He smiled a little . . . then started chuckling.  And from that chuckling . . . came laughter.  And from that laughter . . . came a scream of agony as he held his still mending side.  Gritting his teeth, McDohl still managed to chuckle while wincing.

   But, seeing as how McDohl was still just a little bit happy, it was fitting that the rock he was
standing on should crumble away and he go rolling down the hill to the South Window city gates.

   Using a stick to prop himself up, Young Master McDohl limped his way into the city of South Window.  His clothes were torn, his face was bruised, and his pride probably suffered fatal injuries.

   But he was still smiling. It was no surprise since after taking the writ back to Radat, he was off for
home, where people he knew would beat on him for a change.  As opposed to total strangers for the past couple of years.

   But first . . . a nap.  McDohl wobbled over to the famous South Window Inn and handed the understandably bewhildered inn keeper some potch before crawling to his room.

   The inky darkness of deep sleep is something that's not easy to rouse out of.  But McDohl couldn't sleep with that tiny ray of light pricking at his eyes.  He murmured a little, then swatted at it with an arm for a bit.  Then, he shot straight up.

   It didn't hurt!  In fact, his arm wasn't stiff anymore.  Young Master McDohl slowly got out of bed,
not daring to believe it was true.  But his body wasn't hurting anymore.

   He stood and there was no more pins and needles in his legs.  No, this time it's not literal.  But it
could have been; given his track record.

   Stretching a little, McDohl happily descended down the stairs in his clothes, which had been sewn by the innkeeper's wife. She did miracles in such a short of time . . . or at least that's how it seemed.

   "Four days?!  I've been asleep for four days?!"

   McDohl just stared dumbfounded at the innkeeper, who had presented the bill for the extra time.  It seems McDohl was feeling better because he had been out cold for awhile.

   "Yes, four days.  And you owe me extra."

   Those three extra nights had pretty much broken McDohl financially.  He hadn't a bit or potch on him anymore and marched out of that inn feeling more cheap than having dated Rina.

   As Young Master McDohl made his way through the winding streets of South Window, he was acutely aware of eyes watching him.  Trying to look like he was picking up some loose change, McDohl took a quick sweep of the area with his eyes.  Guards were looking at him, but indirectly.  In fact, all the soldiers in this part of town were watching him.  This was not good.  Judging by how intense those stares were, some sweet old lady could get stabbed in broad daylight and they wouldn't bat an eyelash.

   The noisy streets of South Window seemed strangely quiet now and every footfall echoed in McDohl's ears.  If that wasn't his heart thumping, someone could be practicing the drums around the corner.

   Walking up the steps to the South Window City Hall could have been just as tall as Neclord's castle as far as McDohl was concerned.  Civil servants, army soldiers, everyone had their eyes trained on him.  And when that mother screamed at her child not to look and dragged her away as quickly as possible, did it become painfully apparent that McDohl's cover had been blown.

   And sitting in the waiting room inside the building had all the suspense of waiting outside the
principal's office right after torching the history teacher's hair.  Twiddling his thumbs, Young Master
McDohl was wondering what was taking so long, considering he was the only person in there.

   Glancing along the walls, he swallowed pretty hard when he spotted . . . his wanted poster!  It was an artist's conception that was pretty good, except they gave him huge canine teeth and a rather sinister expression.

   The sweat was pouring down his face quite profusely as the attendant called him in to see Lord Granmeyer.

   "And that's what happened, sir."

   Lord Granmeyer didn't even twitch a muscle as he listened to McDohl tell him about the situation in Northwind/North Window, minus the parts about the use of the Soul Eater.

   Not that McDohl was looking at Granmeyer much.  He was too busy staring at all the councilmen, who just happened to be in the office with Granmeyer.  You know; the ones who looked like they had worked out and either had swords under their tunics or were EXTREMELY happy to see him.

   Lord Granmeyer stood and spoke to McDohl.

   "I see.  Thank you very much for your aid, Mr . . . Reinbach.  You've been invaluable to the people of South Window and the region in which we govern."

   Young Master McDohl watched all this with his stomach in his knees.  He was just waiting for the
other shoe to drop.

   "And it is time that the city of South Window gave you exactly what you deserve."

   Lord Granmeyer walked up to McDohl, who had tensed himself up.  Here it was.  Time to fight or flee since it was obvious he wasn't getting out without . . . huh?

   McDohl watched rather numbly as Lord Granmeyer pulled a rolled up scroll and handed it to him.
Unravelling it, McDohl was shocked to see it was indeed the written permission to join Shu's trade
guild.  Deciding not to press his luck, McDohl slowly got out of his chair and started to walk out the door.
 

   "Oh, there IS one more thing, Mr. Reinbach."

   McDohl froze in his tracks.

   "You see, it has become rather difficult to travel the river these days between Radat and Banner Village.  There have been so many rumors pouring in . . . of a drowned rat in ninja garb; a strange monster tamer; a Toran spy; and even Highland soldiers travelling along the river."

   Uh oh . . .

   "It would . . . imprudent if we just let someone so close to all our hearts travel such a dangerous trip at this point in time."

   Uh oh!

   "So, it would be my deep honor if you would be a guest of the city of South Window for an . . .
indefinite period of time.  For your own safety, of course."

   &@#$%!!!

   The "council members" had been trying to circle along the walls of the room, trying to box McDohl in.  Young Master McDohl turned to Lord Granmeyer and smiled nervously.

   KEEEERAAAAASSSSSHHHH!!!!!!

   Ah, there is nothing like the sound of a South Window G.I. going flying out a window.  Everyone on the street stopped what they were doing to watch Young Master McDohl jump out after him and try hard not to cut himself on the broken glass.

   Two soldiers raced after McDohl, only to get theirs jaws cracked with a sharp blow from his Heaven Fang Staff.  But, much like clowns out of a tiny car, the soldiers just kept coming and McDohl was forced to make a hasty retreat.

   With a jaw drop that would make the three stooges envious, McDohl raced down the steps and through the confusing streets of South Window, many a soldier chasing after him.

   "Don't hurt him!!  We need him alive!  If he dies, there could be a war we won't be able to recover
from!" Lord Granmeyer shouted from the top of the city hall steps.

   Young Master McDohl ducked just in time as a sword swing nearly took his head off, but slashed up some street corner banzai instead.

   "WHAT DID I JUST SAY!?" Granmeyer yelled after the soldiers.

   "I don't wanna die!  I don't wanna die!"  McDohl was running out of options.  He wasn't as familiar
with South Window as he'd like to be.  One false turn and a bunch of overzealous guards would "accidentally" run him through.  Suddenly, McDohl spun on his heels.

   "Wait!!  Wait wait wait!!!!"

   All the guards screeched to a halt at McDohl's screams.  They froze in place, unsure of what to do
and waiting for McDohl to continue with what he was going to say.

   There was about five seconds of awkward silence before McDohl spun on his heels again and took off.  The guards had another few seconds to realize they'd been had before charging after him.

   Up a flight of stairs from the rampage, the brilliant inventor Adlai was busy pondering what parts
he would need to finish his elevator, the greatest of all his inventions.   Well it was better than his
attempt to use a potato for a source of illumination and dubbing it "Spud Light".

   His thoughts were interrupted by the intense rumbling of many many feet down below and his
concentration was lost.  All his dreams of a horseless carriage just went down the drain and he was quite upset.  He threw open his door to harrass the interlopers.

   Now, imagine if you will, an instant of pure silliness in which all time itself slows down and we
have a visage of ultimate comic horror.  Adlai's mouth slowly fixed itself in a silent scream as a frantic
McDohl in slow motion yelled at him to get out of the way, being pursued by half the guards in South Window; their battle cry like the crash of waves against a cliffside.

   There's the impact and time returns to normal with the smack of the back of Adlai's head on his doormat.  With no time to apologize, McDohl heaved the stunned Adlai up and lobbed him at the guards.  The front guards fell backwards, knocking over the guards on the stairs until a gigantic domino effect going all the way back to the City Hall and knocking over Lord Granmeyer occured.

   Using this moment, McDohl slammed the door shut and bolted it, praying it would hold for now.  Glancing around, he seemed to instantly start analyzing and gauging his changes of getting out of this mess alive.

   Hiding in the basement was a no-go.  That's the first place they'd look.  And none of those strange
gadgets looked of any use . . . until McDohl feasted his eyes on an Elevator!  He remembered that invention from the Toran War and was the time saver of a lifetime.

   Getting inside, he hit the button for close and prayed it went at least somewhere.  Up . . . down . .
. it didn't matter.  How was he supposed to know that there was an out-of-order sign on the doors as they closed?

   The shockwave from the explosion could be felt as far away as the mercenary fort in the Muse territory and Adlai's house was literally wiped off the map.

   It was almost three hours later, right after nightfall, when the soldiers had finished digging
through the rubble of a crying Adlai's house and found no body parts.

   Lord Granmeyer ordered triple guard posted around the clock until Lord McDohl, or what was left of him, could be found.

   It was an hour after that when McDohl actually regained consciousness.  He looked up at the sky and was mesmerized by the beautiful shapes the clouds took, even a face that stared back at him.
Unfortunately, that's when the bird hopped over to stand on his head and obstructed his view.

   Shaking it off, McDohl sat up quickly, then regretted it from the wash of pain.  It seems he had
been blow onto the roof of the trader's guild from the explosion.

   His sizzled hair still gave off whisps of smoke as he struggled to his feet.  Looking around, he realized that by some freak of fanfic, he hadn't been caught yet.  The guards were all over the streets and most of the regular citizens were in their homes.

   Young Master McDohl thought that if he could make it to the gate, he could escape before anyone could stop him.  Climbing down a little, he leapt to the rooftop of a nearby home and started jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

   It was going along pretty well for the most part, until McDohl mistimed a step and tripped on a shingle.  He reached out with horror and managed to snag the roof of the nearby house while hooking his toes to the roof he was just on, stretched out wide.

    He whimpered a little as some guards passed under him, their halberds coming inches from scraping his chest.

   It was getting late in the city of South Window and Lord McDohl had yet to be found.  People were sure he hadn't left, but no one knew where he had gone to.  No one, that is, except the birds and flying squirrel using his back as a clothesline gossip spot.

   "Guys, I have the distinct feeling I'm being unfairly exploited here."

   His shouts did nothing to dislodge his guests, who were almost in the double digits now.  Things were really out of hand . . . until strangely all the smaller animals scattered off his back.  Looking up,
he saw why.

   A young griffin, rare in these parts, was flying over the city of South Window and grumbling to itself as smaller birds shot past him.

   [Feh . . . look at all those smug jerks.  They all complain that I get all the respect, but how many of
the things do they appreciate they can do?!  They're lucky to be able to just sit on wires and watch the world pass them by.  What I wouldn't give for . . .say!  I bet I could sit on that!]

   McDohl's eyes grew wide and it took over twice the amount of will that it takes to keep the Soul Eater in line to keep McDohl from screaming as the Griffin landed pretty hard on his spine.

   It flapped it's wings a little and looked around South Window, content.  It's perch, however, was
trying really really hard not to cry out in pain.  The sweat poured like a waterfall as the Griffin, much
like a cat does, kneeded a little.

   McDohl whined softly, praying the Griffin would go away and soon.  But, fate is far crueler than that.

   "Hey!  Look at that!  It's the fugitive!  And a live Griffin!"

   "You know, I hear the traders' guild will pay a king's ransom for a living one!"

   "Get those sticks.  Let's get them down!"

   And thus, it came to pass that many a guard came with pole, striking the underbelly of Lord McDohl, trying to make him let go and bring both of their prizes down to earth.

   The Griffin had grown angry, feeling it's new home threatened, and had it's talons ready.  But, until
then, it was digging into McDohl's clothes and back.

   [Dammit!  It's always like this, just when I'm ready to take a nap.  Well that does it, I'm taking my
warm perch ELSEWHERE!  Good day, gentlemen.]

   The guards watched in awe as the Griffin dug into McDohl's clothes and yanked him off the roofs and up into the air, over the wall of South Window and off into the sunset.

   It took a few minutes before the Griffin realized his perch was limp and another moment to see that it was actually a person he was dragging along.  Deciding he didn't want any company, the Griffin simply let go.

   And down McDohl went.

   A day later, a small group of Holly Fairies were floating along the road, looking for travellers to
beat up while they went to a family gathering.

   Over the horizon, they spotted a human crawling on his hands and knees, with a crumpled scroll between his teeth.  They landed and just watched him inch his way closer and start to pass them, not even noticing them.

   The youngest raised her wand and was about to bean him, when the eldest stopped her with an outstretched arm.  The others looked at the eldest who just shook her head, and they started off to their family gathering again.