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Moonshadow looked around the campfire, examining everybody in her mind. Having gotten a full overview of the injuries she decided everyone needed one of her special treatments. She smiled a little, and opened the white bag that held her most favorite, yet most rarely used tool.
Sasha raised an eyebrow questioningly as she saw Moonshadow take out a harp, one like she had never seen before. Like all of the winter elf's tools, it looked delicate and fragile, and this, too, was made of crystal, and also looked more liked it had grown into that form instead of being carved. The strings had the color of Moonshadow's hair, and as she began to play, just tentatively testing the sound, everyone turned their attention to her. Soon the single notes began to form a melody, meddling and flowing, and everyone listened, entranced, as they jumped over imaginary stones like a mountain's brook, with an ever changing, yet quick pace, a merry symphony for springtime, and almost unoticed, a clear melodic voice joined in their song. Or was it two voices? It was hard to tell, really, as they sang in a strange, soft tongue. Time passed as the song flowed on, down from imaginary mountains, making its way down through valleys towards the sea, so vividly they could sea the images in their minds. The song slowed down as the river grew wider. Where it mouthed into the ocean the tune reached a last climax, and then subsided.
Night had fallen while Moonshadow had sung, and the group could see many eyes staring at them from just outside the fire's range, birds, elusive deer, even a Unicorn, that had been attracted by the cheerful melody. Now they retreated back into the night.
"Time to sleep." Leandra remarked. She was right, of course, but even after the long fight they had gone through all of them felt refreshed and full of energy. The pain from their injuries had subsided, and removing the bandage from his hand, Talm found that the wound was gone. Just as were everyone else's injuries, as he noticed when he looked around. His gaze wandered over to Moonshadow, who still sat by the fireside, smiling contently.
Sasha, being the warrior she was, quickly surveyed their situation. Then she turned to the rest of the group. "Since neither of us needs any rest now, I suggest we continue our journey, despite the darkness. We're a well equipped group and have the means to light our path. We'll be needing a few more days to get to Pnyx, if this is where the trail leads, and probably even more time to locate those murderers." Her voice trembled at that word, not out of fear but wrath, and her face held a determined expression.
"Any objections?" Katze asked, rising from her comfortable position.

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 11-11-2001).]

" No objections here!" shouted Talm. "I'm fine." Said another. Soon, they extinguished the camp fire and picked up the hastly-erected tents. They continued on there way through the milky blackness that almost absorbed all of the torchlight untill the moon gave way to the rising sun.

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flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

A few hours later, when Sasha called a halt to rest, Lochinvar approached Moonshadow.

"That was beautiful music, you should play more often." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away to sit near the Ronin. Moonshadow directed a long, questioning gaze at his departing back, before shrugging her shoulders and looking for a place to sit, herself.

Lochinvar turned his heavy lidded, perpetually tired looking gaze toward Trinias. "Is the trail holding up?"

"Yes," Trinias replied. "If anything, it's getting clearer. We must be gaining ground."

"Some good news, at last," Lochinvar grunted, staring off into the distance.

------------------
"So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar."

Mordour DF went over again and again in his mind. Mordour
DF hated not knowing things and this was a major mystery to him, as was Darken Rahl. His read of the man was not a good one, it was one of dark acts but this proved nothing. DF had done many dark acts in his life and he wasnt judged by that. Still, something didnt settle right about that one.
No, you musnt feel ill about somebody you will trust you life upon. If necessary, get in a argument or small fight with him, get your frustrations out and relieve your mind but dont think ill DF's mind screamed at him. It was at this point DF decided that at one point, he would have a friendly scruff with his ally, but at a different time than this one.


DF tended to watch the rear of the group. In the battle he fought several, taking several hits when they all attacked at once but nothing too serious. From that point on he traveled in the rear, allowing everyone's minds to be eased slightly by this. In following along, he saw plenty of strange sights and was tempted to go hunting for an elusive night elf that he swore was following him, but had always remained out of sight when necessary. He never fully felt as part of the group. He saw the interactions between them all but he didnt know of what they talked of mostly so he kept away. He knew he was starting to freak out the others when Sasha had called a rest break and approached him in his rearguard position.

"Hi" DF called out as Sasha neared him
"Hello, Desert Fox" Sasha replied when she got close enough to talk
"What brings you back here?" DF asked though he had already guessed why
"Why do you not talk with the rest of us?" Sasha asked "Think you are too good?"
"Quite the opposite really" DF chuckled "You all seem to be quite knowledgeable in all sorts of things. All I have ever known is fighting. It has got me through many situations but many instances here dont require brute power"
"That isn't an answer and you know it" Sasha replied angrily "everyone else here has gotten to know each other so that we can depend more deeply on one another if we get into a fight. You we all don't know and that kind of uncertainty is making everyone uneasy about you"
"Not many people actually want to know about me, I have a dark past" DF said sadly "It has many instances in which all of my allies die and I am left alone to complete a necessary quest. Everyone around me in my life died, with an exception of my more recent journeys"
"I have had comrads die before but that didnt shut me off from the rest of everyone. Why the hell should you be ignoring us all because of a stupid excuse like that?" Sasha said, even more enraged by DF's explaination
"Because" Df said fiercely, not liking people doubting him this much "I killed most of my allies through mistakes in judgement. I was the cause of their deaths. Each time a team member died, I died with them but it was worse for me knowing that they died because of me"
Sasha was taken aback by this admittence but was nonetheless determined to know DF a little better
"I take it you have gotten a bit better in your 'judgements' in your last few excursions" Sasha asked, a little bit nicer this time
"Yes" DF answered more respectfully this time "I have gotten better but I still dont want to go through any disasters like before"
"Getting to know others in a crew isnt ensuring disaster, you know. It may help curb disaster more than anything" Sasha said a bit sardonically
"I guess that may be true but my skills lie more in fighting, not in conversation" DF admitted, a little embarrassed "I have not really talked much to anyone in the past few years"
"Heh, from what I hear, you were quite a joker when you went of with Rogan and Avatara" Sasha exclaimed, a bit excited that she got anything out of this guy
DF smiled "Kestral brought it out of me, he was a wild one" DF said happily, glad to be talking about old times "He was a great person to be around"
"Yes, I heard he once filled Rogan's wine bottle with vinegar and..." Sasha said, laughing
"and he hid behind a bush while Rogan drank from it" DF finished while laughing heartily "when Rogan drank from it, he took a nice large chug of it to ease his spirit and then spat what he could out" DF said, continuing his laughter "and when he spotted Kestral behind the bush, he charged him with his fists flying and his feet swinging"
By this time, the both of the were close to tears laughing over the crazy instance in DF's past.
"Those were some good times" DF said as he looked off into the distance
"Well, there could be more if you would just communicate more with the rest of us." Sasha said while getting up "In fact, I heard that Talm is looking for somebody to help him pull a slight prank on Rahl soon to try to lighten him up" she said while looking off to Darken as he sat on his rock, quite fixated on the path ahead
Before she could go off, DF yanked her down to a squat again
"What kind of feeling do you get around that guy" DF asked seriously
"About the same kind I get around you" Sasha replied boldly
"Hmm, maybe you are right, I am distancing myself too far from everyone" DF said in a bit of introspect
"Well, he seems a bit darker in spirit than everyone here. Seems a bit more closed in than anybody else here" Sasha admitted "I dont know, but something about him puts me off a bit."
"Same here, I have been watching him since I talked with him" DF said a bit darkly "There is something I cannot place about him"
"Well, before everyone starts thinking the same about you, I suggest you start meeting them all" Sasha said as she stood back up and beckoned DF to do the same
"Alright, you twisted my arm" DF said, getting off the ground and brushing the dust off his armor
They came upon the majority of the group which was in deep conversation about one thing or another and DF joined in the circle and joined in the conversation, only noting once that Darken seemed to close himself up more when DF joined everyone else.

------------------
Fear my T1 and its blazingly fast connection speed

After a long night beside the fire telling stories, they got up feeling refreshed.
Everyone seemed to urge each other to tell stories, but no one had even glanced in Rahls direction. That's just fine, Darken Rahl hovered over the night in his mind. They wern't going to know anything about me anyway. Lochnivar had approached him early on in the evening, before DF joined the rest.
"Why do you never remove your armour?"
"Why do you always wear your gloves?"
What magick spells do you know?"
he had questioned Rahl casualy for quite some time.
"Why should I remove my armour? It is a very good protection. No need to get rid of it. Why should i answer your questions?" Darken Rahl stared into Lochnivars eyes, causing him to back off before he could retaliate. During the night Darken had not slept, he had not slept for several years now though. Strange noises had iluminated the night. An occasional thud, a high pitched screach, those sorts of noises. He also felt a presence.
It was definatly an evil presence. It was looking for some one, but who Darken Rahl did not know. Or did he know? Darken could feel ancient memories in the back of his head. He wanted to know them. He longed to know them, but they always eluded him.

At about ten o'clock Sasha called a brief halt. Others had sat down, taking in the lovely scenery. Darken Rahl had kept walking grudingly ahead.
No one had tried to stop him but when he had returned from his short walk ahead he was splattered in blood. His guanlets were practicly dripping and his helmet blades were all red tipped. He walked over to Sasha, leaving foot prints of blood behind.
"You covered in blood. How much of it is yours?" Sasha looked slightly concerned.
"None" Darken Rahl grinned for the first time as blood dripped from his helmet into his eyes.
"The path is now safe to procede" He bowed mockingly. A bow that clinked his armour and dripped blood.
The company packed up thier food and continued through the rock walled pass, which gradualy spread into thick forest. By the end of this day, maybe the next morning, they would reach the Pynx.
Quite a suprise awaited them.


------------------
I'm a dinosuar!
RRRAAA
GRRR
'n' stuff

Wolmark had been thinking very hard, trying to decide just what the phrase 'too quickly' meant to a time elemental; to a creature with the freedom to move throughout all of time it could mean an instant or an eternity, or anything in between. He'd just decided that the best he could do was wait until the subject came up on its own, when he realised it already had - and he'd missed it.

Looking around, he saw that only the Ronin were within earshot. He opened his mouth to speak as Sasha approached - and closed it again when he saw Desert Fox trailing along behind her. Telling the Ronin was one thing, but DF was still an almost total stranger.

Wolmark smiled a little to himself as he remembered the previous night. Sasha had walked into the circle and unceremoniously announced: "Desert Fox has graciously agreed to join us for a bit," as she sat down. "I thought it would be good for us all," indicating the whole party, "to get to know one another better."

Flynn's influence had obviously rubbed off on Sasha - she was starting to behave much as he would have, trying to pull everyone together.

--------------------------

Kwon was also reflecting on the previous night. After everyone had turned in, he'd sat in the silence, meditating. He could still sense the dark power at the fringes of his mind, just waiting for an opportunity to subdue him again; maintaining his control was still a difficult task - especially in the light of recent events.

Something had moved, disturbing his concentration. He'd looked up, to see Darken Rahl looking back at him from the other side of the camp; Rahl watched for a moment, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

Kwon had resumed his meditations.

The group had awoken to the light of an early dawn, far more refreshed than they had a right to expect from the few hours sleep they managed; Moonshadow's musical magic seemed to have effects beyond what they'd expected.

--------------------------

Sasha decided to take a break; they'd been walking all morning. Trinias started a fire to brew some coffee; Moonshadow left to fetch some water from a stream she remembered passing a short while earlier.

Wolmark approached Talm, a little hesitantly. "Talm," he said in a quiet voice, "There's something I need to show you." He pulled out the two pieces of paper Trinias had given him the night before.

"Where did you get those!?" Talm exclaimed.

"The others found your hiding place while we were tinkering with the crystal. I'm sorry, they shouldn't have been poking around like that."

"It's OK, I guess. Actually. I'm kind of glad you've seen it; I'd appreciate any help you can give me," Talm replied.

"Well," Wolmark began, hesitantly, "there is something... but it'll have to wait until I can talk to the other Ronin as well, in private. Maybe in Pnyx we'll find a chance."

"If that's how it has to be," Talm frowned. His impatience was showing.

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

[This message has been edited by Ronin (edited 11-12-2001).]

Talm walked toward the rear of the group. He hoped he hadn't sounded too impatient to Wolmark, but, then again, he felt he had a right to know what the message meant. Oh, well. he'd waited months without knowing, one more day wouldn't hurt. Talm looked around, and saw that everyone was looking forward. Satisfied that he was unobserved, he pulled a small bag from his back.

He loosened the drawstring, and pulled out the silver disc. It was as detailed and perfect as ever, silver skin shining in the morning light. Then, looking at it from the side, Talm noticed something he hadn't before - which was very surprising, since he'd examined the whole thing very well. A small seem was now visible on the side. It must have been jarred in the recent combat, thought Talm. Suddenly, his silence was broken by Katze. "Hey, Talm, What is that?" She asked, looking at the object in Talm's hands.

"Uh... a um... disc... with runes. Yes, a runic disc.: Talm replied, in broken speech.

"Uh..Hua.." Katze said.


Talm knew he wasn't technically lying, the strange characters could be called runes, and thus the disc could be called a runic disc, but he still knew he was keeping something from her. He knew it wouldn't last long.

Katze walked over to Talm, and looked over his shoulder. (Not to hard for her!*)
"Wow, it's beautiful... what is it made of?" She inquired.

"Silver, as far as I know. Listen, Wolmark knows something about it... I know where it came from... when we get to Pnyx Wolmark wants to tell the Ronin and me something about it...
I’m sure you can come along.” He said. He hoped Wolamark wouldn’t be unhappy about that.

*Moonshadow, did I misread the bio or is Katze 6' 4"?

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flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

[This message has been edited by Talm (edited 11-12-2001).]

*No, you didn't misread... though I'm still not quite sure how tall that actually is ::shrugs:: I had a look at what everybody else's heigth was and put in a number ...*

Moonshadow was walking along, not really paying heed to where she was going, and just keeping on the path because Brink was walking next to her, just as silently as she was. Katze caught up with them. She looked Moonshadow over thoughtfully, somehow she seemed more at ease than she'd been the last few days, but then decided to keep Brink company, who had been rather silent during their whole trip. She greatly favored Sasha's idea of getting the group closer together, and hoped to be able to encourage him to start a conversation.
Slowly but steadily, Moonshadow was falling back to the rear, as she had slowed down her pace while in thought. She replayed this morning's events over in her head, wondering what had happened. She'd never yet witnessed a morning so peaceful and calming, and now she was wondering just what exactly had been different. It had not been the mood in the camp, that much she was sure of. What else had she done, except fetching water from that clear stream? Or had it been her surroundings, the birds' song maybe, or the unicorn that had been drinking there? Whatever it was, it -
"Hey, Moonshadow, watch where you're going!" Somebody called, and she turned to see Talm behind her, motioning for her to come back to the road. The road? When had she left it?
"What's so important that you forget watching your steps over it?" Talm inquired as she rejoined him.
"Hmm? ... Oh, nothing. I was just wondering..." She smiled.
"More like daydreaming, I'd say." He commented. "Let's hurry and catch up with the others."
Indeed, the rest of the group was a little ahead of them, and so they quickened their pace.

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

DF's paranoid nature was probably hhis greatest asset, and his worst burden.
The morning was so nice that nothing was out of place, everything was in order, and nobody was trying to kill them. DF was uneasy. Laughter could be heard around the campsite as Talm decided to pull some minor jokes on a few people aroun the ease everyone's nerves. DF looked off in the distance. Something seemed off, wrong. It was as if there was a piece taken out of this puzzle but nobody else noticed it. To ease the tension in his mind, DF went off to train a bit and before long, his frustration with himself had been eased and his mind was clear.
When the group set off, DF was sure not to be the rear of the group, to help others feel safe around him. He participated in a few light conversations until a few of the leaders of the group called for a slight break.
It was then that DF noticed his suspicion had been leaking to all, he could feel their unease grow as it got later. DF knew something was off, but could not place it. Before long they set off again. DF noticed Moonshadow in the rear but decided that she was trying to piece together what he couldnt so he left her to think. He pushed this out of his mind as they continued down the path.

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Fear my T1 and its blazingly fast connection speed

[This message has been edited by Desert Fox (edited 11-12-2001).]

A short while later, Moonshadow looked up to see she'd wandered off the path again. She was even more surprised when a ruffian stepped out in front of her. Before she could react, another ruffian grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. In another moment, she was faced with a dozen armed men.

"Well, look at the pigeon that decided to drop in!" one of them said.

Before he could say anything more, Lochinvar appeared out of the jungle. The ruffians moved to attack him, and he immediately brought up his quarterstaff into a fighting position.

Moonshadow watched with interest as he began to fight, completely forgetting her own situation. He moved so fluidly you could almost have called it a dance, but at the end of each swing and pirouette the quarterstaff made solid contact with another ruffian - and that man went down. Moonshadow noticed several of the bodies had a small black circle burned into them where the quarterstaff had struck. Try as they might, whenever they swung their swords or clubs, somehow Lochinvar managed to dance out of the way.

The style reminded Moonshadow of something, but she couldn't quite think what it was.

In just a few minutes, there was only one ruffian left. Lochinvar stood his staff on the ground and leaned on it, staring at the ruffian with his heavy-lidded gaze. His breathing rate was only slightly elevated.

The ruffian holding Moonshadow blinked. It had all happened so fast he'd had no time to react. "One more move and she gets it!" he exclaimed.

"Don't worry, boy, I won't hurt you," Lochinvar said. The ruffian looked confused. "I didn't do this to rescue the girl, you know," Lochinvar continued. "She didn't need my help, I just wanted the exercise. You've got a tiger by the tail, there, boy. If you let her go, maybe she'll let you live."

The ruffian began to twitch uncertainly, looking nervously about for some means of escape. "I mean it, I'll kill her!" he yelled, holding a dagger to Moonshadow's throat.

At that moment Moonshadow roused herself from her thoughts; this was just one more puzzle she'd have to work on. She rembered the ruffian holding her captive, and decided she'd had enough. Reaching up she grasped the hand holding the dagger. Her eyes glowed silver, and the ruffian screamed. He dropped the dagger, staring down at what had once been his hand and was now a block of ice. Moonshadow quickly swung her staff, knocking the man unconscious.

"Well," Lochinvar drawled, "I guess that's that."
*********

They rejoined the tail end of the expedition a few minutes later. The whole incident had happened in such a short period of time that nobody had noticed their absence - except perhaps Desert Fox, who kept looking behind.

------------------
"So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar."

Moonshadow, despite her previous "Incident" was still wandering slowly behind the group. Over and over the feeling tumbled, until she was sure some thing was wrong.
"But what?" she thought to herself still puzzled "What was missing? All the animals seemed in place, the trees had not moved, the path did not vary. Of course there was the lack of enemies. No polyps, no big birds, no ruffians, no" and then it snapped "No Darken Rahl!"
No wonder things felt out of place, with out his morbid auroa the group didn't seem so gloomy, not downcast. Where had he got to?
"The scoundrel. running off like that" Moonshadow murmed insults about him until she had reached Sasha.
"At least some one is enjoying today" Moonshadow smiled and fell into step wiht thier leader. "What is troubling you Moonshadow?" Sasha looked concerned "Is it that insidence with the ruffians?" Sasha inspected Moonshadow closley, as if looking for the trouble.
"That piffel?" Moonshadow waved her hand dissmisivly "No. It is Darken Rahl". Now it was Moonshadows turn to show concern. Sasha was relieved. Only him again. "Is that strange old guy irratating you?" she grinned.
Ohh how Moonshadow wished it was that simple, "No. He has dissapeared. He has left the company" Sashas face turned grim, the corners of her mouth dropping from the smile she had held a mintue ago.
"When did he go?" she whispered concerned for thier safty.
"He's an ally". She told herself. "He wouldn't hurt a friend. But then again. We arn't exactly his friends".
" I would imagine some time after lunch" Moonshadow looked up from the ground.
"What could he be doing?"

------------------
I'm a dinosuar!
RRRAAA
GRRR
'n' stuff

Sideline walked in silence, as he had for most of the trip. He looked around the unusual group again, as he had been over and over since they set out; there were too many people here that he knew nothing about.

If there was anything Sideline hated, it was unknowns.

Katze was the only person he'd ever trusted absolutely, apart from Ferazel; but if Katze was prepared to vouch for Moonshadow, Talm and the Ronin, that was good enough for him.

He didn't know Desert Fox personally, but he knew his reputation and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt; that wasn't something he did lightly.

Brink, Lochinvar and Rahl were almost totally unknown. On the face of it Lochinvar seemed an OK guy, but Brink had been far too silent on this journey; Sideline wished he'd spoken up a bit more, to let people get to know him.

Rahl had also been fairly silent, and seemed to keep himself separate from the others. Sideline instinctively distrusted the man, a feeling he'd learned to rely on over the years; but he still couldn't give a reason why. With a start, he suddenly noticed Rahl was missing.

Sideline's musings were interrupted as they suddenly burst out of the jungle; Pnyx was visible just ahead.

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My signature? You want to see my signature? Now why would I go revealing all my secrets to a total stranger, huh?

[This message has been edited by Sideline (edited 11-13-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Sideline (edited 11-13-2001).]

*OoC* Oh, so Sideline is one of yours, cache. I didn't relize that... *BiC*

Talm looked at the grey pyramid of Pynx glistening in the midday sun.
He wondered just how the magi kept it hidden all the years that the tyrants hunted them - the huge structure was bound to attract attention. At any rate, the group arrived at the gates of Pynx just after noon. Soon he would know the secret of the disk - he looked forward to an exchange of knowledge with Wolmark. Talm quickend his pace, full of anticipation.


CHAPTER II

------------------
flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

[This message has been edited by Talm (edited 11-13-2001).]

When the group saw Pynx, they seemed cheered slightly by it. They quickened their step and their conversation became more lively. DF for some reason, didn't. In fact, he left for the woods that were to the left of the path.
"DF, where are you headed for" Sideline asked, deciding to finally speak up after DF was headed in a different direction of the group
"I need, time by myself. An hour. Maybe less. I have to focus" DF replied in measured tones
"Oh, ok. Hmm" Sideline wasn't quite expecting that answer so it kind of took him off guard
"Just continue on, I will catch up" DF said as he disappeared into the forest.

Though he wasn't a big fan of fighting in forests, DF loved to be in them. They gave him some comfort that he was protected slightly by the trees that surrounded him. Something had set him off and his mind was racing recently. He needed to let it out somehow so he decided to meditate in the forest.
15 minutes later, DF was stunned by the sound of Sideline cutting his way into the forest. Somehow, it was a welcome sound.
"Hello" DF called out, bringing Sideline to look in his direction
"Well, there you are. I stayed behind so that you would know where to go" Sideline said as he reached DF
"Hmm, the pyramid could have brought me in the right direction but I appreciate the courtesy" DF said with a slight bow "Would you mind filling an unusual request?" DF asked in a strange voice
"Sure, whats up?" Sideline announced, not really sure what he was going to get himself into
"I cant focus. Something is not right and it is frustrating me to no end. I need to fight something. I heard that you are good with a sword" DF said in a steady voice
"Yes, I am. You want to fight me?" Sideline asked, quite astounded by the request
"Yes, just to release some tension" DF said as he got up
"Ok, but no killing. Would just not be a good day if either of us died being idiots back here" Sideline said as he started back
"No, in here, in the forest" DF said with a feral grin
"But...ok" Sidelines started to protest but redecided and drew his sword
DF then drew his. The old Iceblade still did the cold damage it did before but it also did some shadow damage as well.
Instantly, they were on each other with a flurry of blows. It was apparent that DF wasnt the only one frustrated here. Sideline seemed to be relieveing some tension he had in himself. The attacks were going back and forth. Thrust and countertrust, slash and parry and couterslash. Shields were doing blocking and also were being raised to smash into each other. DF couldnt gain any ground on Sideline but he wasnt losing any to him either. A smile could be seen on his face. Then Sideline decided to use some of his agility to hop around the area.
One moment he was facing DF and the next he was in the trees diving down to finish the battle.
DF wasnt a novice, he tracked Sideline by sound and raised his shield in time to catch the attack Sideline had formed up there. DF then decided to use some of his tricks and hid in the shadows of the forest to attack Sideline.
For only a second Sideline was confused. DF just seemed to disappear. It was kind of like a shadow elve's ability to melt into the shadows around them. But he then heard DF move and protected himself for an attack in the direction of the sound.
Then a clash on his shield and DF reappeared with his sword moving fast. It was all Sideline could do to block it and stay up. Sideline was starting to get a bit mad at all this hooping around so he did a straight up attack.
HIgh slash, high slash, block mid, low slash, thrust mid, block counter. Sideline was driving DF back easily. High, mid, parry, thrust low, block, high, high, mid, block. He was going wild with attacking while DF was holding back a bit. Then DF pulled back his sword and heavily slashed at him. The impact on the shield sent him back a few feet. But he quickly jumped back into it all slashing over and over and then he tried a heavy slash of his own, not paying attention to his surrounding. His slash connected and drove deeply....into a tree. DF had hopped to the side as the attack was made and the attack went right into the tree. After a few seconds of tension, they both started to laugh. Sideline released his sword and dropped his shield. DF sheathed his sword and hooked his shield on his back again. They both just stared at the sword and laughed.
A few minutes later, the both emerged from the forest with little nicks and cuts from the battle, chatting away about a few of the techniques used and where they learned them. They noticed the group hadnt gotten too far ahead and they followed at a relaxed pace.
For some reason, DF was feeling a lot better. That dark feeling was still there but now he had released all the tension tha had been bothering him.

------------------
Fear my T1 and its blazingly fast connection speed

[This message has been edited by Desert Fox (edited 11-13-2001).]

Sasha approached the gate.

"What is your business?" one of the guards challenged.

"We're on the trail of a murderer; please let us enter," Sasha replied.

The guards looked at one another, uncertain expressions on their faces. "One moment, wait here."

In a short while, Lindus himself came hurrying to the gate. "You're here about the murder?" he queried without preamble. "Fine, fine, come in."

As the group marched through the gate, Lindus fell in beside Sasha. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you hear about it so quickly?" he asked. "Afterall, it only happened last night!"

Sasha stopped, and stared at him in total perplexity. "Bozhe moi, another one!?"

***OoC***
This is here for a particular poster, don't go overboard until they've had a chance to follow it up!
***BiC***

------------------
Two wrongs are just the beginning.

Ferazel steps out of a nearby door. "Hello everyone," he says, "I'm very sorry that I am late to join you. I was investigating the murders here at Pnyx." Callie steps out of the room too, and purrs at the sight of the familiar team. Ferazel, also noticing Lochinvar, pulls him off to the side. He whispers a few things to him, and Ferazel smiles. He walks down the corridor, and stops at the library, beckoning them all in...

------------------
Quote ViaVoice, "Hal Cohen help build Satam sand scratch a flat surface scratches that some scratch that scratches that scratch facts scratcher wraked this scratched tax costs tax this. " Is this ViaVoiceian?

Lochnivar and DF stopped chatting. A gloomy shadow dropped over the company. "Another?" Katze spoke with a shiver of fear. Moonshadow was worried, deeply. She had been suspecting Darkne Rahl for the murder of Flyn. But how could that happen? Even Darken Rahl could not run the path from Cademia to the pynx in less thne a day, so it was not possibly him.
"Who has been killed?" Brink, silent for most of the mission, said. Lindus passed his gaze over the group. The Ronin and the giant Ulf. Talm, and Lochnivar, Brink. All looked weary and gloomy.
"One is missing from your company. Who is he?" Lindus glared at them as if they ahd done wrong. Talm muttered something inaudiable and stood to the front.
"A fellow by the name of Darken Rahl" Lindus watched as a wave of curisosity swept over the face of usualy closed DF. "He is trouble if anyone ever was" Katze was inspecting the ground impatiently, waiting for Lindus to finish.
"Who was murdered?" she asked pressing the question for the second time.
"I'm afraid it was Valkier" Lindus looked grieved. Although he had not show it, he had grown fond of Valkier in a father like sense, ironic really, seen as Valkier was at least 4 times as old as he.
"He was in the Catacmob library beneath the Pynx with me, studing old manuscripts when he slipped of his chair" Lindus took in the companys facial expressions for a moment "I went over to him and found his pulse beating irradicly. I bent to help him up and cast a couple of healing spells" Lindus wiped his eyes "It didn't have any effect what so ever!" Lindus paused and caught his breath before continuing "And just before I teleported to the studyhall to get Master Tros's help a dark shadow passed through the room" Lindus looked up from the ground, waiting for their response.
Sasha was puzzled. She asked gently "Could we see the body?". Lindus nodded and the gaurds moved their staves out of the way. As the group entered the Magisiterium. DF wondered about his feelings. It always felt like this when you enter, no matter how many times you do. Every one is always Awestruck.
"Come, this way" Lindus motioned to the hallway to the left of the barracks. "Here he is" The body was a deathly cold. Strange black marks like tentacles had whipped him, were all over his body. "I've never seen anything like this" Moonshadow said. "It is the work of a shadow fiend" A voice bellowed from the back. Katze turned to see Darkne Rahl once more, dripping with blood.

*OoC*
Im the particular poster on wiht the show!
*BiC*

------------------
I'm a dinosuar!
RRRAAA
GRRR
'n' stuff

DF was stunned by the appearance of Rahl and how he appeared.
"A shadow fiend?" DF quizitively asked "I didnt know this person but from what Ive heard he could hold his own against any single being"
Rahl did not seem pleased to have his word slandered like that
"I have felt the presence of shadow fiends recently." Rahl gruffly said as he came forth to investigate the body "Notice that the marks on this body are not apparent, not even now" Rahl said pointing at the body "I know you slightly, and know that you know what some dark spells do to the body" Rahl said darkly
DF looked within himself and then he saw something odd.
"Moonshadow, do me a favor and cast one of your healing spells" DF asked quietly
"Sure" Moonshadow replied, noticing the rising tension that Rahl brought with him into the room
As the spell was cast, DF went into a slightly meditative state and noticed, with horror, the dark spell that was cast upon the body
"God no" DF pulled back with horror "Please, oh please stop" DF cried with obvious pain within his head.
Moonshadow was awed by the mood change of DF and saw that even Rahl was cringing greatly from whatever was going on and immediately stopped.
"How the hell" DF asked nobody "How could they do such a thing" he kept saying as it seemed as if he was trying to claw the image that was imbedded in his head out "Noooo!"
A few of the group members went to DF as he was writhing on the floor trying to slash at his own head. They quickly took his arms away and kept them from reaching his face so they could not inflict another blow to it.
"I told you that a dark spell had been cast" Rahl said as he contained his horror much better "I knew what would happen so I knew to cover my mind"
'Bloody hell, what damnable thing could do such a thing" DF said as he finally regained control of himself
"Calm yourself" Talm said to DF "Remember some of your training from your time alone. Free your mind"
"You didnt just see what I saw" DF said with as he shook his head some more "See what I saw and know why I suffer. Get his arms"
A few of the other members of the group grabbed Talm's arms as DF focused his mind.
Talm then saw it. Something horrible, eating away at the screaming soul of Valkier. He saw the man's body was completely gone in the spell and only the spirit remained and whatever ate away at the body was now eating at the soul. DF then gave him a glimpse of what Moonshadow's spell did and it sent Talm thrashing about. It was as if it gave ammo to the evil to use against the spirit. The being seemed to pin down the soul with knives as the spell was being cast and the screams got louder, more frantic. The darkness kept moving more inward with the knives and kept hitting more and more vital areas of the spiritual body.
"Stop it...please....please stop it" Talm cried as the images were coming
And as soon as it started, it stopped. He could no longer see the dark spell munching away at the spirit of Valkier and nothing else was seen but the dead body of him. Talm then saw DF still cringing in the corner and knew what he was trying to stop in his own mind.
"Just keep cool, DF" Talm stammered as he tried to think of a way to ease this
"Nnooo, I havvve itt unnndder conntrolll" DF managed to get out as he stood "Rahl, I cannot stand by as this goes on" DF got out
"Good, I knew that you would eventually get to this point" Rahl seemed pleased that DF was ready to take action on this one "You do know the counter-dark spell, right?"
"Correct" DF said as he held out his shaking hands
Instantly, both Rahl and DF were casting the same spell at once and the room was instantly cast into darkness. Waves of magic were eminating from both men as they said the same incantation at the same time.
It looked like arching dark streaks across the room. The dark waves had been replaced by these and for a few minutes, the group was astounded by the ferocity in the attacks but were too stunned to stand in the way of it.
And, just like that, both men stopped. Rahl had stopped cringing and DF looked visibly relieved.
"Want another glimpse, Talm" DF said with a smile and connected his mind before Talm could object
There was nothing, at first. Then Talm noticed that the spirit was released from the dark prison and the dark being that held it there. It gave him closure in his mind about what he had seen earlier, not that he would ever forget it.
"Now Rahl, tell me more about these shadow fiends and how we can all defeat them" DF said with ferocity

Meanwhile, in the forests outside Cademia, another stood on his own. He felt psychic trauma of some sort by his target and another. He also felt the presence of evil around that area.
"DF, I have finally caught you"

------------------
Depressed and mad, DF is not the one to piss off now.


[This message has been edited by Desert Fox (edited 11-14-2001).]

I hate how slow I move with shadow walk Dylam thought as he walked through the plains If only I didn't have to worry about being seen and alerting DF, I would not have to use his damn trick Dylam thought as he got angry
The memories never left his mind. The paladins of Omlang had banished DF for a stupid reason that would get him banished as well if he was ever caught. DF didnt give them the opportunity to find out, as soon as they had got back within the walls of the barracks, DF casted a freakish spell. Dylam had watched as DF seemed to change right beforehand. His eyes went dark and his body shook as if he were possesed. he could have just been possesed back then Dylam said, interrupting his own memory. His mind was now sharper than ever and it seemed as if he had better control of a more immense power than ever.
But that spell. It didnt blow any buildings away. It seemed to tear into the minds of everyone around him. Thankfully, Dylam had learned a few techniques from DF that had kept him alive. He shuddered as he remembered his run through the barracks, trying to escape as he used spells to try and keep these from tearing into his mind. Seeing all the noble paladins fall to the ground dead.
A few days later, Dylam had gone back into the barracks. The spell had died with all the men around. Dylam had barely escaped, his mind was now shattered by the images strewn before him. Dead men. Everywhere. Doing whatever they could so that the spell that had tore into their minds would go away. A few had even stabbed themselves through their necks to stop the pain. Dylam didnt notice anything in the dark realm still lingering here. For that he was slightly grateful at least he didnt use spells that torture the souls for eternity. Then I would have no other option than to destroy him Dylam though as he continued his walk. Ever since, he had been hunting DF but had always seemed to be one step behind him. Maybe he would get lucky. DF might just stay still for him to catch him this time.

------------------
Depressed and mad, DF is not the one to piss off now.

[This message has been edited by Desert Fox (edited 11-14-2001).]

"There must be a way to defend against these Shadow Fiends," Sasha exclaimed, "or else we're all as good as finished!"

"There might be something on them in the library," Lindus replied. The entire group trooped upstairs, joining Ferazel and Selinus amidst the ancient tomes.

"Shadow Fiends, you say?" Selinus peered at Lindus myopically. "I'm sure there's something. Now, would that be under 'Legendary Creatures', or 'Dark Arts'? Let me see..."

Selinus wandered off among the books, muttering to himself. After a few minutes he reappeared with a single book; placing it on a table, he vanished amongst the shelves again, searching for another prize.

A sudden thought struck Wolmark. "What about the Ancient Library? Shouldn't we look there too?"

"Of course Wolmark, you're right! I should have thought of that!" Lindus made a gesture, and a portal opened before them. He quickly stepped through, followed by Wolmark, Talm and Leandra. The portal closed behind them.

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

Ferazel, seeing them all depart without him, grew very angry. He found Selenius, he had located the book, and took both books and teleported off. He arrived at the ancient library, and placed the books on a table. The others had gone off searching for other books. He pulled up a chair and sat down to wait for them.

------------------
Quote ViaVoice, "Hal Cohen help build Satam sand scratch a flat surface scratches that some scratch that scratches that scratch facts scratcher wraked this scratched tax costs tax this. " Is this ViaVoiceian?

Moonshadow stared at the place where the portal had been for a while before remembering she had work to do. She looked over at the others. Katze was standing by the door, seeming rather lost. Darken Rahl and Desert Fox where standing a little away, talking to each other in hushed voices, and she didn't see Brink anywhere. Lochinvar was casually leaning on his quarterstaff, probably waiting for Selinus to return with more books.
Not that Moonshadow thought there would be any really interesting or important books on Shadow Fiends up here, this was the library for students, after all. The only thing they'd find here were fairytales. She stared at the spot where the portal had been, a little annoyed. Unconsciously, she fiddled about the ring, thinking. Then she walked over to Katze and Lochinvar. "You wouldn't mind taking care of this alone, would you? I've got yet another option where to look."
Katze shook her head. "Of course not... given that those books are not in that cryptic mages' tongue."
Lochinvar grinned. "I highly doubt that... there are students here who have to understand them, after all." He paused for a moment. "Where can we find you if we find out something interesting here?"
"Down in the garden." Moonshadow answered without hesitation. She nodded her head, turned, and left, leaving Katze and Lochinvar to wonder about her words.
***
Moonshadow rummaged about the chest for a while, until she came upon what she'd been looking for. It was about the size of her hand, and its polished surface was as clear as a lake in winter. She carefully put the flat, oval object onto her desk, and reached into the chest again. It almost hurt physically even to think about 'misusing' it like she planned to, but anything as dangerous as those Shadow Fiends seemed to be had to be dealt with accordingly. A few seconds later her hand found the other object. She put it into her pocket, took the disc, and left her chambers.
***
It was not an easy task she had set herself. The Shadow Fiend's magic was elusive, and it had taken her longer than she had planned to concentrate enough of its remaining essence from Valkier, especially since it had still been necessary to shield her mind, despite DF's spell. But finally she had succeeded, and now she was looking at the bottle-shaped object in her hand with mixed content and distaste. The dark magic's essence had stained the formerly crystal-clear glass beyond belief, already prooving its foul nature even without further analysis. But the glass had been magically enhanced and what specially designed for that purpose, whereas the mirror... it, too, had been designed for magical analysis, but seeing the effect this evil magic had on the glass Moonshadow seriously wondered how it would effect it. there was no doubt it would give her the results she needed, but there was no telling if she would ever be able to purify it again and thus make it suitable for a new analysis.
"Oh well..." she left the room, heading for the garden with its calm atmosphere.
***
Once there, she chose a comfortably warm, sunlit place to begin her work. She sat down cross-legged, laid the mirror down in front of her, and cautiously opened the bottle to pour the dark essence onto its polished surface. The mirror began to glow as it took in the essence, a swirling pool forming in its crystal depths. Suddenly a blinding flash erupted from it. Moonshadow had been expecting this and shielded her eyes, opening them in time to see how the mirror turned pitch-black. She concentrated for a moment and formed a glowing field around her hands, like magical gloves, before taking the mirror. She closed her eyes, muttering the incantation that would set the mirror to work.
Maybe, hopefully, she would get the information she needed to develop suitable counter-magic against the Fiends.

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

Talm, still shaken slightly by his experiance, was infinitly thankful that wasn't Desert Fox or Rhal. For the first time in the journey, he was seriously considering leaving for Cadimia the with the next group going there. But then, he'd given his word to the Ronin that he would help find Flynn's murderer... and bring it to justice.

Talm struggled mentaly with the problem - sacrifice his freindship with the Ronin, or risk death at the mental daggers of a creture that devoured the core of sentience?

Talm stoped thinking about it and bent his head down. He looked at the book he'd found. Not totaly relevent to the crisis at hand, but none the less interesting. The book was entitled "Focus". No other words, simply "Focus". Talm, incresingly curious, sat at a table and began to read.


--------------------


An hour later, Talm sat the 1/3 read book back on the table and got up for a stretch. He walked over to Wolmark.
"Freind, I've somthing very serious to talk about."

"What might that be?" Wolmark returned.

"I've been wondering if we have any real hope of defeating the feinds. I mean, just seeing what happened... it was terible..."

"I'm not sure, Talm. But so far, we've always pulled through. Just look at the Great war - everything looked bad then. But we survived."

Fresh with renewed morale, Talm thanked Wolmark and returned to his readings on mental defense and focus.

*OoC*
I'd rather not see Talm suffer any more dirrect
encounters with the Shadows, I want him alive and
not perminitly damaged for a future story.
Still, he can't be imortal either, so it's more
or less your call.
Thanks, Bryce
*BiC*

------------------
I saw board 17... and it was good!
(DO NOT ATTACH MEANING TO THIS)

Finding himself with nothing to do, Lochinvar began to wander among the shelves. Nothing in particular caught his eye until he came to a section that was almost empty. Puzzled, he looked at the subject label on the shelf: Curses.

"Strange," he said to himself, before wandering on.

------------------
"So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar."

Sideline wasn't one to wait, if he could see another course of action; unnoticed, he slipped back out of the library.

He only had to question a few people to get directions to his objective. Moments later, he was standing outside the room that had been Valkier's. The door was locked, but that presented no problem at all - Sideline picked locks faster than most people could use a key.

Entering the room, he stopped and looked around carefully; after a moment, he walked straight over to the bed and lifted the mattress. He picked up the book he found, let the mattress drop, and grunted. "Amateurs," he muttered.

The book was Valkier's journal, and contained a record of everything he'd done since being freed from the ring.

Sideline had a quick look around, not really expecting to find anything more. His expectations were fully met, and he left the room, relocking the door behind him.

---------------------------

Some hours later, heading into early evening, the group regathered at Pnyx. Lindus lead them to the northeast study hall; Ferazel feraz-locked the door, as well as the door to the other hall which was the only access to the northeast hall. No chances were being taken on an eavesdropper overhearing what they were about to discuss.

"Well," began Lindus, "several interesting, and maybe useful things have turned up. Ultimately, we have to stop the one that summoned the shadow fiends; but there are some steps that can be taken in the meantime."

The group began to pool their knowledge - both what a few had already known, and what they'd gained over the last few hours.

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

[This message has been edited by Ronin (edited 11-14-2001).]