So, we get back home, and once we finally get settled back into the keep. Sleep came without much effort- we were home, and safe. The sun rose and set when it was supposed to and nothing scuttled in the dark that was unfamiler. When we came around the next morning, though, we quickly realized we'd forgotten a rather important person; Jules. We'd meant to met him for dinner, and then everything had gotten in the way. Ann voulenteered to go get him after things were handled for that morning, Meyone with her, of course.

Of course.

Alaric and I stayed in Befrengaurd, but it wasn't long before Meyone sought us both out and told us that Ann had not arrived in Shoulwater. He was positive he hadn't just missed her. Resigned to Meyone's over protective nature, I explained about the other little paths that portal had extending from it, and suggested that she'd probably just wandered down one of them. I mean, at the time I wasn't wildly concerned. I knew Ann's near obsession with our fishbowl and her father's work in those portals matched my own with Damen and my past, and figured she'd just taken it upon herself to try and work things out. She is as stubborn as I am, and while she claims I drive her mad, she does the same thing to me often.

All the same, I agreed to take the boys through the portal and attempt to find the one her father'd been working on, even though I wasn't sure I could even get to it. I made the attempt all the same, and when we stepped through the portal, I thought for a moment that this was going to be pointless; we seemed headed straight for Shoulwater. Then I hit what felt like a bump in the road, and I was zipping in the other direction kind of- violently. I was whiped into an area that started out black as black and then resolved itself into a lighted area I immediatly recognized as a portion of the fishbowl. Not the part I'd been in, but Ann was there, so I relaxed a bit. Always better to be lost with company, and at least now I knew she was alright.

The problem was, now I'd lost lackies one and two. That is, Meyone and Alaric hadn't poped out here behind me, which meant they were either safly in Shoulwater or somewhere else here. Ann and I decided to pop around the area via those tunnels and see if we could met up with anyone else. After a few moments of this, we wound up poofing above the water, and froze in horrified shock at what we saw. Those creatures in the tunnel, looking like lizard-men, but very much alive. And very much agressive. They were swarming in droves in a city above the water, a city that didn't look like it had been built with clawed hands. As if we needed further proof that these things weren't nessicarily friendly, they came at us.

Ann and I didn't even consider any other options. We turned tail like the little girls we are and ran back through that portal with our tails tucked.

After that, we decided to stop portal hopping and wait, see if the others popped into us. We could see the light of someone phasing in above us. And the next time they did so, it was in our little bubble. And it was, to my surprise, Meyone.

More waiting. Meyone didn't like it, and I wasn't too happy with it either, but I uneasily agreed with Ann that we should wait to see if Alaric found us.

After a long enough time had passed, we resumed portal travel Ann figured out, after a little more bumping around, pretty much how to use the thing, and once she had that basically worked out we could pick a destination rather then pop around at random. We found Alaric at last, completly frozen in time- just like the lizard men. It took some debating, but at last we had Meyone gather him up like a big statue and just carry him out.

We took him back through the portals (now all of them were open, all around us, and I wondered what the repercussions of that was going to be) to Befrengaurd, where Thandreal unfroze him for one thousand gold. Wince. Ouch. That man is not cheap.

But some things, I suppose, are worth it.

From the portals we continued our day as perfectly normal, heading over to Shoulwater once more to see Jules. This time the portals opperated as they were supposed to, and even Ann didn't complain about hearing or feeling anything odd going through.

The 'odd' was on the other side, where we weren't allowed acess to a room in our own keep. The gaurd standing outside the door of the room Jules was in said he had company and he couldn't let us go in. That did not go over so well with the elf and I, and he sensed it instantly; stammering, amusingly nervouse, he told us that if, perhaps, we gave him another task then he would have to do that, and no longer be able to guard the doors. Ann told him to go make sure that woman and her significently elven looking baby were safe, and when he left, we slipped into the room. Jules was there, surrounded by people that must be old comrades, of which we only knew one person- a bard, by the name of Raglan. Well, they knew him; I think I'd met him, once, and he was a pleasent enough person. Jules was seated at the head on the table, and rose to meet us when we entered. He looked a little embaressed, but he also looked like that was exactly where he belonged. He had the air of someone who was well used to being listened to and followed, and didn't seem to mind at all having the attention of this group of men. He just seemed a bit abashed about it being our keep and all.


We appologized about missing dinner last night and explained about what had happened with the portals. Alaric also explained, as he had to Thandreil, what had happened to him in those tunnels; that he'd wandered off utterly on his own down one of them, past the frozen figures of these creatures running the opposit way, and encountered a small, glowing ball of what seemed to be energy.

Rule number one in our small world; if you can at all possibly, conciveably help it, don't go off by yourself.

When we told Jules about what we'd seen, found in these portals, he could offer no assisatnce. It was Raglan who offered more then an educated guess; he told us they seemed to be a race called the Zahn, a spin off of goblins. They maybe weren't smarter in a lot of ways, but they were in a lot of ways, too; smart in a differant way. A higher sort of intellegence, a big cat compared to a wolf.

He asked if we had taken anything from those figures, and to our surprise Alaric produced armbands he'd cut off those lizard men. He didn't tell us much; he gave us a breif history of them; they hadn't been seen for sevearl hundered years, and came from the east. East is a new direction, at least. So far, everything had come from the West. And, of course, my apperantly homelands to the South.

Ann qurried softly as to what Jules was doing- making connections?- and he gently corrected her. Reforming them. He was getting his plans rolling more quickly then I'd ever expected, and I was both impressed and a little concerned. We have enough problems, and Jules has undoubtedly brought more. We'll just to see what happens on that front.

Talk turned to, abruptly, the lycans and the girls. Ann had, it seemed, finally had enough of sitting and waiting, enough of letting everyone else handle Myn and the other girl. The moment she started talking, seriously, about how to free them, my hackles lifted and arched like a cat's back. We'd been told by more then one set of people to sit tight and wait, and not to do anything because we'd get the girls in trouble. Alaric watched in what must have been slightly puzzled silence as we bickered, but in the end I put my head down and let Ann charge forward. My guilt towards Myn's capture squeezed any real argument I had right out of me. We debated about the fact that they were loosing their weaknesses, and how were we supposed to fight the lycan without knowing what to fight them with?

The arugment ran in circles, as conversation regarding that topic usually tended to do. We finally let it drop off, 'cause Ann said she wanted to go find Garanar and make sure he hadn't burned down the forest.

He hadn't burned down the forest, that's for damn sure.

He was playing with what seemed to be, according to Ann and Alaric, fire spirits, though the vanished when we got closer. Ann seemed taken aback, Alaric truely impressed. Yours truely only got that much more nervouse.

After we say our hellos- or rather, the other two say their hellos and I stay my distance and listen with half an ear-and then Ann gets straight to the point, asking him if he knows anything about the Zhan. He doesn't- which actually kinda surprised me- and after Ann spoke to him on a more personal level for a bit, offering to let the druid that fixed our ships talk to him. He didn't want another teacher, and said so in no uncertian terms, n but was agreeable to simply talking to the druid. Then he and Alaric threw a few spells back and forth- the man is teaching the damned goblin to be a fucking menace- before the mention of 'Sacntuary' was made, and he suddanly went somber and left through a tree.

Even I felt bad for the little guy. Something about Sanctuary had made him sad and nolistalgic.


On our way back, we decided that if we were going to do this, we'd need some help. I offered to recruit King, if he wanted to help, and Ann said she was going to go check on the woman and her- um, special baby while Alaric gathered his supplies and such. He also went to talk to Thandril about the armbands and the race of people we'd found in the tunnels.

We gathered back together, after everyone had done what they needed to do. It was still a bit early to go on a wolf hunt, so we loitered about the keep for a bit, waiting for dusk to come. We gathered again to ask Ardremities about our little adventures in the Fish Bowl. We weren't sure if this if this was a threat or something we could use to our advantage, and we wanted to find out. Now.

But he knew only a little more then we already knew of the Zahn. So Alaric went to talk to Thanril and see what other information he could gather. Although, once he left, Ardremities did have a guess as to what that glowing ball of light had been- one of onlya few time elementals. From what I remember hearing, there were five of these elementals, and no one was really sure what the last two were. But this one, apperantly, was pressant, therefore, stopping people in time right as they were.

We left him and before we could do anything else, we were summoned to the dinning hall. Some messanger appeared with a crptic message- something like 'the nest has been disturbed'. Some sutiably mysteriouse line like that. For all my sarcastic comments on it now, it was enough to make the hearts of both Ann and myself leap into our throats.

We talk for a little while, and then like a ghost The Crow himself slithered out of the shadows of the dinning hall. If it surprised anyone, it was only Alaric and Meyone. I half expected it, and I think Ann may have known he was there the entire time. She's fun that way.

He told us- or, more specifically, Ann, that the person we are looking for was in a city called Narond, in the desert.

And then he did it. He boldly, darkly, suggested that Talron would have allied with the empress. Because she was elemtinating all...competition. Ann even went so far as to wonder if, perhaps, he was....he and she would marry. I felt irrational jealousy bubble up because I understood how potentally true that was. I mean, he tolerates and even feeds my little, stupid crush on him, but when you come right down to it, ageless, beautiful, wise, powerful, rich citadel empress vrs.unknown, scruffy, crude, loud, emotional, not-wise teenage brat....with a lotof baggage, some of it in the form of a ring around her neck that attached to a very much alive person. No challange. As violently as loudly as I refused to admit that he would ally with the citadel, or that he would....do anything else with it's empress....that's how sure I was I was wrong.

He also demanded to know where our loyalites lie. Ann, of course, said with the Crow. Big shock; from the way she talks about him, acts around him, I'd say he was something of a mentor, someone to be respected and looked up to for her.

My answer was just as immediate. My loyalites and my heart were with Talron. I felt a stab of guilt as I said it, because The Crow seems to be a good man, and I respect him, from the few times I've met him. But he's done nothing for me, personally, to earn my loyalty. Talron is who I've pledged myself to, and Talron is who I will stand by. I did tell him that, all the same, if he wanted to call on me he could, and that I was sorry I couldn't offer him more. He didn't seem to be angry; perhaps a little disapointed. He said maybe I would change my mind, and I said nothing. Maybe I would; never knew what the future had in store. Ann mentioned that there were three sides in this war that could pull on our reins when they needed us; she didn't say who, but they were, of course, the man in front of us, Talron, and Ivy and King. And then of course, to a degree, there is for myself Damon....and I don't know what I would do if he ever came needing me.

Being split this way probably bodes some major ill for us as time goes on.

The two men left, as did we, and conversation turned back to the lycans and the girls. Ann mentioned, as she had a long time ago, the Pewter Kettle, a hornet's nest for the lycans. She and I didn't dare walk in there, but there were two scents the Weres didn't know; Alaric and Meyone.

And so off we set to the citadel.

We planned on making a quiet, unobtrusive landing outside the citadel.

Fail. We were noticed, in our large, pretty airship, by every person making their home just outside the citadel walls. We were even approcehd by citadel gaurds asking if we wanted an escort, to which we said no, of course.

Luckily we got to the tavern fairly easily, and the boys slipped inside. Ann and I lounged around the outside of the tavern, waiting for a while, and then they exited; Meyone holding the door open, with a vacant, blank look on his face, Alaric looking more then a little drunk, and a group of men with them. Meyone glanced a quiet signal to Ann and I, and we followed at a distance.

We come, soon enough, to a long ally with a large door at the end of it. They knock, they go in, and Ann and I once again were left to wait. Ann slipped off, following them, and returned for me with a disgusted look. Well, she said, they're gonna be lunch.

Men.

So we started to try and find a way to slip into the building. It took a while, but at last Ann found a way in. To be safe, she hid me, as a kitty, in her bag. The next thing I was really aware of was the sounds of Alaric and Meyone, and Ann hissing at them where to find a way out. I heard Alaric's muffled reply, asking where I was; I meowed, as Ann told him I was in her bag. He said something like he didn't want to know, and Ann brough them to an open window. Out she went, followed by Meyone, and, after a scramble I could hear, Alaric. He got seen, but we all escaped unscathed, me riding on his shoulder due to Ann placing me there even as he took a pot-shot at a wolf and then we ran into the crowd.

We finally found each other again and I changed back, though I was rather enjoying the free ride an annonymity being a kitty gave me. The necklace is one of the most convient little things, particularly for Ann; who is, in many ways, already so cat-like. It's fitting.

We made our way to the artificer, to see if he'd contacted my daddy. He hadn't. We also discussed everything that had happened recently, although Ann, being much less trusting of the man, kept me from saying a great deal. We talked about amour and then about the were, and our two lost girls. And then my friend- friend?- said he had an idea of how to find them.....but people may suffer because of it. He wouldn't say who or how, but slipped into a side room, leaving us to wait. Barely a few minutes after, we heard a very familer little bark.

I explained, quietly, to Alaric, that the poodle that followed the bark was non other then Toby himself. He told us, point blank, that we were in charge of making sure nothing happened to his daughter.

Yes, you heard that right. Which is really, not as much of a shock as it should have been. I think maybe we suspected, in the back of our minds.

Then he was gone and the wizards came, gliding back in like a bunch of preditors. It made us all a little edgy. The wizards wanted the girl, to 'make sure she was safe'. Ann, of course, absolutly refused to let the wizards have anything to do with the girl and was tense and angry the entire time; I was more willing to belive we could get the girl more easily from the wizards then the Were, and willing, I admit, to use her predicament for my own means. These people have my father amongst their number, and if they wanted the girl, I wanted to see my parent. I had no intention of letting them keep the girl, even if they got her; but in my mind, it's easier to get her back from wizards then Weres, as I said.

Ann offered an item of Min's, for finding and retriving the girls, and the wizards said they'd see about my father, and make sure that the girls were.....retrived safly. And they were very specific in telling us that Min would be returned to us. The girl they wanted to keep. Ann was sure they wanted to use her. I took the other tack out of sheer bull fucking headedness. I mean, Ann needs someone to disagree with her, even when she's right. Keeps her on her toes.

But anyway, while I disagreed outwardly, I'm pretty sure she's right.

The wizards left, anyway, and our man came back in. We didn't spend much time talking to him, and after we left we headed right back for the keep. The wizards had a were- one of the First, like King. He needed to know. If they had him, well, it was just gonna fucking suck.

When we got back to the keep, I wandered out into the words to find King yet again, hoping it would go better then it had last time. I called for him a couple times, and, as per usual for King, he didn't come right off. I was about to call again, when Alaric spook up, grumpily and sleepily calling King 'dog' and telling him we didn't have all night.

Now, I'm just about the only person in our little group who can get away with being even slightly mouthy towards King, and even then, I'm smart enough to know where to draw the line. And to feed his ego. The moment Alaric spoke, King appered, snarling and moving with purpose towards our newest companion. I stepped between the two, arms out as if my tiny form could stop King. Laughing, more from nerves then anything, I told him not to kill Alaric, that we needed him and sometimes he just forgot his manners.

King told me to teach him some, and that, friends, is easier said then done. Alaric is very differant and yet very similar to Talron. Proud, stubborn, blunt, manipulative, and just a bit judgmental.

We got back on topic, but King already know about the wizardshaving one of the First, knew about us wanting to infiltrate the Were. He refused to help us, said we should have acted when we had a chance. When I finally had cojoled and bugged him enough- we had- he reached out to destory a poor, defensless tree. He informed us that they were nothing without a leader.

And then he was gone again.

So off we raced, back into the Citadel. We decided we were going to attempt anarchy, we were going to cause chaos in the ranks of the Were. We deiced step one was finding out where they were getting the scrap metal to make weapons Alaric and Meyone said they saw in that building they'd been in, which turned out to be a forge. The only place that really made sense to go was to the dwarven distict, so there we went. I'd never been around dwaves, at least, not much, not that I remember. Ann told us that dwarves should be handled bluntly, with no politeness, but we were still not prepared for Alaric's response to the dead end we reached with a dwarven gaurd. But then again, for having told us not to be polite......Ann was awful polite. I had to admit that much.

Acting like a half-drunken fool, Alaric called the dwarf a 'big blowhard' and said he'd bet dwarven ale that he was hiding something from us. The dwarf told him, slowly, that he couldn't realise that information, but if we were searching for a place to live, he'd have to tell us not to go to a certian intersection because the sewer lines weren't functioning right now.

Why does this never work for Ann and I? Why?


Smiling victoriously, we passed him. We ran into potential trouble a short distance away in the form of two human guards beside a 'keep out' sign, but Alaric played the fool again, and again, it fucking worked.

That is just not fair. But hey, at least now one of us can do it.

Once down in the sewer lines- and it was unmistakably that- we found a fresh gash in the wall.

Glancing at each other knowingly, we followed the pipe, and soon found fresh water leading down to dozens of workers. They were cleaning and cooling bits of metal in said water, and they saw us. Ann jumped down to speak to one who seemed to be in charge, then, a moment later, guestured at me that they were coming to bring us down. I stayed calm, stayed in the role we'd come here to play; that of one offered help. One, may I add, that both Alaric and Meyone seemed to forget about. Damn it, I don't like them, either, but if we came to start anarchy can you at least pretend not to hate them? The pair of over-blown blowhards behind me were as stiff and awkward as it was possible to be, and I wanted to slap them both. I reitterate; men.



The lycans sniffed us, knew from the smell what Ann and I had been, and we played that to our advantage. We were perfectly....'honest'.....about what we'd come for. To feed the lycans, because the feeding system wasn't fair. We told him we knew what the hunger was like, Ann and I, at least, remembered; and we wanted to help.

Of course, he wasn't stupid, and called us liers.

We got him to belive that's what we really came for; but our cause got diverted and then derailed when he asked us, to have him belive us, turn an influincial woman who turned out to be Nadir's wife. We just can't stay away from this prick, can we? Playing along, I agreed- Ann let me agree- Alaric flat out refused to allow himself to be turned, but didn't say 'no' to the plan. Oh, come on; like we'd actually go through with it! Or at the very least, we'd be capible of removing her curse.

Meyon, though, fucked things up, because Meyon is, well, himself, and too fucking good for our own good. He stepped forward and blew it, and blew it powerfully out of the water, announcing that he never would allow us to turn anyone, ever, for any reason.

Deceit, man! You and Ann are going to have a real time of it, if you don't learn the knack.

So, in an underground arena, surrounded by hundereds of Were, we took a moment to realize just how fucked we are. One of us, apperantly, weas bound. But we managed to calm the situation down, and the man still told us he would consider our offer of food; but, for the sake of apperance, he couldn't just let us walk out. He gave us a nod, and began to change.

Not a rat, or jackle, or wolf or bear or bore or even tiger.

Oh no, this bitch was a motherfucking Werelion. Without even hesitation a moment we grabbed onto Alaric's arms, and huddled together as we poofed in a panic back onto Ann's ship.


You 'member I said I felt like the time before this was the calm before a major storm? Yeah, you 'member, you're a journal.

Welcome to the fucking hurricane.

So we could do nothing but wait, and wait we did. We wandered the town, found our way back to the historian to get out books back and see if he could offer us anything more. We got the books but no more information, which was okay, because I didn’t figure by this point that anything else we found out would make a huge difference, anyway. I could feel the climax of this story coming, the end of the dream. I think we all could.

Afterwards we headed back to Feldon’s grave at Ann’s whim, to see if anything had changed. At first glance, nothing had, but as we approched, I quickly became aware of a murmuring in the back of my mind. I stopped, not so much alarmed as wary. I’ve gotten disturbingly used to voices in my head. I informed the pair behind me and continued forward, slowly. The murmuring grew louder, though still indistingushable, until I placed my hand on the center rock.

Then I heard, clearly, rest in peace.

I gasped and pulled away, feeling a chill up my spine. It wasn’t fear, exactly; but it certianly
spooked me right the fuck out. Ann apparently was feeling a pulse, nearly a force, that also grew stronger as she neared the center rock. And she quickly became aware of what it was; a heartbeat. She was feeling a heartbeat pulsing from this rock.

It stopped when she touched it.

We decided that my approching with my own half of what we pressumed to be Danel was a good idea. When I did, though, I realized that I no longer heard whispering. Now I heard weeping.

It stopped when I touched the rock.

We glanced at each other, then by mutual agreement pressed our little stones to the rock.
Nothing happened, even though we were all tense, breath held. We were expecting the world to blow up and I think decently surprised when it didn’t.

The only thing that happened occurred when we pulled back, the earth rummbling and shifting back and forth a bit under our feet. We glanced uncertianly at each other and decided it might be a wise idea to head back and leave well enough alone.

As we headed out of the area, though, Ann suddanly stopped, hand at her chest. Before I could ask if she was alright, I felt a fine, sharp pain in my mind, and then, just as fast, it was gone and I was fine.

We glanced at each other again, nervouse and fearful.

The rest of the wait was uneventful once more, until more of our beardless dwarf friends appered at last to tell us it was time to try and fix what had been done to that amulet. We explained to Jhonna- who was with them- what we had done ealier, and she didn’t seem upset by it. We arrived back at Feldon’s grave, and the drawves- close enough, anyway- began doing what they needed to do, Jhonna timidly holding the amulet to allow them access.

Everything was going well, which made me edgy. Things were not this easy, not for us, not ever.

Sure enough, we had all forgotten about two very important things- the child's toy and necklace we'd gotten from Moon Point. We should have known better then to leave them with Jhonna, known better then to expect them to be innocent momentos of something tragic.

Black tendrils started to emerge from the necklace. The phsyonisics around Jhonna went to work trying to stop them, but seemed unable to have much effect; after a moment, in mututal agreement, I went after the pouch on Jhonna's hip in an attempt to hack it off with the toy inside. I dove forward and nearly cut it free, and then Meyone followed up after me. We sliced it almost all the way off before, abruptly, everything stopped as a slender door in the air opened, and once again Sonya stepped through.

She confronted Ann about the jewel, which had been dropped in the chaos and Ann had picked up. nce again, Ann refused to give it to her. Sonya nodded, as if accepting this, and then just- stood back to watch. It was clear to me she was waiting, but for what?

We found out pretty fast. The group began trying to cleanse the nightmare from the amulet once more, and they did it, alright- they brought that old, angry, powerful, trapped nightmare right out into the open. And then they keeled over unconciouse, all of them. And Meyone just- vanished. His jewl hit the earth soundlessly, and it was only Jules, Ann, and I left standing. The nightmare began to walk towards us, slowly, and Jules demanded that Sonya stop it. She told us she couldn't- no one could, now- and slipped away back into her door.

That left us to deal with the nightmare alone, which left us all frozen for a moment. We knew we couldn't fight that thing and win. Not the traditional way, anyway. Ann dove for the amulet, but it was an aborted attempt and she went for her bow instead. Next Jules went for Meyone's crystal and, predicatbly, put himself between the unconciouse Jhonna and the nightmare. He began to fight off the creature, maybe trying to actually beat it, maybe trying to stall, but whatever he was doing was lost to me as I heard a familer voice in my head say now. Now!

I dug into my pack and pulled out what we assumed was the peice of Danel that was logic, and it began to glow, as did Meyone's crystal. And from Meyone crystal, we suddanly got a series of flashbacks; a couple Ann and I were presant for, a couple we weren't. The end scene was one we'd just witnessed; Sonya slipping away into her little exit in the air, telling us there was no way to end this now. But as the scene played out, suddanly, it re-wound and started again in slow motion, and just before the door shut, Sonya winked.

And then the blow-by ended.

We stood for a moment like confused sheep before the action began again, Jules attacking once more and my making my own way over to the amulet, my part of Danel having gone quiet. She was trying to break the stone, it seemed, attacking it with one shot after another, and I bent to pick it up. For a moment, I was terrified to touch it, terrified of what would happen if I picked it up. Then, I felt utterly calm, as logic took over my fear. Fear was just an emotion; it couldn't hurt me, it was no threat to me.

Eerily similar to my earlier thoughts; it was just fear, and it could not control me. I bent and picked up the amulet just as Jules threw Meyone, in his now-amulet form, down the nightmare's throat. Ann shot at the nightmare but it still did nothing, and as holding the two jewls together had no effect I set them both back down and attacked the amulet myself.

Ann's next shot, though, was what tore the thing in two. With the shattering of the amulet the nightmare dissapered, but Sonya reappered. And she wasn't alone. Our part got larger with the reapperance also of the Ghost Lord and Talia, and, with a motion of the man's hand Draughty appered, too, a shifting, oozing mass of black snot that was throwing a fit inside an invisible cage, like a bug caught under a glass.

Some arguing and talking commenced, but what it boiled down to was that Sonya no longer seemed to be under evil's influance, Draughty was pinned like a butterfly, Jhonna and the others were alive and the nightmare was gone. The lord demanded that the dark, shifting form in his invisi-box hand over the third peice we needed, and he gave us the stone eye, which split open to reveal the last peice of Danil.

The mood remained solom and cool as I collected the broken amulet and Sonya approched me. She said, almost gently; 'I can fix that'.

I was getting no cues from Ann, though some part of me trusted Sonya, now. I started to protest, just to see, and Ann stopped me. Sonya herself said she understood my lack of confidence, and she was sorry. I handed over the crystal, after only a moment's more pause. If she'd wanted me dead, she could have killed me when I was out cold. That was a big part of my decision.

She took it, she fixed it; and then she feel, not breathing, not moving. She died. That took me aback rather sigificently; though I think I half expected it. Maybe we all half expected it. But the end result was that the three parts of the whole began to spin once more and again put themselves together, along with what we had stupidly and without checking assumed was the ring of salt around Fera. It wasn't salt- it was little peices of the same item in the amulet, in my pocket, in the stone eye.

And, swiriling, spinning, it began to form a shap. Even Meyone's jewl was tugged into the mess, and then it stopped, revealing the shape of what may have been a man; it had a torsoe, and head with two eyes and a jewl in it's forehead, with legs and arms but no hands or feet, hovering. And, no surprise to Ann or I, it said,

'I have returned- Danel.'

Danel didn't so much as thank us. He started to- hover- off to the west before any of us could think of anything to say, gaping like slack-jawed fools, so utterly stunned by this that words wouldn't come. Finally, the Lord spoke up, demanding to know if 'that was it'. Danel seemed- confused, for a moment, then said yes, we'd put him back togther again, that was it. Ann told him we had a request, and he practically scoffed at us. He told us we and our desires weren't worth his time, pretty much, and that he had much to do. He seemed obsessed with 'keeping the balance'. Dispite Jules's demand that he'd lost his daughter, that we'd gone through hell to bring him back and deserved something for compensation, he refused. He did say he was not without compassion, and turned Sonya into a jem, so that Jules could keep her with him.

I don't know what I said then. I asked him what about the desires of someone more important then us, I remember that, and he said he saw no one. The rest of it I just babbled out, improvising as best I could; I don't remember most of what I said. Something about Ivy needing help keeping the balance and as much as I felt safe revealing about Talron and Nabudel, and the situation. He was quiet for a long time, and at last said that if he felt it did indeed keep the balance, he would become involved. He started to hover away again when Ann asked about returning the Lord of the Land's body to him. Danel said an even trade would be needed; a body for a body. One of us would have to give ours for the Lord of the Land to get his own back. Of course, the answer to that was a 'no'.

Once again, Danel tried to leave, and once again we stopped him. Ann wanted Meyone back. Danel demanded, once again, equal trade; Meyone was a peice of his leg, and he wanted one of her fingers. To my amusment, she put up such a fuss that he changed his mind and offered a truly fair exchange- a peice of her own leg for his. She still fussed and grunted but at last allowed for the trade and then Danel started away again.

Until the Lord of the Land started forward in what almost seemed to be desperation and blurted that he would trade his power for his body.

I hadn't realized how desperate he'd been.

The deal was accepted and the trade was made, and finally Danel made good his escape. I'm not sure why I didn't think to ask about retrviving my memories from him, but then, who knew what he'd want in return for that.

After he left, there was nothing to do but go home. The adventure was over; the journey done. I felt strangly hollow; I was happy to be going home but at the same time bitter-sweet and lost as nothing had ended the way it should have. Draughty- Drauthy had been 'balanced', not killed, apperantly but punished for not keeping the balance; Danel was not how Danel had once been but a broken, flawed version; Sonya was dead, Jules was being hunted, Jhonna was alive but alone, and Fera would be abandoned to re-populate the safer Avendale, which was not safe at all, really. There was a new power in Avendale, a vampiric one, and that....creature....still lived there.

The Lord of the Land and Tallia were going to the elven lands, to try and find what they needed there. Jules and Meyone came with us to our two keeps, and Ann informed Meyone, apperantly, of what she'd done to get him back (yes, he came back, body and all) because suddanly he was her puppy dog. He was always just one step behind her, a devoted companion and bodygaurd.

Oh, this is gonna be fun.

Upon returning to Sholewater, though, we got a rather nasty jolt.

The Citadel's influance was huge here, their colors and flags just about anywhere you turned. I felt my stomach twist into sick knots looking at it, and Ann didn't seem thrilled, either. We disembarked and said our goodbyes, then headed inside. We were instantly assaulted by the same man who handled finacial affairs and such in the castle, who rattled off reports in our ears; then gently and with honesty told us it was good to see us back again.

Ann also got scurried off to see to someone. I didn't know who, really, but apperantly I'd met her once, and she told me to find a way to meet with Ivy. Like I had to 'find a way'. But it did let me slip through to see Talron for a bit, so I wasn't bitching. Jules went to find a place to get a drink, Ann went to take care of her business with Meyone in tow, and I headed through to Befrengaurd.

There was very little if any influance of the citadel here, and I released a relived breath. There was, however, a lot of Talron's influance; his men, his colors, and so on and so forth. Along side of that, there were many, many of his interesting little friends wandering about. Races I'd seen before and some I hadn't. None of them surprised me, really.

I was greeted by the same of Talron's men that usually did so, breifed on everything that had happened, told that the races here were trying to form a sort of peace amoung themselves but needed Talron back. He'd been gone two weeks, meeting with the Empress in the city. No one was sure when he'd return. He did leave me a note, though, that later turned out to be nothing useful, but quiet fun to read none the less. It felt- odd, reciving a letter that was nothing more then mush and affection from him. Now that the attraction was in the open, I wasn't sure what steps to take, and dispite the fact that I was so determined to say I'd made my choice, I could stop thinking how wrong it was. How horrible a person I am.

And yet I couldn't stop smiling as I read his letter.

Before I even opened it, though, I'd been sent to the cathedrial to met with one of Talron's old friends, who was, apperantly, meant to keep an eye on us. And things. He was a cleric, a man named Alaric who was exceedingly formal and stiff; but quite a bit like Talron in a way. He seemed like the kind of man who would call Talron 'friend'; he had a stern sort of gentleness and was mild and polite. He had also, apperantly, met Garnar, and was- concerned- about him.

Had he been anyone else from anywhere else, I may have had reservations about the man, but he was Talron's, and therefore, in my mind, fine. Worth caution for a while, of course, but likely no threat. I greeted him and we spoke for a while, before I leaft and read my letter. Then Ann returned, knocking lightly at my door. I let her in and she explained that that woman who's life she'd saved a while back and who's baby she'd spoken to quietly in elvish had some- troubles- and that the woman would be staying here for a while, protected. I had no idea what she'd done, but whatever it was had drawn some latent elven features out in a child who's mother was apperantly half-elven, and who's father disliked the race.

I brought her to Alaric, who she'd been told about, and the meeting went well. We brought him down to Garninar to assess what damage he'd done, but apperantly he'd only made things better, not worse; and then we decided to bring him with us to met Ivy and King. May as well have him meet them on our watch, rather then by accident.

We brought him into the woods that night (after reciving word from Simon that he was paniced, hiding, angry, and scared, and that he generally hated us and wished he'd never agreed to work for us, summed up) and I guess I really, really wasn't thinking when I dragged a cleric in behind Ann and I to find a werewolf and a vampire. King appered, alright, but he was not a happy puppy, and looked half ready to pounce on and kill our newfound friend then and there.

I still wasn't afraid. King just plan does not scare me; I don't think he ever will. I know, rationally, I should be afraid of him. He could kill me without so much as an effort. But I don't think he will, that's the thing. So I put myself without hesitation between Talron's friend and King, and told King to calm himself right down; it was fine, he was Talron's. King snarled and growled but didn't attack, as I'd guessed he wouldn't. He was not as he usually was though; he barely said two words to us, and was clearly pissed off.

Ivy, too, when we got to her via the same route we'd taken before, was cold and irritated. It only got worse as we'd told her what happened, and soon she was as snipy and grumbly as King. If I'd been less worried over Talron and more frightened of this pair the way I should be, I would have been truely afraid of the shards of ice that seemed to fill the air around her. She bristled and hissed like a wet cat, although she did take better to Talron's companion's pressance then King had.

Usually I would have spoken to King, or spent a moment or two making sure he and Ivy were doing well- at least attempted to- but I highly doubted that was a good idea at the moment. As not afraid as I might be, I'm also not stupid, usually. King dropped us back off in the woods outside of Befrengaurd keep, and went as quickly as he came, anyway. We were headed back to the keep when Ann suddanly went all alert in the way she did when we were being watched, when she'd seen something that wasn't nessicarily supposed to be there.

To our relive, it turned out only to be Dagon. He looked; differant, but good differant. His eyes were gold and his skin carried a faint gold tinge to it. We greeted him and he us with the usual amount of not-quite-warmth Dagon possessed, telling us he'd never really left and informing me that he'd not seen the man in black around at all. He did phrase it as 'that person', though, and was very careful with his wording as I asked him more about it, until it at last came out that he was wary of King. Apperantly my furry friend had been hanging around, and had a disturbing resemblance to the one that had attacked Dagon so many weeks before, sent Dagon off to- wherever he'd gone, or not gone.

I informed him that, to me, anyway, King was nothing to worry about, no enemy of mine. Dagon accepted that, and greeted our newest member easily, though he didn't so much as acknowledge Meyone. After he'd gone and we were heading back, Meyone said it was because Dagon hadn't seen him. There were a number of reasons why that could be, and not knowing exactly what Dagon was, nobody got overly concerned. Everyone else could, apperantly, see Meyone fine, and that meant it was likely just whatever Dagon was that prevented his seeing Ann's not-so-little-shadow.

Who, by the way, had been told to take care of Ann by Ivy..... once again, this will be fun.

And so yet another chapter has been finished. We're home, we're safe-for now- and it seems that while a lot has changed, a lot has stayed exactly the same. We need to rest a while, and then our peace will end once more. Ann's airship crew is here and she will have us flying after Sparrow in no time at all. I wonder how much time will pass this time before we see home again, if in fact we get back alive at all, though dying is not something I like to think about. Besides that, I have my father to try and find, and do any more digging on myself I can. I passed up many opertunites on that island to do so for a few differant reasons, but now that I'm back on familer ground I feel comfortable prying around a little again.

So if this chapter of the book is closed, why do I still have that weird feeling of waiting, like something very big and possibly very bad is just about to happen? Like we're still right in the middle of water too deep to swim in? Maybe 'cause it is, and we are.

Ah, well.

We can't catch a break. Not ever, not once in our entire fucking lives.

Butterflies. Those beautiful little blue butterflies we saw swarming in the woods around Carolyn. But now they were on fire. And how the fuck do you fight off burning butterflies? You don't, that's what, and instead you yell at each other while the skin is scalded off your bones until two of you finally remember that, oh, duh, there's a phsy crystal in Semie's pack, maybe just maybe we should use it on the butterflies that can't be real.

By the time I'd yanked it out and started trying to figure out what to do with it, we were pretty badly burned. So I did the only thing that made sense- I tried to ask it to help us.

Total blank out for I'm guessing a good several minutes. It was that kind of blankness where you know the answer to a question, it's right there on the tip of your tounge-

-and then Meyone touched me, and I jerked out of it. Ann and Meyone both looked a little shell shocked, and it took them a good couple moments to explain everything that had happened. And forget shell shocked, when I heard it I was freaked right the fuck out. Apperantly the butterflies were gone because Feldon had reappered and made them go 'poof', all the while reaching for the thing I held in my fist. Or me. I feel better saying he wanted my pretty shiney rock, though.

He'd done the typical roaring about 'the stone eye', apperantly, but the whole time been fighting off some force that was pulling him back and away; eventually, it apperantly did pull him away. Meyone told us that something had been differant, though he couldn't put his finger on what; something besides the force trying to rip Feldon apart, it seemed.

As Meyone pondered and Ann and I tried to figure out what step two was supposed to be, Carolyn suddanly appered from the woods, looking, again, mostly like a little girl but with that horse very near her still. It watched protectivly as she came running up to us and asked, as any sane person would, what had just happened. She had apperantly 'felt' Feldon come and go, like a ripple in the earth (disturbingly similar to what Drauthy might feel, I assume) and thought she heard Feldon's voice.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason she came. She'd been thinking, apperantly, and reitterated for us that it couldn't have been her nightmare that attacked the town because her nightmare wasn't a real nightmare. After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that the thing in Jhonna's amulet wasn't Catalina- it was a nightmare. A nightmare that had not been defeated by the amulet but instead basically absorbed by it. That nightmare was probably awfully pissed; and incredibly strong, given all this time to gather itself.

It was only after Carolyn leaft that Meyone suddanly barked out that Feldon hadn't said 'find the stone eye'. He'd left out the 'find' part.

We had the thought, at that point, to bring this little shiney to Jhonna and see what, if anything, happened. We had the typical worries; what if Sonya was our enemy, causing all this bad shit to happen, as we'd been concerned about in the past; what happened if we fucked everything up by doing this? We didn't know what could happen or what we might cause.

We decided to do it anyway. We brought this to Jhonna the next day, even though Ann was acting- completly off kilter, the way she had when she'd failed her oath using that damn bow of hers. I poked at her a little, but we didn't have much time before we were approched by gaurds and told that Jhonna was wanting to see us. We were brought back into Jhonna's home, where she stood, looking beautiful and more alive then she had in days. She greeted us warmly enough, only dissapointed that we didn't have more to offer her. I hesitated before telling her otherwise, and Ann finally spoke up, informing us that she had seen it fail i nher dreams.

But she also reminded me that she wasn't supposed to dream.

She left it up to me, in the end, and I handed over our last chance, last hope. She took it from me, and then promptly asked if something was supposed to happen.

How anti-climatic.

At least, until suddanly she informed us that she understood, and apperantly more happened then we were at all knowledgeable of because she told Jules to take off the amulet. After a few assurances from us, he did so, and the tension in the air was palpable. But when he took it off-

-nothing happened. For a second it looked as though that may have been a mistake, but then Jhonna was alright, and rounding on Sonya.

She demanded to know why Sonya had done what she had done, confirming our suspicions that she was a villin in all this mess. Sonya only laughed at and mocked us, then opened that door in the air again to let something else start to come into the room. For a second it seemed nearly everyone was frozen but, amusingly enough, myself. I did all I could think of to do. Mentally and physically, I screamed about now being a good time for some help, and dove forward towards Jules, snatching the amulet from him.

And then a bunch of things happened in very, very quick sucession.

The first was all mental. I could hear voices, thoughts, words, ideas, that weren't at all my own, that soothed me somehow none the less. And for some reason, part of those thoughts seemed- personal, in a way. They said things like, wasn't this how it was supposed to be? That stands out the clearest in my memory.

But also, I could sense that nightmare, feel it, an overpowering, overwhelming pressance in the amulet, holding the woman who'd worn it in the past all prisoner in there. Hundered years plus of power, all held together in this little necklace and all ready to blow.

Damn.

The next thing that happened was rather a blurr, but it ended in the familer, defiant cry of a girl and then Carolyn was there- Carolyn in all her firey old goodness. She caught just about everything on fire, singed us, and chased Sonya and that thing back. It melted the chain of the amulet and the thing hit the ground with a soft chime.

She looked downright embaressed for a second, and turned as if to apoologize as her flames went out again. Then, suddanly, she just- fell. Toppled forward and landed inches from the amulet. She stretched out her hand and whispered for her mother, and then, like that, was gone.

The nightmare was gone, too, after a mournful whinny.

There was a pause, a solom, helpless silence as we all realized just how deep in we'd become. Jhonna had relised my little friend ealier, apperantly, because it was on the floor now, too, and both the amulet and it began to spin madly. We all fell into typical position; some of us taking an instinctive protective stance more in front, others just behind, ready and wary. The two halves of a whole actually lifted into the air and formed a triangle from each other out, but there was clearly a peice missing- the last peice.

You guessed it, sweet, the stone eye. That was our mysteriouse stone eye.

And we thought it was a person.

Jhonna gathered herself after a few moments and we discussed what needed to be done, before Ann, Meyone, Jules and I decided to head for Avendale and see into bringing the stone eye back. Ann instisted on going to our little girl's woods to see if we could perhaps make use of the not- really-so-much-horses we'd used the services of before, but she and her nightmare seemed to be well and truely out of the picture, at least for the moment.

So it was on foot, halfway through the day, that we rather stupidly left. Of course we didn't even make it to the half-way point before night fell, and though we could have pushed on, we decided it was better to rest rather then be exhausted if something happened the next day.

Bad choice.

I can't tell you exactly what happened, as I was asleep for it. But I do know that, not for the first and probably not the last time in my life, I remember pain, lots of it in large quantities, and then.... nothing else for a long time.

Next thing I remember I'm waking up in a clearing of sorts, surrounded by people and stones. I felt better, and apperantly I wasn't the only one that had been knocked for a loop, because Jules was shuffling around beside me, and there was evidence that we'd both been towed here. I wasn't sure what happened, but Ann and Meyone filled me in on the details. Although, amusingly, it was Meyone and not Ann who told me that I'd been dropped some feet from the air in Sonya's hissy fit.

I was irritated but far from surprised. Besides, I understood why Ann had refused to give up the amulet, and I was alive, if bruised. So it was all alright, for the moment. Anyway, I had no time to dwell. Ann seemed to think there was a door to Sanctuary through this place somehow, and wanted help trying to find it. We looked until we growled in frustration, but found not a hint of a door. At last I pulled out my Pretty-Shiny-Danel-Rock and tried, as I'd tried so many times before, to talk to it. I practically begged it to help us, and, to my amazment, it relucatantly agreed. It only really offered yes or no answers, not speaking in very many full sentances expect to express annoyance or to insult me.

It had not been like this before. It had been calm, almost gentle, a mild and paitient voice that spoke up when it chose to. This voice, though, was all attitude, impaitence, rude, annoyed and clipped. It was agressive and bitchy to listen to, and it decided that playing a fake game of hot and cold with me might be funny.

It had me frustrated to the point of tears when Ann suggested I close my eyes and just focuse, think logically about the situation and stop chasing my own tail and berating myself.

The instant I closed my eyes I could see, and the oh well fucking duh hit me hard enough to take the wind out of me.

In the back of my mind, I heard slow, sarcastic applause. Bitchy damn fucking thing.

That coffin. In the coffin in Avendale, I'd had my eyes shut but been able to see perfectly, and completly, in the chaos after, forgotten about it. Now I had the same thing occuring, and could see what I needed to do to open the door.

I walked forward to the obviouse spot in the middle of the area, and place my hand on yet another shiny that was there. A door slid open in the ground a few steps away, and I grinned sheepishly. I felt like an idiot, and said so.

My pretty rock informed me I was not. I was surprised by that, to say the least. It wasn't a total asshole, then.

We went down into the doorway and were greeted by a creature that spoke druidic (for once in my life, I can say, my Kingdom for Illoria!) but soon realized we, y'know, couldn't, and switched over to a rough common. It lead us through a doorway when I told it what we wanted, and we saw to our dismay, once inside-

-one of the same tables we'd seen before, the tables that had a direct link to the portals we used and then some. Ann launched into a barage of questions about it and the portals, answered to the best of these rock creature's abilities- there were two more in there- and I listened and didn't add much. I wasn't sure what Ann was trying to get at with her line of questioning and I wasn't, also, entirely sure I wanted to know.

At last she stopped, and not long after our beardless friends showed up. They told us they couldn't bring us back, as their home had fallen under unwanted attention since the last time, but they did, of course, want to help. We explained we thought that the stone eye might be in their home, and with some quick mental exploring they told us our thoughts were wrong; the stone eye, they'd always assumed, was with Tallia. Yes, it had been part of the culture for a long time. No, they did not have it, and it was not hiding itself with them.

Ann mentioned the nightmare in the stone, and this changed things drastically. No longer was the goal 'get the stones together', it was now, 'cleanse the amulet then get the stones together'. But they needed a way to do so. Ann suggested perhaps requesing help from the Lord of the Land, which did not make the beardless ones very happy, but they had no better ideas. And all we could do was wait and see if he helped. They told us to go back to Fera, which was safest for now, and wait there. They'd get us home, at least. Ann asked, and they provided transportation.

Transportation turned out to be something that looked like a dragon made of air. It was a beautiful creature, not really frightening at all. In fact, it reminded me rather of a very, very large pet. It seemed more then friendly and happy and Jules did not seem surprised or displeased for it to be there. Ann, Meyone and I scrambled aboard- Jules mounted smoothly and with clear ease.

Yeah, he'd done that before.

Our ride home was uneventful; for once, we did not get attacked by anything, nor did we get attacked once we got back. We dismounted and Ann offered the creature a touch in thanks, though her fingers barely connected before it was off again. Jules told us it was called a method.

Apperantly, he'd been around them before.

Jules had also, before we left that underground place, told us he had some concerns that needed addressing once we got back. We were back now, and wanted them addressed. He took a deep breath and launched into it.

He explained more to us about himself and, consequently, his fears about General Kale. The dark rider, remember him? Yeah, you remember him. How could anyone forget?

Anyway, not only was Jules worried about the man returning, but he'd seen those tables before; those tables that connected to the portals. Some people in his army had used them, and not for the best of intintions nessicarily, either. Also, they had used the things and creatures associated with it to make the strange armour- that wasn't really amour but a lot more- that we'd seen Kale wearing. It was what, apperantly, gave him the ability to alter his form, and not, apperantly, fully die. We discussed it at further length, and Jules admited he was fairly certian that the rider was an elf who hated elves. Exiled, perhaps, or some such.

He was, in truth, the least of our worries. Although the table thing purturbed Ann and,to a much lesser degree, myself, we had too much on our plate as it was. There was nothing we could do about the rider, the tables, Jules's past exploits, or our portals- any portals- right now.

We couldn't do anything right now, in fact, but sit tight.

So tight we sat, until the climax of this insane, horrible adventure finally came.

What was that about 'not being heros', Ivy? I don't think I heard you.

So this gant's back, minus his big flying beast. But he does have the help of three stone, flying beasts- gargoyles, big fuckers coming at us like nobody's business. We dismounted, one after the other, and stood there, preparing the fight these things and then take the dark rider as a team-

When a new voice rang out. It called the drake rider 'General Kale' and it was familer. It should have been, because it turned out to be Jules, who was calling both a challanage and a threat.

Being over three hundered feet away, I couldn't see him well, but he looked pretty duecked out in full armor. And after yelling threats and insults back and forth for a while, Jules finally raised his sword.

He flashed it at us- or, I realised when she and Meyone reacted, at Ann. Meyonne leaned over and, to both of our surprise, told her to go, that we had this. Today, he said, was not the day we'd die.

Ann and I shot him a look, then shared a look, and then Meyonne made the choice for us- with a roared challnage he stepped forward to meet the gargoyles.

Two of them swmaped him instantly and one turned it's attention to me. Big an' ugly took a swing for my middle, but missed by a wide mile and I laughed and taunted it, intending fully to piss it off. It worked.

To my side, Meyone took a viciouse strike at the pair on him, and I'll give you; I may not always like the guy, but he's damn nice to have on your side in a fight.I turned my attention back to my own dance partner, and in a few quick strokes it fell. Easy as fuck, and it barely touched me.

Therefore, I waited for the other shoe to drop.

And drop it did.

The ground under my feet rummbled, and I was less surprised then I should have been when that thing came up and at me once more. It was pretty annoyed at my irritating self, but then, I'm used to that. I've even started to enjoy it, how fucked up is that?

But I could see how this could go from annoying to deadly real fast.

If we didn't put these SOBS down where they would stay that way, they could wear us down throughly.I suggested, after a moment's thought, taking them all down at the same time, because when only one was left standing only one got up, and that nearly took us down. These fuckers had Meyone a gasp from dropping wehn we finally had the bad boys lined up where we wanted them- or more or less where we wanted them- and Meyone told me he could take them down or at least wound the last, enough so that if I was fast enough I could drop it after him. If we didn't take them all down at once, then it was game over. It was risky, but he had this cold confidence and arrogence that was contageiouse. And suddanly I felt that we 'had this', as he'd told Ann we did. I met his eyes and nodded with almost no hesitation, and then that huge, fucvking ungainly weapon he carried sliced through the air as smoothly and skillfully as anything.

It ripped powerfully and effortlessly into the monsters, bringing down all but the one, as we'd assumed would happen. I took my chance the moment he fell into stillness again, darting in like a smaller wolf on the heels on the alpha and it fell. This time, they stayed down.

Meyone was ready to cahrge into round two with Ann and Jules, and I barely managed to stop him. We could see Ann and Jules circling nervously, like two wary animals, around a ten foot tell metal monstrosity that used to be out lovely black rider.

We really need to start coming up with some more creative nicknames. Soon, we're going to run out of variations on 'dark' and 'black'.

And I absolutly refuse to allow even one more seasoning name. Period.

The oint has been lost- and it's that Meyone was about to rush into battle with this thing before his wounds had been even minorly tended to. I stopped him- and in retrospect, I'm surprised I was able to- and managed to get him to submit to a healing potion. Then we were both running towards our companions and round two of this battle.

By then, it seemed, Ann had wounded the thing enough to change him back, and one arm hung pretty uselessly by his/it's side. We watched as the two delivered the final blows to it's/his body and sent him crumbling into dust like one of his little minions that had been attacking Meyone and I. Jules told us it wouldn't stay down forever, but with luck, we'd be gone by the time he was fully functional again.

Then we headed back into Fera, us to see Carolyn, he to Jhonna.

We found Carolyn right off, this time, and so began the most trying conversation in Ann's life, because after last time I mostly kept backed off with my fool mouth shut. Unless I loose my temper I'm usually pretty good at delicate conversations (not the best, but not the utter worst either), but Ann handled her better then I knew how. She fast-footed her way through the conversation, being so careful, so delicate- but still, the girl knew. She knew and I watched with my breath held and my entire body tensed to run, to fight, as she grew more and more upset-

-and then, somehow, it just.....went away. As Ann slowly and delicatly circled the conversation around in loop-the-loops and worked the long dead little girl into realizing what we already knew- that to solve anything, we needed her to face what had happened the day of her death, the ones preciding it, even- the fire in her seemed to die.

No, I mean, the fire in her litterally seemed to die. As if you were slowly suffocating flames, they flickered and fell dead all over her body, revealing a pretty, solom-eyed little girl who could just as easily been one of the kids playing in Fera's houses right now, or doing chores.

Almost, anyway.

And what triggered this amazing change?

An admission that shocked us, or at least me, only half as much as it should have.

The historian's records were right. The girl had killed her mother.

Because she was a dream. And keeping her alive for all that time had killed Catalina, who'd wanted a child with Feldon so badly she'd dreamed one into life, and somehow even death hadn't ended the dream.

The ghost of a memory. Poetic.

Once again, though, it all came back to that fucking amulet. That amulet was, as best as we could tell, when was keeping the fate of Fera sealed, and keeping this child hanging around.

Something else she told us, before we left; actually, one of the first things she mentioned to us. Jhonna's daughter was actually, quiet likely, stronger then Catalina. Stronger then herself, even, and we'd been told she'd have been one of the strongest dreamers around, if she'd lived and grown up.

Gotta wonder how that woulda worked, a dream being a dreamer. Gotta wonder if she would have lived to be an adult at all.

Degressing.

Sonya didn't need that amulet, is the point. But, like the stupid, stubborn little bitch she is, she wouldn't refuse it. If she just didn't put it on, the whole mess would end, here and now, easy as licking butter off a knife.

But she wouldn't, because heaven forbid the herd gets frightened. They might all run off a cliff or stand in the rain with their heads up and their mouths open, stupid birds, and then what?

We left her at last, and then it was time for the Imparting Of Information That Might Have Been Nice To Know Before, Meyone, Thanks. Not that I can blame the guy, really. I mean, I have a rough enough time admiting to people something as mediocre (medicore? Maybe that's downplaying it a bit) as my lack of memories. It's private, it's personal, and whenever I have to admit to someone that no, I don't remember you, and no, I'd really rather not say why, thanks all the fucking same- it makes me feel like I've become, for a second, vulnerable. I get peevish and waspish to make up for it, and I don't stop being a bitch for hours after.

Of course, I'm generally a bitch anyway. Ask Ann. Hell, ask Meyone, that'd be more entertaining. Come to that, I'd like to hear myself.

My point is, if I get so testy over something like that, I can imagine how he must have been over the news he had to share. Something much larger then a lack of memory. More like a lack of anything.

Meyone was not- um, well, he's real, I guess, but he's not-

Meyone is a motherfucking memory. There. So much for trying to put it delicatly. So much for trying to figure out another way to phrase 'dream'. I'd be here all damn day, and he is not worth the headache.

Anyway, he's very similar in nature, I suppose, to our little girl. A memory or a dream that can be touched, (or she could have been, before), eat, feel, sleep, think, act, react and generally be. One that can, apperantly, get hurt or be killed.

One that can feel.

When he made his announcment to us , I felt empathy and no small amount of wonder as he explained that the necklace he wore was what, apperantly, was keeping him in the general state of here-ness he was in. That his entire family, his entire town, was dead, none of those people we'd spoken to had been anything more or less then what Meyone now was. It was sad, it was incredible, and it didn't change my veiw one wit on Meyone.

Yes, I felt sad for him; yes, it was all very tragic. At the same time, it wasn't all bad; who knew what could happen, with a memory trailing along behind us? None of us knew what, if anything, Meyone's pressance alone would change or effect. We didn't even know if he could be killed.

But in the long run, to me, he was still obnoxiouse, self-righteouse, arrogent, cold, stiff-as-a-spike- and a general pain in my ass. All meant in the most good-natured of ways, of course. I dislike him in the friendliest manner a person can dislike another.

So to me, this entire admission, this guilty confession, meant nothing for longer then a few heartbeats.


Whhhhat the fuck, waitaminute-

How sad- poor guy-

This could be useful-

Why are we still standing here?......

Yeah. My brain pattern, behold above. I have the attention span of a magpie, no?


And besides my own general lack of real deapth of feeling-

This particular ball never came anywhere within range of me, anyway. This? This was all one pretty little blond elf's ball to play.

Ann complained, in the past, that when Talron and I are in a room together, everything outside of each other stops exsisting. She could strip naked and dance with Ivy in the corner to some exotic music while King tapped out a beat with his claws on the stone of Befrengaurd Keep, and, according to her, we'd neither of us ever notice.

(In the above situation, however unrealistic and laughter-worthy it may be, I highly beg to differ.)

I saw what she meant, though, as it was happening here, now. It, much like Meyone's confession, didn't bother me. In fact, I felt very much like a younger sister spying on an older one, watching them; I could feel myself grinning and no matter how hard I tried I could not stop it.

Ann told Meyone that if it was any consolation, he seemed real enough to her. And he, more quietly then I think I've ever heard from him before, said it did help.

And then Ann said out loud that perhaps Meyone shouldn't be here when the war that was coming to this land started. So that he couldn't be- used.

Snap. Twist, pop, crunch, squish, crush. Moment dead. And I'm not talking poke it with a stick to see if it's still moving kind of dead, I'm talking get it out before it starts to stink kind of dead.

Aren't elves supposed to be a romantic concept? Wise, elegent, beautiful, graceful, blah fucking blah? If Semei Might Very Well Be Delfote Who The Fuck Knows Anymore can carry a moment, then why the hell can't Anjha-Can't Spell Her Last Name To Save My Half-Way-Illiterate-Ass?

He went instantly from quiet and almost distant to indignate and confused. Hell, so was I. There's a differance between undead and a memory, and she knew that, and I told her so. Of course he was quick to agree. I then asked where he was meant to go, then, if he couldn't be a part of a war that was soon enough going to be everywhere. While she floundered for a reply, he caught her eye, and again I was not there.

It liiiiiiiiiiveeeees! Quick, call a healer, this moment has a heartbeat!

Don't let Ann tell you it wasn't a moment. She can't do it with a straight face, anyway, and I bet you all the gold I don't currently have that she wouldn't be able to look you in the eye.

......Yes, I know you're a journal, therefore, you shouldn't have an eye. Nor should you honestly be able to have anyone 'tell' you anything.

I think I might be a little tired.

Anyway the point is that he told her that wherever she'd go, he would follow. That it was his destiny.

And I could no longer help it. I started to giggle. Ann was flashing me dangerouse looks and throwing threats on my life out on top of it, and Meyone's expression was helplessly confused. I started to laugh harder, and kept it up until we got back into town.

My laughter fadded pretty quickly then.

We were stopped part-way in by a very fasmiler ghost hound, but before any of us could do anything, a door opened in the air, and Sonya stepped through.

What? Casual is wrong, somehow?

Oh, come on, here. So far we've covered giant vampires, worlds of the dead, werewolves, ancient cities, beast-people, vampires, conspiracies, rocks that talk, druids, dryads, sea monsters, dragons, draconians, cities under cities, more sea monsters, shadow people, blinky spiders, fish tanks, elves, magic as a general whole, undead, terrifying monsters as a general whole, ghosts, people who turn out to be memories, stepping into the past via dream, generally evil and powerful men usually clad in black, and variouse differant variations of limbo, up to and including the Boneyard, and an entire slew of fuck all knows what else.

A DOOR OPENING IN THE AIR IS NO LONGER A STARTLING FACT OF LIFE. Thank you, that is all.

So she steps through, and what is a pretty fucking huge deal is that she dismissed the ghost hound with a casual wave of her hand.

She told us she knew what we were up to and that she wouldn't let us do it. She told us that she would not risk Catalina's wrath, and she would rather allow the curse and deaths to continue rather then piss off the woman we thought might reside still in that necklace.

Cowardice at it's best.

I knew I didn't like Sonya.

She wasn't doing this for the town, she was doing it out of fear. Fear like the rest of the people here, fear like a stupid sheep. Fear of the unknown, fear of power.

We were all afraid. I wake up everyday afraid. For myself, for Damon, for Talron, for Ann, for the people and- other variations on people- at both our Keeps. For Dagon. For Ann's Sparrow, wherever she may be. For two little girls trapped in the hands of a monster, and for two decent creatures trapped in the role of monsters. Even for Simon, and a werehunter who's name I don't even know and only met once. For a sweet little old shopkeeper in the citadel. For everyone I've met and worked alongside and come to care about even a little, who will be caught in this thing that we can all feel is building and building like one fucker of a storm.

For a while, that fear controlled me, made me not do things I might have done, made me second guess myself. No more.

Fear is a tool to be used, sharpened until it becomes anger which is refined to become purpose.

I'm afraid, but I am no coward. I can't stand cowards, and I was looking at a city full of them save perhaps Jules and Jhonna.

We ignored Sonya pretty much entirely and marched ourselves right up to Jhonna inside the city, anyway. Jules was there, too, helping her- she looked....pretty rough....and Sonya, as well. Who was 'helping' but more mostly shaking us like a terrier with a rat using her glare alone.We pulled Jules to the side- the shaking had turned into ripping us into tiny shreds- but the moment we started to talk Jhonna just keeled right on over. We had about two minutes for on fuck we've killed her before a wind started up in the room and did it's best to upset just about everything. Jules took off over to Jhonna's side, while we stood i nthe corner feeling useless.

When it became apperantly that Jhonna was still kicking- if weakly- and everything had settled down, Sonya was sent out of the room to get something for her mother. I don't even remember what, now, seems unimportant. When she returned, we dragged Jules away again to finish our conversation in hushed tones- as much as we dared say and some we probably shouldn't have. We wanted him to know everything we did, or as much as possible.

Funny, how the ones person I really trust on this island outside of Ann and Meyone (yes, okay, I trust Meyone) is the one man I know is hiding the most from us. How fucked up is that?

Speaking of being the only person I really feel we can trust, apperantly my opinion was shared, because we assumed we'd be safest sleeping pretty much in his backyard for the night.

We will learn to stop assuming things, some day.

And so we're in Aveendale. We're standing there, staring in amazment as our rides suddanly turn into creatures very, very much like the Beast people we know and love. Ann is about to faint dead away in sheer awe beside me as one of them adressed us, telling us it- he- knew why we'd come and that we had friends here, before they all let themselves back into their stalls and were horses again.

Then we had Company.

And we scattered like spooked barn cats.


We ducked into every shadow and avalible shadow, and then the old man entered and talked soothingly and knowingly to one of the horses, then calmly but firmly demanded we come out.

And some part of me trusted him.

So I stepped out quietly, hand resting on my dagger. He regarded me quietly a moment, then grunted.

“You alone?” He asked, or some variation on it, and to Ann's disgust I said 'no' after a long pause.
And he called around a bit more until Meyone and Ann stepped out. He greeted Meyone as a son of Jaradul, and and then lead us out into the night. He took us to an old shed and ushered us in, and for a moment or so it seemed like this was simply to be a place for us to spend the night.

Then I found something.

At this point, I had gotten pretty skittish of acting on my own- as I kept fucking shit up, after all- but I was pretty interested in the soft, perfectly round patch of wall I'd just found. And after Ann made sure it wasn't trapped, and I had given her time to investigate, I could wait no longer.

I poked it gently.

I poke things, it's what I do. Give me a fucking break.

I poked it and I broke it. I also break things.

Sand started pouring down like an hourglass, and Ann clamped her hands to her mouth, her expression nothing short of accusation.

Excuse-fucking-me, Miss I- Think-I'll-Slice-My-Hand-Open-With-The-Death-Knife/Run-Off-The-Path-Into-An-Ocean-Of-Goblins/Make-A-Deal-With-The-Giant-Talking-Arachnid-Person/Bring-Home-A-Goblin-That-Does-Not-Act-Like-Other-Goblins-With-Budding-Emotional-Ranges/I-Could-Go-On.

And all, of course, without saying a word to anyone. I have the right to do things my gut tells me to do, too, and this was far less rash then it appered to be. Well, as the sand fell away, what seemed to be a rock goblin of sorts that stood easily taller then this room and had to stoop over was revealed.

Frankly, what was going through my mind at this moment?

Not what you might expect. It was more along the lines of:

This is the most fucking incredible thing this is so awsome oh fuck oh fuck it's going to eat us I'll die happily oh fuck oh fuck pretty.

Because I really didn't have a lot of conviction that this was a dangerouse thing, this thing. And as it moved, we all became very aware of a distant, gentle brushing sensation, as if something was touching us, wrapping gently around us, we could not see. And it smelled like flowers. Like outdoors.

Anything that pretty, smelling like that, could not be bad. Right?

The thing opened wider, and wider, and eventually I heard a voice sigh in my head, like the sound a man makes when a great weight gets hauled off his shoulders. Pure relife. I recognized it, and it make me more curiouse then upset, as it didn't seem to be maliciouse in any way. If it was my shiney rock, and it had decided to start chattin' it up with me, I was comfortable with that. So long as it didn't play head games.

Amazing, what I was comfortable with.

So we stand there, me bouncing on the walls of my feet in curiouse excitment, Ann wary and watchful, and Meyon just downright hissing and spitting. A light began to glow, and the touch and smell grew stronger, and then suddanly we were looking at a beardless dwarf. Oh, don't laugh at me, that's what it looked like. I've not got much experiance with dwarves, but I've seen a few, and that's what he looked like, mostly.

And then I heard something along side of It's alright, it's safe, and that was that for me. So I stepped forward like a moth to flame-

-and Meyone's arm snapped out, rigid and halting. I had to smirk. He might not like me, but his do-good, knight-in-shining-armor brain just wouldn't let me wander into danger. I wondered distantly why he cared if I got hurt.

Why I cared if he did.

Strange realtionship we have, us two. Combine it with his loyalty to Ann and her strange tension-that I swear and will never stop swearing is pure attraction (ew)- it makes for an interesting dynamic within our little group.

I can't help but wonder what happens if and when we leave Fera; if and when we go home.

Home.

It's amazing how far away from it I feel right now, and how much I want to go back. Yes, okay, all this is my fault and it was my idea to begin with, and I mean to see it through to the end if I can, but that doesn't mean that I have never in my life wanted to see Befrengaurd Keep and the people in it I've grown fond of, or Shoulwater and it's keep so badly in my life. I want to make sure Talron is alright, that he knows we're alright. I want to meet my father, and see that sweet old shop keep again. I want to see King, and Ivy. I want to check on Simon, and be in the citadel I'm familer with and used to.

I am, when it comes right down to it, fucking homesick. Isn't that pathetic on way too many levels to count?

Off topic. Getting back to the point.

Meyone was gaurding Ann protecitvly and keeping me at bay, but the small man standing in the light reached out and gently touched our minds, a strange, pinging sensation, telling us to come with him and assuring us that it was fine. Without the words coming out of his mouth.

I thought Meyone's hackles could go up no higher. As for myself, I simply ducked under his broad arm, for I am short and can do that, and made my way up to this new person.

Ann and Meyone followed my lead. Abruptly, it seemed, I was sort of in charge. Which is new, because usually that's Ann. But they toddled along after me, and once that big creature had settled back in place and the door closed once more, the man brushed gently along our minds again, his mellow voice calm. He greeted each of us in turn, knowing Ann for an elf- in fact, he called her quite elegently 'Elf Maiden Anjha'- Meyone for being a man of Jaradule; and I couldn't help but throw up my hands and roll my eyes as he turned to me and said, calmly; "It's good to see you again, Semie."

Does everyone and their fucking cat know who I am?!

He introduced himself as Dagget, and I thought I saw Ann dip her head to hide her smile. Wisely. And then we were off in yet another series of questions, stories, explinations and concerns.

Let's sum this up by saying Dagget knew, oh, I don't know, everything about us and why we'd come. And what he didn't know, he got by gently feeling in our minds for it, a sensation hard to grow used to but not unpleasent. He explained that this was the only way he could speak with us, through this mental conversation. It was a mostly one sided discussion, and we found out more through him then anyone else.

He told us that 'the council' was finding a way for us to get in and out of Aveendale where our prize was being kept, but they hadn't come up with anything solid yet, nor a way for us to get back again. He told us he knew who we were looking for, too- Daniel- and why, and he also happened to know who had sent us here.

He also told me that his council just happened to be the ones who erased my memory.

Yeah, this people, in an underworld society beneath the city where the ones that erased my memory. Apperantly, Damien and I had been here before, too, been here a few times before. And I'd been here with my father.

This strange man knew my father, fairly well; and apperantly at least knew of Ann's, as well, though that didn't surprise me considering who her father is.

He also explained to us that the reason why my little rock might suddanly be chatty was because of the psy crisps around the area, giving it a little extra kick in the ass. We also found out a bit more about Danel- IE, he'd been trained by an 'entitity' and had been missing for a really, really fucking long time. He'd been the most powerful kind of person like him around, and if she'd grown up, if she'd been given the chance, that lttle dead girl in Fera could have rivaled him.

She had so much potential, cut short because of scared inane bitches in a tiny, scared town.

We also found out the beast with her was called a Nightmare, and they hunted people with inporperly or nuntrained use in the sort of abilities Cataline had, and her daughter. They'd been created and warped and were now evil, ugly beasts that should not, logically, befriend the people they were sent to hunt. It was a good thing, though, if this one had, because it prooved the hold that person who'd created them- which just happened to turn out to have quiet alot to do with the vampire monster those childern and we'd been fighting- was weakening, loosening.

By the time we got to the main area we were supposed to be, the main 'city', we'd gotten so much information denied, verified, contradicted or argued over that I almost couldn't take in the amazing sight in front of me.It was no Naubudel, but then, I'm a bit biased- but it was beautiful. Magnificent and grand and huge and elegent, I had trouble ever equating myself with a place like this.

But there is was, plan as the little hairless drawf under my face.

We made our way in, and were brought straight away to the council. I don't mind telling you I was plenty fucking afraid, here- I mean, this was the same council that had done- whatever they'd done- to me. But if they knew me they didn't show it, didn't even hesitate before they were 'pinging' us- all at the same time, a mix of thoughts and touches so loud and intrusive for a moment I thought I was going to scream.

And then it stopped.

The council's speech became more deliberate, more- communiable, as they actually spoke with and not a us. Now I could notice what they looked like- and some of them looked pretty fucking freaky, let me tell you. Huge, oversized heads that probably held huge, oversized brains, and way, way too many arms.

In the end, they decided they were going to send us into a place that was esentally a 'mirror world' of our own, a kind of another version of 'limbo', deeper even the our oh-so-lovely boneyard, to get Talia out. Because it was the safest way.

Seems that vampire-monster creature those kids and we were fighting was more then just a random whack job out for as much mayhem as he could cause. Oh, he was much more then that, and if he sensed us coming after Talia- well. It would be game over. This man hated those with power and he ahted wizards, and he wanted both sides dead.

So this was the only way to get in and back out without the man sensing us doing it. Dispite our reservations and fears, we agreed. What choice did we have?

Don't be heros, keep your heads down.

Since fucking when do we do any of that?

So we rested for the day. Meyone was dead-set agianst any of this and just about on the point of bursting something valuble, and I doubted there was anything anyone could say to calm him down. So we just waited.

That soft touch we'd felt before returned, and now it did things like make breakfast and help us with our armor. It was accompained by a soft, gentle voice and that scent, and it was always, always, totally invisible.

But it was sweet and dotting, and reminded me, strangly, of what a mother or a sister might be like. It made me smile, and few enough things do that anymore.

Meyone, of course,was just about frightened of her. Big baby.

The next day it was time for us to be off, and no one waisted anytime. We were given last minute advice, then the process began. Meyone clutched both of us like a child clutches a beloved toy and we clung to him in turn, none of us even a little ashamed of our close-pressed group huddle.

It didn't do any good anyway. About half-way through we were aware of voices rising in argument and fear as Something Started To Go Wrong.

Of course it did.

Of course it did.

Because nothing can ever be fucking easy. Ever!

As we're rotating, dizzily and sickeningly through blackness, suddanly Meyone was ripped away from us, violently flung one way while we were torn the other.

We landed safely- um, relitive term- on the other side. Neither of us knew what had become of Meyone. But when Ann took a step, the ground under her feet sent out one massive ripple, like a stone tossed and skipped across a pond.

Somehow I had the feeling that was a Bad Thing.

I didn't get much chance to muse on it, becuase before we could decied what to do next, we were plucked from the ground by a massive wind like two wayward leaves and dragged.

And then we were standing in an impressive entryway, staring at a man who we both knew instantly even though we'd never seen him before.

This man, who had plucked us so neatly from that other side and dragged us back here, right to his feet was the Lord.

We had options, here. It was either, we are so fucked, or wow, okay, so this is good.

Either way, the man had brought us here to protect us from our vampire friend, who he said he didn't belive was as banned from that other side as the council had thought he was. We found out morea about him, too; fond out that he was a weapon being used but a weapon that could also backfire at any moment. This man also said that he'd exected three of us; we expalined what happened to Meyone, and he could offer us nothing to make us feel any better. He could, though, give us what we were looking for.

He brought us straight to Talia. It was that fucking easy.

She stood before us, elven, blind, ever youthful and beautiful, with the longest hair I'd ever seen and pale skin, and a calm, gentle face. She rose when we entered, instantly sensing the pressance of strangers; Ann and I were trapped like foxes, unsure what to say or how to say it. Finally I croaked out a greeting- I think I simple said her name- and she turned to me, her blind eyes unnervingly on their mark. I told her we'd met before, and she knew me as the captian- or the one who'd been her captian for a while. I had to smile a little. Yes, here I was, in the flesh. And she turned to Ann then, knowing her as one of my- um, ghosts. Spirits, whatever.

We told her as much as we could remember, everything, from start to finish. She listened quietly, not looking overwhelemd or confused at all, which amazed the fuck out of me. I guess after as long as she's been alive, it's hard to confuse her.

So what's Ann's excuse?

That's another joke, people.

Anyway, her end answer was so simple, so obviouse, that it couldn't be al lthere was to things.

She suggested seperating the horse, the Nightmare, and little girl. Seperate them, she said, and maybe the spirit could rest in peice.

I highly doubt it'll be that easy, but it's the most we have to go on. And even after we left, it was still the most we had to go on. Talia could give us nothing else and it was the best idea we had to date, actually.

The Lord took us out to send us home, but he'd made a request of us before taking us to see Talia- that if and when we found Danel, that he should try and return the Lord to 'normal'- make him just your average, living, breathing person again. Because apperantly Danel could do that. He could have done that for the little girl, too, and I'll make a note for myself just in case not to forget to find out what was done with all her things, and maybe where her old house was.

There might be no point in my knowing, but I'd like to, all the same.

We told the man we'd pass on his message, and then he sent us back into the city under Aveendale- where, as I told her her probably would be, Meyone was waiting for us.

He was- differant- a little too differant. Too suddan;ly relaxed and at ease with the situation around us.

I put my hackles up and watched Ann do the same. He offered us an expliantion but it just didn't fly. But there was nothing to be done for it, so we rested one more day waiting for nightfall so we could leave Aveendale again.

While we rested and waited, we we enterained some more by our helpful little invisible lady, asked around about the clockwork mechinations that we saw everywhere here so like the ones we'd seen before, and found out that there people didn't use what the people i nthe citadel did- they used 'copies' of the real thing, which didn't last as long but were easier to control and wasn't, may I add, as sadistic as pretty much trapping a living beasts's essence into a clockwork body.

I also asked around timidly about Damien, but not as vivaciously as I may have in the past. I told you already where my head is on that one; I have my chain of events happening in the citadel in an attempt to get my answers, and what was I going to find out here that wasn't only going to frustrate and confuse me more? I did try and remember, to see if I did remember anything, and there were times, and places, that, sure as fuck, I could remember sitting with Damien, laughing with him, walking and talking, being with him and enjoying it.

I crammed it all in the back of my skull viciously and refused to think about it for the rest of the day.

I made my choice, damn it.

I did.

We were finally taken back out into Aveendale, pleased to see the world as it should be and wasn't on that mirror sidfe, and made our creeping, sneaky way back to the stables. The gaurdians in there agreed to give us a ride back home- again, we noticed the odd changes in Meyone, how he was no longer timid of these rides- and once again, it seemed like all was well.

Then?

The gnat showed up again. And he brought friends.

And yet more Drakes and infedels, but no vampires this time. For once.

So, we're almost home free, right? We're thinking, alright, we're out of the woods, we're almost home-

When boom, the world's biggest gnat decides it's time to erradicate the elf. Of course, in doing so, he's gotta go through us.

I don't think he had much of a problem with that.

And so, once again, we're off into a fight. For a while it was pretty one sided, with him being feet in the air and us being, you know, not. We hack at slashed as best as we could at it, but it was tearing into us until it showed up again.


The gryffin.

Meyone lept on it and then collected me, and we wound up leaving poor Ann earth bound as we swooped around in ariel battle.

Then dumbass me decides to get Meyone above the drake and jump down onto it's back.

I'm not sure how I didn't fall off. Not when I jumped, not when I swung at the rider, and not when the rider took us feet above the earth, and not even when we came downwards in a violent spin. Though I did wind up hanging onto the tail for dear life until I finnally got thumped off. I did mostly the work of keeping it distracted, trying to hold the drake rider off of Ann for at least a few minutes until she and Meyone put the fuckin' animal down, and now we suddanly had turned the trick on him.

So of course, like everything else has been, he ran away.

We took a few moments, swearing and grummbling, to lick our wounds, then we got on the gryphon again and flew back towards Fera.

It ditches us about half way there, though, and we quickly realize we have a problem.The Gryffin won't fly us into Fera, and there are about fourty billion zombies skulking around the outside of the ring of salt.

Meyone went all self-sacrificing on us again, and this time we couldn't stop him. He charged away, leading as many of the zombies off as he could, so we could get through. We then had to watch, helpless and frightened, as he fought his way back through.

He made it, though. Thank fuck, he made it. The only man in the world who could bully his way through a bunch of undead and come out fairly unhurt. I wanted to laugh with giddy, dizzy relife. We'd had one too many times we'd nearly lost one another now, and somehow we always seemed to get out of it. So far. Crazy-ass man fits in with us two more then I think he'll ever admit.

We were rapidly approched by Jules and sevearl frightened looking men; the change in Jules was a shock to none of us, I don't think. He was dressed for a fight and carried his weapon like a part of him, like an extension of his body. No wonder Ann'd had her hands full with him, if he was as good as his image suggested he was.

He told us that these things had appered soon after we left and that Jhona was pretty much exhausted, fro mher own impending death and keeping these beasts at bay; but he took us to her anyway. She did look worn and weak; but dignifyed and proud none the less. I have the feeling very little could reduce a woman like Jhonna to anything less.

We told her everything we'd found out at Mon Pion, everything we were speculating, found ourselves in what felt like desperation- at least to me- to offer something solid throwing her every bone we even thought we sniffed.

She was dissapointed in us. For everything we'd gone through, we didn't have one peice of solid, undeniable evidence or answers, and that's what she wanted. I understand it at the same time it irritates me. To her, to Sonya, time is preciouse. But they can't expect us to magically solve a mystery this tightly woven in a day.

I wish it was that easy.

When we finally left- leaving her with the items we'd found at Mon Pion but keeping the books with us- Jules stopped us before we could go to our next port of call.

He asked us if we even knew the story of Mon Pion. We said no, then I, at least, wished I'd not said anything at all.

The story was grusome. It told of the man who was Mon Pion, who had lost his daughter and wife and stole other people's childern to replace his losses. But in stealing them he couldn't make them love him, and he wound up killing them and feeding them to his dog. And when he finally stopped, the dog didn't, continuing to lure childern to the man where he killed them and fed them to her.

In the end, one of the stolen childern turned out to be his granddaughter. His daughter was alive, raised by another family unbeknownst to him, and when her husband chased after the dog to retrive the baby this alllll came out into ugly, blaring light.

In the end, to save the child, the man threw himself and the child out the window of the tower of Mon Pion, and the dog plunged down after them. The child survived- the man, the husband, and the dog did not.

You see how we tied this story in pretty naturally with the curse of the ghost hound of Fera, the story confirming many of our suspicions. I think Jules meant it to discurage them, in which case he was pretty damn far off the mark.

We headed back to a researcher, scholar-esque man that Fera had who'd helped us once before, to see what information he'd found for us.

Paraphrased? Catalina never made it to Aveendale. She stayed in Fera and had a daughter that could, in my mind anyway, only be one man's. Feldon's. The man guessed instantly that that's what we were thinking and asked us to make certian that we kept that little idea to ourselves. Feldon, he said, was a hero here, and to destory that for these people without proof or purpose was only stupid and cruel.

We'd just have to wait to smash their hero when we had proof and purpose then.

So anyway, supposedly this little girl ended up making the wrong kind of friend; the kind of friend who went around, apperantly, burning down houses. A horse who went around burning down houses.

Caroline denies until she's blue that it was her horse. And yes, I did say 'Caroline denies', as in pressent tense, but we'll get to that later, boys and girls, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, with this disaster occuring people wanted someone to blame, and you guessed it- an innocent little girl was their scapegoat.

People make me absolutly sick sometimes. I can't imagine what pathetic, cowardly sheep these people must be, to be so quick to place the blame on a child, a little girl who'd done nothing wrong and hadn't meant to harm anyone.

But hell, hadn't we seen much the same thing with Catalina, on the ship? Yes, the moods of those people had been influanced by that monster, but all the same they'd been eager and willing without any extra help to throw all the blame on one head.

Frightened people are like scared sheep. They bleat and run in circles until you point them in a direction, and then they mindlessly run that way until they fall off a cliff.

Fucking idiots.

Anyway, you can guess the end result, right? Kid ends up being killed, as, coniencadentally, does her mother. And who else finds the dead mother but Feldon? He claims it looks like the daughter killed her.

Yet another death blamed on a hapless child unlucky enough to be born with some kind of power, of ability.

Illoria mentioned a couple times when she was around that people, that her own mother, had been frightened of her. I wonder if it was anything like this. I also recall more then once seeing Ann scorned because of what she is- our drake riding friend isn't even included in that number, although he's a biggy.

Damn, people are stupid.

Degressing.

The fact of the matter was the whole point came around to Feldon is a two timing, lying son of a bitch and no one wants to hear it, so shut the fuck up and sit down. At least, as best as we could tell.

We headed out again and found Meyone, who was helping out with Zombie Duty. The things hadn't gotten past the protective ring around Fera- yet- but there were groups of people ready just in case-

well, just in case.

Night fell and, spurred by our discovery of the burned girl's magical dissapering body, I decided I wanted to go back to the place where Ann, Meyone and I had first come into Fera; the place I'd heard those kids. As with many of my choices recently, Ann wasn't too damn happy with me, but she agreed to come anyway. Meyone stayed on the entire other side of town, still on Zombie Watch.

I was surprised that either Ann or I even considered sleeping, with those undead nasties prowling around the outskirts so very close to us; okay, so many the door was closed for now, but how long until they managed to break it down and come storming in to eat us all? Not a very happy thought, let me tell you. And one that kept playing out in my equally unhappily vivid imagination.

Getting our minds off the Zombie Squad turned out to be remarkably easy; Ann and I started to talk. In a low murmur we began to speculate and discuss again, whispering through ideas and theries, trying to work out at least one other possible sequence of events. But everything tied right back into that damn necklace having a power of it's own, and Feldon hurting Catalina by betraying or denying Catalina and her child. After all, Felodon had a fiancee of his own- though I forget her name and don't much care about it, to be honest, as for some reason I don't much think I'd have liked her and I don't much care for her even in memory. Don't ask me why- I doubt any of this is her fault, and I suppose the correct person to be angry at is Feldon for causing this whole mess. Impotent frustration seeking an outlet, I guess. Normally I try and burn that off in violence.

But there's been enough of that.

Disturbingly, we realized that just about the only thing to do was go to Aveendale and see if we could find the woman Ann and I had spoken to in the dream; the elf-woman. But that was a journey in and of itself, and then there was the time it would take to find her.....as I said, time was pretty damn preciouse right now.

It was then that all thoughts of saving Jhonna took a flight right out of my head. It would be time to get to Aveendale, and possibly another day or more to find her and get her to Fera, or get information from her. And then journeying back.

Jhonna would be dead before we returned, or near to it. This was no longer a rescue mission; this was a mercy mission, an attempt to save Sonya while she could be, to prevent this from happening again, because there was no way we could help her mother now.

Maybe it sounds cold to you, maybe not, I don't much care. But in my head I sort of clicked over and Jhonna became a dead woman walking. If Jhonna was dead, I could focuse better on Sonya. So I let her be. No sense in mourning or fussing over it; we didn't come to Fera in time to save her and that was the end of the story.

Maybe it means I'm pretty fucked up, if that doesn't bother me the way it should.

Anyway, We end up dealing with the zombie squad's massive STONE EYE group bellow, and I'm not asshamed to admit we both squealed like little girls. But as soon as the zombies belted their usual littany at us, they all vanished. None to slowly, we went back into town and collected Meyone ,and the we headed back over to Jhonna but she's down for the count and Sonya is her mouthpeice. I have remarkably less respect for someone a quarter of my own age, and we just about tore into each other, we two, over weither or not Catalina had had an affair with Feldon- her beloved Feldon.

In the end I shut up and let her belive whatever she wanted. We left again, frustrated and tired of meeting dead ends- but then Ann took us back into the creepy direction-changing woods.

And there we got our biggest break of all.

In the deapths of those woods, we found the same firey horse Ann had been seeing, and beside it, a little girl.

On fire.

Caroline.

Her hair flamed, her eyes were empty, burning sockets. Her cloths were ruined and scorched, her skin much the same, and yet she was smiling. It wasn't a pleasent smile, if only because it looked like yet more flame waited behind that sweet smile. She stood next to the horse and petted it, and it, the animal of the dangerously black coat and deadly flaming hooves (amoung other things) nuzzled her affectionatly, the way a dog might muzzle into the hand of a beloved partner.

We glanced at one another uncertianly, then Meyone and I fell back, letting Ann take the lead. She approched slowly, with us right behind, and spoke softly. She told the girl that we'd come to figure out what had happened to her- and to her mother.

And that was the big mistake.

"Don't talk about my mother!" The scream nearly ripped the flesh off us, it was so fucking hot.

Nothing. Can. Ever. Be. Easy. For. Us. Ever. Just once, I would like some nice, normal, sane, living being to sit us down with a drink and a hot meal, and say, 'yes, this is what happened, this is what you must do, listen carefully.'

Just once.

And so we began the tediouse and careful process of quzzing and questioning a girl who could kill us without ever meaning to.

We pretty much just had a bunch of information confirmed, didn't learn too much of anything; like I said, she swore blue that her horse wasn't the beast that had been setting houses on fire. She also said everyone in the town was really nice to here, especally Feldon, and Feldon paid attention to her and told her stories and such and so on, to the point where our suspicions were confirmed more and more.

About the second time she roared for us not to talk about her mother, I started to get antsy. We'd asked just about everything we could, time to go. But Ann stayed, and chatted with the girl like an old friend. I found myself charmed by her, too, dispite everything. She was still just a little girl, and a rather sweet one, apperantly. Poor baby hadn't deserved anything those people had done to her.

She was just a child. A child had shouldered the burden of the fears and ignorances of adults, and suffered for it.

It wanted to go back and shake them all. No, they hadn't been the ones to do it, but they were the only ones I could take my irritation out on.

She knew the elf-lady, too, turned out, had heard her name spoken, but hadn't the foggiest how we could get back into Aveendale to find her, let alone without getting caught again.

We asked if perhaps we could ride the huge black horse, but that was a no-go....but apperantly, he had friends would could ride.

Boy, could we ever ride.

These were no horses. These huge hulking black beasts that appered when we finally angered Caroline enough for her to leave- we kept, stupidly, bringing up her mother, though it was hard not to- they ghosted out of the blackness and bowed to us. We bowed back and mounted- Meyone with hesitation and more then a little trepidation- and suddanly we were flying. These horses moved without moving, flowed like water under us so even I, who couldn't ride for piss and doesn't do big animals well, was enjoying myself.

They raced headlong down slops and hills, tore without stummbling up the other side. Their feet barely seemed to touch the earth, and they moved so rapidly I was barely aware of the dark blurrs that were the other horses racing along side me.

The day-at-least trip back to the city took all of twenty minutes, and gaurds at the gates?

What gaurds? They never seen saw us. We cleared their damn gate and the horses took us straight away into the stables.

And then they weren't horses anymore.