Lord Kennedy Oswin proudly admired the parchment on his desk. It was a proposition waiting to become a decree. The statement was to add jobs to the city which would drop the unemployment rate. The downside to it was it would require 500,000 gold pieces to purchase land and start construction for different projects. The tax rate would go up a small percentage for residence and businesses for the next three years but the jobs would remain even after the debt was paid. All surrounding territories would be taxed as well but the jobs would trickle to the other territories.

Lord Oswin dipped his quill into the ink well and began signing the document. When he was done he removed his gold ring and hovered above a candle for a moment. He dipped the ring in his red wax and it made a small hiss. With the top of the ring covered in red wax he stamped the document next to his name.

The crest of D'hara was a dragon skull with two identical horns coming from its head. It had an open mouth and its tongue in the shape of a double edged sword inside a pentagon. The wax stamp was sticky as Oswin tried to pull it away. A string of red wax clung to the ring but it broke after he pulled it far enough.

Oswin made sure the parchment wouldn't be disturbed by placing wooden figurines on the four corners of the document while the wax cooled enough for him to roll it up and send it to the court.

A feminine voice disrupted his thoughts, "Kenny,"

Even after so many years the pet name still made him smile, "Good evening, Lacey."

"Evening? It's the early morning. When are you coming to bed?" She walked into the room with her light purple robe. She wore the silk nightgown that reached down to her slippers. The inside of the nightgown was made of fur, a very coveted piece of clothing especially since D'hara's harsh winter season was coming in full force.

"Morning already?" He suddenly felt guilty. He had been working all night again.

"You've been doing that a lot lately. Is something wrong?" She shuffled over to where he stood.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm just making sure the country is taken care of. I want to continue being the man the Seeker trusted me to be."

"You need to take care of yourself too." She reminded him, inching closer.

Oswin pulled her into a hug. She was two heads shorter than him. His arms wrapped around her shoulder and she submitted herself to the warmth of his chest and the smell of his cologne. She was still not used to the smell. The cologne he now wore was stronger than what he used to wear before becoming the Lord Rahl. She felt nostalgic on the few occasions he used the older cologne and wished he'd don it more often.

He kissed the top of her head. He let himself stay in the hug longer than he normally would. He must have really been getting tired because it felt so comforting. The hug took him back to a time when he was truly happy. Back then he had a family but now it was broken and hurt.

"What did you do at the orphanage?" He asked her. He pulled away to look at her beaming face.

"We had more parents adopt some of the younger children. Thanks to your aid more children will also have a home soon. Parents are looking for older brothers and sisters to add to their families. You have done a lot of good, Kenny."

"I would do anything to help you out. Never forget it, Lacey." He soothed.

Lacey smiled, "Today the orphanage put on a show to the children. They had a good time; especially for Samantha." She fiddled with her fingertips.

Oswin decided to proceed carefully. For some time Lacey had been hinting to adopt Samantha, a little girl who had just turned four years old. Samantha was left at the orphanage shortly after she was born. The mother wanted nothing to do with the infant and dropped it off without so much as a goodbye note. No names were given and the mother wanted to remain anonymous.

"I'm glad the show was successful. It is good that more parents are visiting the orphanage. I was a bit worried that it would be shut down. I will be more than happy to keep helping them out. No child should be left defenseless and they, as much as everyone else, deserve a safe place to live."

Oswin began rolling up the parchment. He used a piece of silk ribbon to tighten the roll so he could properly seal it. Lacey, not satisfied, decided to prod him about Samantha again.

"You know, the lead volunteer mother says a lot of the younger children have more capacity in their hearts to be open to new families. Samantha is very bright, too. Why don't we have her over for dinner one day? You could see what she's like."

Oswin sealed the parchment with another wax stamp and turned to look at Lacey. His eyes were somber.

"We can't get her hopes up. I don't want to put a child here in the People's Palace. Besides, she may find a family who really loves her." No other child could replace Kiara.

"So you are saying you don't like her." Lacey shot back.

Oswin sighed, "That's not what I'm saying. We shouldn't get her excited thinking she will stay with us. That is up to someone who will adopt her. We are not her family."

"But she can be our family!" Lacey argued.

"She is not our daughter!" Oswin shot back. Lacey took a step back and gripped her chest. She had the look like she was just punched in the gut. Her eyes began to tear up. "You can't replace our daughter, Lacey." His voice was soft, "Our daughter is dead."

Lacey sniffled and ran out of the room. Oswin, his feelings hurt, slammed the rolled up parchment unto the table. He walked towards one of the loveseats and sat down. He buried his face in his hands.

"Hi, daddy!" He heard a little giggle. He looked up to see his daughter fiddling with the hems of her dress.

He smiled back, "How I wish you were here, Kiara." He reached his hand out and he closed his eyes. He imagined he was caressing his daughter's face. He opened his eyes once more to see there was no one there.

Verna, Mariette and Victoria stepped down from their horses.

"Come you three, drink up. We have a long ride tomorrow." Mariette pulled the reins of the horses together and brought them to the water. Verna had noticed for the past week how Mariette tended to the horses. She had a natural ability to soothe the horses and they responded to her talking to them. It was almost as if they could communicate somehow. It was really impressive.

Verna began setting up camp with Victoria helping to clean up the area. They stationed themselves next to a large oak tree, giving them a bit of cover from the cool air blowing in their directions. Choosing locations near water gave them the security in finding food for themselves.

"Mariette can communicate with animals." Verna commented.

"She's always had that ability." Victoria replied, "She had two dogs before that would obey her every command."

"I can see her tending dogs." Verna smiled, "Of course with this new information she could own her own farm."

"Yeah and we can watch her animals follow her in single file." Victoria laughed.

There was a comfortable silence as the two women pitched the tents and started a fire pit.

"Sister Verna?" Victoria looked up from her task. She was making a circle out of rocks to keep the fire contained. She had dug into the earth a bit making sure their fire would be controlled.

"Yes?" Verna unpacked their bedrolls and laid them out on the earth.

"Those men that harassed us the other day? They were trying to have their way with us, weren't they?"

Verna hummed, "Yes, if we had let them. Many of them stop as soon as you threaten them with a knife. You just have to stay strong and not look intimidated. Men aren't like the wizards in the palace who are calm and collected. Wild men can be unpredictable. It's best to try to avoid them. But if you can't avoid them then you must be prepared to fight for your life."

Victoria thought about what she was being told, "The palace hasn't talked much about the outside world. I'm worried about how bad it truly is."

Verna turned to look at Victoria who wore a worried expression.

"Some men are beasts. I learned that on my first voyage. Scaring them is your best weapon. This world is filled with many wicked things but there is so much good in it too."

Victoria unhooked her Dacra knife from her waist. Her Dacra was folded and she examined the blade's bulbous tip that led to the point. She watched the sunlight reflect off the blade.

Victoria thought back to when the men were harassing them. Not a moment later after Taylor placed a hand on Verna's shoulder did Verna turn around and place her Dacra knife dangerously close to the man's throat. It happened in one smooth turn.

"You were so fast with your knife." Victoria started, "I heard you were quite the formidable opponent at the palace. You helped the Seeker when he was trapped in the Desert of Perdition. I was told the Sisters of the Dark couldn't even touch you."

"I was at my peak back at the palace. My training paid off and saved the Seeker. During my first time travelling we ran into many unfriendly people, but we survived thanks to the combat training we took. You need wits if you're going to survive this world."

"Could you teach me?"

Verna looked back at Victoria. She locked eyes with her but Victoria had so much strength in her eyes it was impossible to refuse her request. She approached Victoria the same way her instructor once had done.

"What do you plan to do with your combat training, Victoria?"

"I will protect Mariette." Her answer came quick and intensely. Verna glanced at Mariette, still brushing the horses. Victoria saw Mariette as a younger sibling. That was motive enough to want to learn combat.

"She doesn't know of the dangers of the outside world," Victoria continued, "She still thinks like a child, that the world is a wonderful place to be. It isn't. But she still sees the positive in everything and in everyone. I don't want her to get hurt."

Verna nodded, "Mariette has a gift I wish I had. She sees the good in everything but that is also her power. Mariette's special ability with her Han brings life to dead plants. Imagine if she can bring out the goodness in everyone." She stood up straight, "I'm sorry, I digress. We can start tonight. I will show you the stances of battle."

"Thank you, Sister Verna."

Verna stepped forward, "I will teach you both. You both need to learn Dacra combat and how to use it more effectively."

"But is she ready for combat training?" Victoria asked concerned for her friend.

"She's been ready since she came with us on this journey." Verna patted Victoria on the shoulder, "Let's finish setting up camp."

Richard knocked on the door to the farmer's house. There was no answer. Richard knocked harder but still no response came. Richard tried the door and found it was open. The four called out to the farmer but no one responded.

"I think he's dead." Cara called out entering the kitchen.

Zedd, Richard and Kahlan followed Cara to find the farmer dead. His face was in a permanent scream and he was dressed in a blood stained tunic. The farmer's eyes stared through the ceiling. Blood pooled around the man's neck.

Richard and Cara secured the house to check if the perpetrator was still there but they found no trace of anyone. Meeting back at the kitchen, Cara began examining the body.

"His throat's been cut, probably from a knife." She removed a leather glove and began feeling the man's face, his tongue and stomach, "The body is still warm so it hasn't been that long. We just missed the murder."

Cara moved some of the man's blood stained hair out of the way, "It looks like he took a blow to the face. There's no point in the Breath of Life with the damage to his throat." She stood up and began placing her glove back on her hand. "He's dead."

"He was our only lead." Richard muttered angrily.

"Let's have a look around. Maybe the killer left some clues for us to find." Zedd instructed.

Zedd and Richard searched inside the house while Kahlan and Cara searched outside. Richard looked around the house but didn't see anything that caught his eye. The house was still organized but the only mess was in the kitchen with equipment spilled on the floor. This wasn't a robbery…

Richard walked back to the kitchen. There was a pot lying next to the body. Richard picked up the pot and turned it around. The pot had a round dent in the center of it. Something hit the pot with enough force to bend it in. Richard hypothesized that the man used the pot to defend himself but got hit in the face. The farmer must have dropped the pot after he got hit with it. There was no blood on the pot.

The cut to the man's' throat was clean and straight. It was one smooth slash across his throat that killed him. Now if they could only find the murder weapon.

"Richard." Zedd beckoned.

Richard followed the wizards' finger and found blood stains on the wall. Zedd waved his hand and a blood stained knife levitated up from behind the furniture.

"What do you make of this?" The knife gently swayed in the air.

"Someone hid the weapon." Richard answered.

"But what of the blood stain on the wall?" Zedd pointed to the splatter that painted the wooden wall.

Richard examined the stain. Upon closer examination he concluded that the knife was tossed carelessly away. The murderer would have spent time cleaning his weapon instead of throwing it away. This scene wouldn't fit the motive of someone killing in secrecy. They didn't care that the body would be found…

"The farmer was murdered and the murderer didn't care about hiding the evidence." Richard relayed.

Richard examined the remainder of the room. There was a small trail of pots and pans and dishes littering one corner of the kitchen.

"The farmer was backed into a corner. From there the murderer killed him and threw the knife away. But…" Richard quickly scanned the rest of the house confirming his hypothesis from before, drawing one final conclusion, "Everything is in its place. He wasn't killed to be robbed which means he was killed to be silenced."

"That begs the same question," Zedd grumbled, "Why did they kill the farmer?"

"The farmer sent us to the graveyard. Maybe someone wanted to silence him after he told us where to look."

"We didn't get much with that lead, my boy." He reminded him. "We only found skeletons walking around like people."

Richard, now at a loss, decided to glance out the windows where Kahlan and Cara were investigating the shed nearby.

"We should see if Kahlan and Cara found something." Richard beckoned.

"If you were a murderer where would you hide?" Cara asked Kahlan.

The two were outside wandering around the property. There was ample space to the outside and many places to hide. There was a tool shed with windows; his wheat crops were tall enough to hide someone and wood stacked on one side of the house made for a good place to take cover.

Kahlan walked over to the wheat crops. She examined the corner and moved some of the crops. "No one was here. The crops would have been disturbed if someone hid behind the wheat." She looked back at the house, "But you can't see the inside to find someone."

"What about the tool shed? There's a window that allows you to look into the kitchen window. Killer could've used it to hide and look inside. I bet you we'll find something here." Cara grinned.

The two women stepped inside. The wooden floors creaked with each step. The tool shed had a window on each wall bringing light in from all directions. The small building was well-kept; everything had and was in its place. On one wall hooks displayed shovels, axes, hoes, rakes, and other garden tools. There was a stack of buckets lined up next to the tools.

On the wall to the right of the tools a cart was stationed and some bags of fertilizer had been stacked evenly on the corner of the room. On their left were some barrels. Many of them were stacked in threes, but some were toppled over next to the window.

Kahlan examined the window. "You were right; you can see the kitchen clearly from here."

Cara knelt down to the ground to examine the floor. The barrels were left stacked for a long time. She could see where the barrels were recently dragged by the way the dirt left streaks on the floor. She glanced at the barrels that were toppled over and the others that were left stacking.

"Someone moved these barrels to get a better look at us." Cara started, "I'm sure they were waiting for us to leave so they could kill the farmer."

"But why would they go after the farmer? We went to the cemetery and found skeletons that attacked us."

"They would have killed the farmer if he served his purpose. He led us to the graveyard and we saw what we were supposed to see." Cara deduced. It was the best explanation she could think of. "I don't think they wanted us dead. The fight wasn't difficult."

Kahlan thought for a moment, "To confirm the farmer's story."

Cara agreed, "We need to find this person. They would know why the dead are coming back to life."

Richard appeared at the door to the shed, "Did you find something?"

After relaying the information Richard ran a hand through his hair. "We won't find the killer here anymore. We should look around town for clues."

"Someone must have seen our suspect leaving the farmer's house." Zedd said, running a hand up and down his chin.

"We should talk to Captain Mohammed again. By confirming the farmer's story we can make sure the town is well protected in case of an attack."

"Let's go." Richard's hand gripped the hilt of the Sword of Truth. Finding the culprit was going to be his new priority.