I wake up to pain. It takes awhile to remember where I am. I was dreaming of lying on a road. The mud felt so cool on my burning, rotting arm. When the riders come, they don't stop this time. They let their horses stomp me into the ground. I laugh joyously as I am driven deeper and deeper into the cool mud. The lapping, sapping tides of pain ebb to nothing.

What brought me back from that dream? I clutch my swollen arm and groan curses. My back aches from sleeping against the cold, wet rock. Now I remember the cave. My arm is on fire. I press it against the stone wall. I'm surprised there is no burst of steam. It hurts a little less but the throbbing under the skin is worse yet. Another groan flows out of me.

"Keu? What is it?" Baine steps out of the darkness. A vague light behind her throws an eerie cast. Over one shoulder is one of the archer's bows. A string of freshly killed hares dangles from her hand. She has a smear of blood on her cheek. Her face still shines from the glee of the hunt. Her eyes are too bright and too wild, like a hunting hawk on a leash.

The heat in my arm flares. With raw impulse, I reach out with that arm and grab Baine low around her hips. Stunned, she falls loosely to me. The hares drop to the floor. I crush her against me so hard that her bones crack. What am I doing!

She hisses and her claws slash my face. The great arm clenches and locks us together. I cannot release her. When I try to speak, I can only growl. One finger at a time, struggling for control of every move, I let go of her. Gasping, she glides backward and retrieves the hares in one gliding swoop.

Hadaig is suddenly standing beside her, glaring. The smell of blood hangs in the air.

I rub my arm. I smile. "I was just showing Baine something. 'Daig, remember how you told me about that secret passageway Faramir mentioned? The one that he said came out in the Niafer treasure room?"

The Night Raven scowls suspiciously. He remains silent while he possessively caresses Baine's shoulders. She, too, thankfully, incredibly, says nothing.

"I found the tunnel's door," I continue. The flimsy wooden slats are within easy reach of my long arm. I stretch out and rap on them to prove what I say.

Hadaig's eyes narrow with greedy interest. "We'll tell Nion then," he nods slowly. I can tell he's already thinking about his share of whatever we find. His expression is now cold and blank. I will have to watch my back from now on. And be sure to keep more than an arm's length away from Baine.

I follow them to the fire, where Nion is just finishing whittling a spit. I squat close to the warmth and wait for breakfast.

What is happening to my arm, I don't know. I must find the so-called healers that did this to me and make them fix it, or they will pay the price of my misery!