obi shaking his head
while he barks suggestions that sound like orders. "Andr... Eduard,
ride and trust the horse. It'll let you keep up."

Eduard nods hastily, and doesn't argue. He mounts the Messenger's horse
with no difficulty. He seems to be a capable rider, and that is all
the Geb requires.

"Keep to the stair, off it the water is normal and you won't be able
to breathe, or if we're deep enough, the pressure will be strong
enough to crush you like a tin can," he reminds everyone. He's decided
that if they're focused on the defense, he's focusing on getting their
people to safety.

Dina takes a deep breath as she enters the water. She'll blow it out
when she has to.

Dina is not the only one. Most of the group actually holds their
breath despite the coaching. There are little choking motions as
people try very experimentally to exhale and then breath in just a
little bit.

Terry calls out faintly after a few seconds to confirm the magic. "It
works!" he calls tiny bubbles trailing from his mouth. "Doesn't hurt
at all!" He extols the other mortals to give it a try.. and eventually
they all do.

There is surprisingly no discomfort once one breathes it in.

The steps are broad here, a drop coming every few feet. Surprisingly
no one is buoyed upwards now that they have descended, but every one's
movements are slowed. After twenty or thirty feet everything is tinged
with green. There is no sense of pressure.

Obi knows that there is a great archway at the bottom which is the
formal entrance to the city. Though it is not visible, yet.

When the group is perhaps fifty feet under the water, its growing
quite dark and cold. However, after another ten of the steps a glow
appears in sight. As they approach, they can make out the source, a
pillar on the right with a large globe-like object that sheds a soft
penetrating light. After another fifty feet there is another pillar on
the left, and so on and so on.

As they approach the pillars the waters grow warm and they're able to
see more clearly. The stairs themselves are white marble, but not
slippery, and shot with pink and green. It is perhaps fifty feet wide
with a broad banister on either side.

Looking back, there is no sign of pursuit.. yet.

Once they past the first pillar they realize that the globes are
actually torches, flames two feet high, burning quite impossibly.

After they have passed at least six of these torches, walking through
a valley of light, Miho will feel a slight vibration, and a few
moments later so will Dina and Corwin. Looking back they will see that
far above they are being pursued. They can make a few horseman, no
more than four. They spot no dogs, but a few seconds later a large
group of people on foot can be seen behind the horsemen, enough to
sweep the entire staircase.

Right now, Eduard is in the lead on Geb, and looking no longer out of
breath. He has not raced well ahead of the party however, he is merely
out in front. He has a blade that he can draw, but has not done so
yet. Eduard is followed by Terry and Graham, who can not really 'run'
but are moving as quick as anyone can expect and are doing as they've
been instructed. All three men can be considered a group in terms of
proximity to eeach other.

A dozen or so feet behind them are Obi and Marie. Obi hung back to
make sure everyone transitioned to breathing water correctly, and
Marie just hung back with him. Those two can probably catch up to
Eduard and the EMTs if they wish, or they can fall back to Dina, Miho,
and Corwin if they want. They're well positioned in the middle. Marie
is also armed, but like Eduard, she has not drawn yet. In terms of
physical conditioning, she's perhaps the best of the mortals in terms
of endurance and adaptability to this environment (how she might
compare to Eduard with a sword notwithstanding).

A dozen or so paces behind them are Corwin, Corradina, and Miho in the
rear, all close enough to be considered a group. Miho is aware of the
pursuit first, but Dina and Corwin will be aware only a few moments
later (if they don't catch Miho looking back and then seeing for
themselves).

Miho will alert the rest that the pursuers have come below the waves,
and that speed is of the essence. And will match movement to words,
as long as everyone else does!

Obi increases his pace a little since it seems he's destined to
babysit the retainers. He wants to get ahead of the lead party so he
can deal with the Gate's Guards.

Dina keeps heading down, with awareness checks back minute or so.

They go down further and further, and the waters grow dark to the left
and to the right until they exist in nothing but a staircase in the
void. The vibrations come clearer now, a staccato thrum of hoof beats.

When Dina looks back she sees the horsemen leading a charge, a wave of
men far behind and above them, filling the space from banister to
banister.

Moving towards the front, Obi spies what looks like the great Arch
further down below. Big, shining, alabaster, and carved with tritons,
mermaids, dolphins and sea nymphs. There appears to be.. people
standing on either side of it.

Three, four, five more torches are passed as they keep running. The
Arch looms some two hundred feet ahead, but with the speed at which
the horsemen approach, it might as well be a hundred miles as far as
Dina, Miho, and Corwin are concerned.

The riders are not yet within fighting range yet.... but are almost there.

Eduard pulls on Geb's reigns to slow him down as he looks back as if
he might try riding to the rescue. Graham and Terry pass him, but
after a moment Obi catches up to the pair of them.

They've come to a stop, and Obi is confronted with two puzzles.

First, there is an organized group of men in uniform in front of the
Arch. He can't make out many details from this distance, but one
figure standing in front looks in charge.

Obi curses in fluent Uzoman, and if his companions don't get the
particulars, they can gauge his mood. "Eduard, ignore them. They're
beaters and hounds driving the prey to the hunters!"

Secondly, Terry and Graham have stopped to regard a curious thing
indeed. Its a sword, stuck upright and right into the middle of one of
Faiella-Bonin's marble steps. Terry instinctively grabs the hilt and
tries to draw it out of the stone, and releases it quickly. "Its like
its electric, or cold.. like dry ice," he complains massaging his
hand.

That doesn't surprise Obi. The Sword in the Stone has a name..
Pagono. Its a warlock's blade that he recognizes. Though how it has
come to be here is a mystery, unless perhaps it's master has allowed
it to roam Shadow on some errand of its own.

"Leave it," Obi demands. "Its master will be along presently I assume.
Focus forward. We've got to get through the first set and convince the
second to back us."

"Swords down until they draw," he commands. "We're diplomats or at
worst refugees, NOT invaders."

Dina stops and turns to face the Rangers. She says to Miho [assuming
she's stopped] "It's all talking or fighting now, princess."

On realizing that they cannot escape without being overrun, Miho stops
with Dina and turns as well. Her blade is in her hand, and she stands
as tall as her small stature allows.

The look Dina gives the Rangers says if they engage, two of them are
already dead by the daggers in her hands. In fact, she seems to pick
her targets out with her eyes, two that look middle ranked in
experience, and she makes sure the one who looks in charge has time to
see she's made that apparent decision.

Miho stands ready and makes eye contact with the one in charge. Her
expression is quiet and calm, and has no room for fondness nor
misinterpretation. If they attack, she will cut them down.