I've sold my soul. If I was not guilty of witchcraft and heresy before, then I must surely be now. I should not have let Reynaldo talk me into this. But then if I hadn't we would both be too weak to help William, and I can not abandon my "comrade." So, now I am again healthy. Now I owe a "favor" to some witch. How her powers healed me I cannot say, but I know that something inside me is different. I....feel...different. Bring on the musketeers!

All I've witnessed from William is audacity. This attribute of his which is so much trouble for the rest of us. In fact, Reynaldo and I are on our way to rescue him from the musketeers. I still can't believe he jumped onto the back of Captain DuChevalier's horse. Bold. Bold and foolish.

It had been a day since we left Jacques' camp. As we hadn't had a run in with the musketeers since Charous, we had gotten complacent and lazy. We started traveling by day again. Big mistake. Early afternoon on the next day we rode into this town as if we owned the place. Trouble. Shortly after arriving into town we noticed several horses belonging to musketeers. This is bad, very bad.

As we were turning to leave a voice called "Halt!" It was DuChevalier. The captain from the Lightning Guard brigade of Le' Empereur's Musketeers. He and a squad were walking towards us, having just emerged from a tavern. He wanted us to identify ourselves. I stepped forward, pretending to be a dispossessed noble from Castille, traveling with my two servants. I put up a convincing display, and were not for the fact that our faces, especially Williams, were so well know, we would have gotten away.

"Dismount," was all he said. How eloquent this Montaigne is. In his arrogance, he must have assumed that we would simply give up and let ourselves be taken. How very foolish of him. He must not have been at the gate. Motion. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I expect to see some bold attack by William. Surprise! It is not William that initiated the attack, but Reynaldo. I can only shake my head as I watch him leap from his horse. It seems as if everything is in slow motion. Reynaldo is flying through the air, two musketeers start to draw swords, while a third pulls out a pistol. I see Reynaldo's blade flash as he strikes at the first musketeer. Still in flight, he is almost about to land. Crack. Now he is flying back in the opposite direction as he was shot point blank in the chest. With a thud, he lands on his back.

William charges his horse forward into the musketeers, scattering them, in an attempt to buy Reynaldo time to remount. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as Reynaldo falters having been stabbed by another musketeer. Crack. Another shot rings out, barely missing Reynaldo. I was about to charge myself, when my horse suddenly stumbles a bit, as a musketeer leapt onto its back. I begin struggling with him, but to no avail. At least they are not shooting at me yet.

Now we are completely surrounded. Two, maybe three full squads of musketeers. William suddenly breaks away and charges his horse into some building. I'm not sure, but it looked like a bakery. He is followed by several musketeers. Crash. I can't see what happened but the screams issued by the shop owner I am loathe to repeat. Motion. I see that Reynaldo has gained his feet having temporarily fought of his opponents. He leaps onto the back of a musketeers horse, only to slide right off again because the saddle had been loosened. If I had not been in the middle of my own struggle, I'm sure that it would have been hilarious. As it is I found it most annoying. Reynaldo then proceeded to crawl underneath a building.

Shots started ringing again. At that point I decided to spur my horse on, all the while continuing to struggle with the musketeer. We rode like that for several miles, neither of us able to get the upper hand. I tried virtually everything, including stabbing him. At some point I finally reached down and cut the straps to my saddle, allowing it to slide off, taking the musketeer with it. That's when I noticed three musketeers on horseback had been closing on me. Damn them. My horse is tired and will not be able to outrun them. I stop and turn to face them.

In a flash of blades, I fight, barely holding my own. Arrgh, ok, not holding my own. I get stabbed in the ribs. Just when I think I've lost, Reynaldo arrives, followed by yet more musketeers. His sudden arrival startles one of my opponents and I managed to drop him. Still alive. Too bad. Now it's four on two. Reynaldo and I are back to back, ready for the next assault, when William finally arrives. He comes flying off his horse and takes down two. At that point we finish off the others.

Pounding, looking up we see another twenty or so musketeers being led by DuChevalier, of course. Damn him. He is far too persistent for his own good. Some day we are going to have to kill him. I am certainly looking forward to that. Remounting our own horses, the chase begins again. It continues for several miles, all the while the musketeers are gaining.

Eventually we would have been caught, of that I am certain. But, William, and yet another stupid move, slows his horse. Before we realize it, he is up in a tree. Looking back, I see him drop onto the back of the lead musketeer's horse. That of DuChevalier. Madre de dios. What audacity. They all stop and proceed to pommel the dung out of William. He puts up a decent fight, but is eventually overwhelmed. Reynaldo and I ride off. Their being nothing that we could do for him. We shall return.

Sometime after dusk we come to a farm. A man and his wife come out. We argue in Montaigne. I told him we need shelter and rest. He wants us to leave. Angered, the man walks off, towards town. The woman however, stays and says she can help us. After giving her 50 guilders, she leads Reynaldo and myself into a nearby forest. She says something about an old woman, gives us directions and then leaves. We continue following the path and by the time we find the place is has grown very dark.

It doesn't look like much. An old run down shack. Something is cooking inside. It smells hideous. My stomach turns. Uneasily, we dismount and approach, when a cackly old voice calls from within saying to enter. Upon entering, I find the inside to be as dirty and ramshackle as the outside. The woman is positively ancient. I don't think that I've ever seen one so old. She makes some lewd suggestions, causing my face to redden and blood to boil. As if I would lower myself. Finally, after what seems an eternity we get to business. She can heal us, but it will cost us. Reynaldo offers guilders, but of course she declines. She wants a favor, one that she will one day call on us to pay. She warns that we will not like it and will certainly not be able to run from it. Insulting. Who in Legion is this woman to question my honor. I start to protest, but a glare from her cold eyes quickly silences me. Evil. This whole place radiates evil. We consent.

An hour later we start to leave, fully healed. As we are leaving, the old woman calls us back. She has one bit of free "advice" for us. Speaking to us one at a time, she offers this advice. What she told Reynaldo remains a secret to me. As for myself, "sleeping with another man's woman will one day kill me." As if I didn't already know that.

Morning comes. Reynaldo and I slept some in an abandoned barn. Discussing our next course of events, we have come to the same conclusion. Rescue William. Knowing that they are fully aware of our likeness, Reynaldo shaves his mustache and beard. I opt to shave my head. Covering it with a bandanna, I feel like I am on the Hanged Man again.

Now, bring on the musketeers.