************************* [Dark] Compendium, Chapter II ************************* Eldarion looks to his gear to ensure he has everything he will need on for the journey. Eldarion unrolls a bundle he finds in his saddlebag, and takes out a sheathed long dagger. He moves his mount next to Zeph's, and hands her the blade. "This blade was forged by the court wizards at Tynntangial." Zeph draws the dagger and finds that the blade is not steel at all, but a light blue glass. Eldarion continues "The glass which makes up that blade is stronger than the hardest of steels. It will never break, and never needs sharpening." Zeph runs her finger lightly along the edge, and yelps as the blade slices her finger. "This really is sharp! I'll have to be careful with it." She then resheaths the dagger and attaches it to her belt. "Thank you Eldarion". Eldarion nods, and holds out a ring. "This is a signet of our house. It has some wards which can help to turn a blade from your skin. It also marks you as a member of House Elessidel." He places the ring in Zeph's hand. Zeph takes the ring and places it on her middle finger, finding that the once too big band has shrunk to fit snug. As Garrison mounts the horse he has summoned, 'bush' returned from their place b>in the field out back. "We see everyone is ready to go! Those creatures we b>sensed in the forest are still there Eldarion, they didn't move last night. b>Zeph, Old One, you don't know any of this, so we will explain. Last night, b>we sensed a presence in the forest...something which the trees had not b>encountered before. Our first thought was that they were the same sort of b>creatures that attacked Eldarion and Zeph before. Now, we're not sure, but b>we still feel that these are the same sort of creatures. As we have to pass b>through the forest, we advise everyone to be one their guard, as if these b>creatures are hostile, they will most certainly attack us there. That said, b>Eldarion, how do you feel we should procede?" Eldarion thinks for a moment. "Beroth left early this morning to get the lay of the land. He should be back soon. Can you use your talent to get the general direction of the things you speak? The 'gate' we must use is a days ride that way." He points to the south. "If they are in that direction, we'll either have to scout a way around them, or take them on, depending on their strength of course." He looks around him. "I wonder what keeps Beroth?" ________________________ z> Looking up in the sky, Zeph declares, "I can't see him, perhaps we should z>be off and Beroth can meet us later. Should we leave a message for him at the z>Inn?" She drops her view from the brightening early morning sky and looks z>towards her cousin anxiously."I don't want to desert our flying friend, but I z>don't want to wait for those Darkgaurds to catch us standing around either." z>She squirms a little in her saddle, as she waits for an answer. g> "Fear not little one. With the birds-eye-view that Beroth g>has, I'm sure he will be able to spot us on the road. He does also know g>the general direction that we are going. He will catch up." Garrison g>replies. Eldarion scans the sky once more. "Perhaps you are right Zeph, we should get going." Eldarion dismounts and whispers something to Dardt, who then streaks towards the south. "I've sent Dardt to scout out ahead of us. I'm going to leave a message for Beroth with Hugh." Eldarion goes into the inn, and reappears a moment later, and mounts his horse. "I left a message for Beroth to head in the direction we discussed last night. Shall we be off?" With affirmative nods from all involved, the party begins to ride south. (with 'bush' walking, of course) Garrison, almost immediately upon beginning the journey, suddenly inhales sharply, and brings his hands to his forehead. "I feel........" Concerned, Zeph asks "What's wrong, Garrison?" Garrison shakes his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts, and then smiles at the halfelven girl. "Tis nothing, dear Zeph, a momentary intrusion of a memory from the past. All is well." Zeph nods and smiles at her old friend. After addressing Zeph's concerns, Garrison turns his blind eyes back towards the inn. "No, tis nothing at all..." He mutters under his breath, through clenched teeth. Zeph looks back towards where Garrisons is turned, and sees Sera waving. She smiles and enthusiastically waves back. ___________________ The richly dressed man watched the party the moment they came down the stairs of the inn. As they finished breakfast and moved outside, he casually moved from his table facing the stairs to one where he could look out the window. He watched as the green 'thing' joined the party outside, and the party mounted their horses. He was no darkguard, but he was one of the Dark One's tools. An assassin under the employ of Soros, the Dark One's vassel. He had been given a tool to do this job. A rod of power which would take them all at once. The rod was tucked in his belt, ready to use. He had to take use it outside. He had been warned of the wards at this low-life inn. Sera, seeing her customer had moved tables, went to see if anything was wrong. "Is everything all right here? Can I get you anything else?" The man, who was distracted by the goings on outside grunted "No! leave me." Sera, somewhat taken aback, walked back to the bar and pointed the stranger out to Hugh, giving him the sign of a possible troublemaker. The man continued to watch the party and saw them all looking up at the sky. All except the blind one. "As soon as the flyer shows, I will take them!" he thought to himself. Suddenly, the large elven warrior dismounts and heads back towards the inn. Panicking, the man moves hurredly away from the window, and heads up the stairs clutching the rod. He turns back when there is no sound of pursuit, and watches as the elf walks in, looks around, and heads for the barkeep. The elf talks to the barkeep for a moment, then heads back out the door. The stranger, seeing he had not, in fact, been discovered by that damnable elf, comes back down the stairs, goes back to the window, and watches the elf remount his horse. "It must be now!" the stranger mutters to himself. As the party begins to ride south, the man rushes to the door, throws it open and points some type of rod at the backs of the departing party. Just as the rod begins to glow, a heavy frying pan comes crashing down on the man's head. From the doorway of the inn, brandishing the frying pan, Sera waves goodbye to her friends. ______________________________ g> "Perhaps we should stop and give them some help." turning g>towards Eldarion "I know that you are not very trusting but then we can g>at least keep an eye on them. Its had to sneak up on someone if they are g>standing right infront of you." turning to 'bush' "We can also make g>sure they only use dead wood and make sure they do as little damage to g>the forest as possible." Garrison suggests. g> "I, myself, prefer to preform random acts of kindness. Sometimes g>they are contagious." Garrison says with a smile. "The decicion is yours." z> Zeph nods in agreement with Garrisson as she smiles lightly at her z>cousin. Eldarion frowns as the good will beams from his traveling companions. Were this just a regular outing, he would have no problem in helping out someone in need. But these were far from ordinary circumstances. Nevertheless, at the prompting of his cousin, Eldarion agrees. "Very well my friends, let us find these unfortunate people and give them what aid we can. Dardt, te faan le tu!" At this, Dardt leaps back into the sky and can be seen skimming the upper branches of the trees. "Dardt will be up looking for any signs of trouble." Eldarion once again scanned the skies above them, then the sur- rounding forest. "I feel there is danger out there. I am concerned by the fact that Beroth has not rejoined us. Let us help these people and move quickly to the hidden gate. Time is now against us!" The party moves toward the area where the broken down cart is. (I thought Jon should continue from here, as I have no idea what these people are on about.) ________________________ Some minutes pass, when the men are finally finished with > the repair of the once broken wheel. Zeph overhears Eldarion declare that the > fix should hold for atleast the duration of the travellers' trip. As he returns > to his horse, Siler says, "Good man, you and your companions are welcome to a > warm meal. I would like to reward you for your kindness and it is, after all, > practically time for a good lunch." g> At this Garrison speaks up. "Eldarion. The day is still young g>and we have much ground to cover yet." To Siler he says, looking about 2 g>ft. away from where her(?) head actually is. "We thank you for your g>offer, but we must be going." Garrison thinks to g>himself. _______________________ b>"What do you think Dardt, will he accept?" Dardt looks up at 'bush'. "No b>little one, we do not think so either." 'bush' pauses and frowns. Somehow, b>I think that not accepting might be a good idea... You had better get b>back up in the sky, Dardt. I have an odd feeling. It maybe nothing though. b>The forest isn't exactly comfortable with four were-creatures in it. But b>still..." 'bush' smiles over at Dardt. "Don't worry,we will lookafter b>your master in your stead for a while." With that reassurance, Dardt b>leaps toward the heavens. 'bush's smile quickly fades as they head toward a b>dead tree overhanging the crossroad, making no noise, and invisible to any b>casual on-looker. Unfortuantly, the on-lookers 'bush' was worried about b>wouldn't be casual. Still... __________________ Eldarion thinks on Garrisons words. "Yes Garrison is right, we are in a bit of a hurry." Just as Siler turns from Garrison toward Eldarion, she is startled by a small flying reptile streaking past her face and landing on Eldarion's shoulder. Dardt growls something at Eldarion, and the elven soldier looks visibly shaken. Eldarion apologizes to Siler over the abrupt arrival of Dardt, then walks over Garrison's side. "Dardt has been to the crag of rocks where the 'gate' is, and says there are elven soldiers there. He also says he can see things in the forest, moving this way. Though he could not identify them all, some of them are most certainly Darkguards." He pauses, watching Zeph pet his cooing friend. He moves Dardt onto Zeph's shoulder and continues. "The things that are headed this way are still many hours away. The 'gate' is now less than an hour away. I must see these soldiers for myself. They may or may not be Darkguard. I don't know about these folk" he nods in the direction of the cart. "But there is some safety in numbers. If you and 'bush' will stay here with Zeph, I can go to the 'gate', check things out, and be back by the time you are finished with the meal we have been offered." Garrison thinks on Eldarion's words, then nods in agreement. "We should be safe here while you are gone, my friend. And a warm meal would be nice...I will of course check the food before any of us touch it." Eldarion smiles and clasps his friends shoulder. "I will not be long." Turning toward Zeph he says "Zeph, would you mind watching over Dardt while I am gone?" "Oh yes, I'd love to, but only if you promise to be careful while you are away from me." Eldarion smile at his cousin and retrieves something from within his cloak. "Worry not, I will soon be showing you the wonders of Tynntangial. First things first though....I think you should take this back and keep it safe with you." Eldarion hands the scroll to Zeph. Eldarion mounts his horse. "I will be back soon!" He moves his mount closer to Siler "I'm sorry, I will have to miss your meal, I have an errand to run, but my friends will definately partake." He motions back towards Zeph and Garrison. Eldarion spurs his mount and soon vanishes into the forest. Some time passes as Siler starts a fire and begins reheating some stew in a pot. Garrison stays close to Zeph as they wait for Eldarion's return. As the stew begins to bubble from the heat of the fire Eldarion walks back into the clearing. Zeph nudges Garrison "He's back Garrison!" Garrison puts a restraining hand on Zeph "Wait, Zeph..." he begins, seeming troubled. "Zeph, come here to me........" Eldarion says, beaming a smile. Zeph leaps to her feet, breaking contact with Garrison, and runs toward her cousin, ignoring the vibrations coming from the brooch he had given her. 'bush', who had received the same vibrations and had touched his brooch, immediately dropped into the clearing, chasing after Zeph, crying out "Nooooo!" ___________________________ Eldarion rode as hard as his new steed could take. When he got a short distance from the crag of rocks, he slowed the beast down, to make a more quiet approach. He must make this reconnaissance quickly. He did not feel good about leaving his friends in that clearing with strangers, but felt that what awaited them here at the 'gate' could be a greater danger. As he got to the crag, he dismounts, and ties his horse to the local shrubbery. He enters the crag and immediately crouches low, drawing his sword. There was the smell of blood in the air. He slowly moved forward and saw the definate signs of a struggle. As he bends over one of the wet circles of blood in the dust, a voice calls down from above. "Move not, Eldarion Elessidel, lest you be a target for our arrows!" Eldarion looks up to see three elven legentors drawing bow on him. Eldarion sheathes his sword and looks up quizzically. One of the elves moves down from the rocks, and approaches Eldarion. Getting closer to Eldarion, the elf stops and looks deeply at into Eldarion's eyes. Finally satisfied, the elven soldier removes the arrow from the bow. After smiling at Eldarion, a signal is waved to the legentors still on the rocks, who also denotch their arrows and come down. Eldarion smiles at them and approaches the elf who called down to him. "Well met, corporal Joreen." The corporal removes the helmet from her head to reveal a cascade of golden hair. "Well met indeed captain!" Joreen salutes Eldarion and then clasps his arm in friendship. "We've awaited your arrival. Commander Barantine said you may need some help, so he sent us to secure the portal. A whole lance of us. We're all that's left. We've had eleven dead and two wounded. They are back by the portal." She turns her head and nods toward the path going into the rocks. Eldarion grits his teeth and as he whispers out to her "Darkguard?" Corporal Joreen nods "Aye, two came by last night. We were able to finish one, and one ran off. We were just about to send the wounded back through for more help when Kannis here heard your approach." Eldarion looks at the three survivors of the lance. "You've done well, but time is of the essence. I have found my lost cousin, but we must get her back to Daventry as soon as possible." He looks at the one Joreen had pointed out as Kannis. "Kannis, go back to the portal and move dead and wounded through. Wait for our return, we shall be back within the hour. Hold the portal at all cost!" Kannis salutes Eldarion, and runs back to the portal to carry out his orders. Eldarion looks at the other two and addresses Joreen. "Your mounts?" "Back behind these boulders..." Joreen points behind her. "Then let us be off, quickly!" As the three elven soldiers gallop back through the woods, Eldarion hears Dardt screaming through the woods. He whistles loudly, and suddenly Dardt lands upon his shoulder, growling fiercely. "God's, one has found them... and there are others!" He spurs his mount forward and the other two legentors immediately follow suit. ________________________________ g> Garrison quickly thrusts the staff behind him resulting in a g> "umph" and then the distinctive sound of a jaw cracking, as his staff g> finds the belly of the creature sneking up behind him and then snaps up g> to the creatures jaw. b>'Look's as thought the Old One is in no danger,' thinks 'bush'. Hearing a b>noise behind, 'bush' turns to see the Darkguard regarding the circle of b>thorns. "The plants are against you void-spawn, you have no chance." b>'bush' kneels and punches the ground. The Darkguard looks at 'bush' and b>laughs. "Freak of nature, you cannot protect the girl." The clone is about b>to stab the circle, where Zeph's complaints can still be heard, when he b>hears a ///CRACK/// above him. 'bush' smiles as the Darkguard looks up. Or b>tries to look up, as a large overhanging limb slams the creature's head back b>to the ground. 'bush' turns back toward Garrison, getting ready to give what aid they could to the old man, and does not see the darkguard move swiftly back to its feet. The darkguard moves a clawed hand to its head, and with a look of hatred, then points the claw at the tree which had just struck it. The tree explodes into millions of splinters, showering everyone in the area. 'bush' immediately starts to stagger, as the pain of the tree courses through them. The darkguard snears at 'bush'. "So, freakish one! That didst cause you pain? Perhaps I will have to smite this whole forest for the pleasure of watching you shudder like that! Better yet, perhaps I will turn my eye on you!" The darkguard reaches out with its one good claw, not seeming to care about the many roots and branches curling about its body. As it extends its claw fully, out of the brush charges Eldarion Elessidel, who leap from his horse carries him into the darkguard as he thrusts his black sword through, impaling him. The darkguard screams in pain, as two other elves charge into the clearing with lances leveled. Eldarion gives a quick signal, and the elvish lances soon point towards the werebeasts besetting Garrison. As the sword drinks of the darkguard, Eldarion rushes to 'bush's side. "Are you alright 'bush'?" 'bush' quickly nods "We are fine, but our friends are not" 'bush' points out the remains of the tree. Eldarion looks over and sees Zeph struggling with the branches which protected her. "My thanks, 'bush'! You have protected my cousin when I should have been here. I am indebted to you." He helps 'bush' up and continues, "Do you think there may be a way to defuse this situation?" he says, pointing towards the snarling werebeasts. The werebeasts, for their part, had never expected such a resistence from one blind old man. Now the evil thing lay dying, impaled and being pulled apart by the very plants around. And the elven warrior was back, bringing two more warriors bearing sharp, pointed lances. There were grave magicks and power in the strangers they had thought to make prey. The first elven warrior and the green creature moved around to the old man. "What say you, Garrison, must we kill these beasts or is there another way to difuse this?" Eldarion asks the blind old man. Eldarion, seeing that the werebeasts had begun to calm down at 'bush's words, slowly moved back to where the darkguard had fallen. "Garrison and 'bush' can calm them down" he thought to himself. Where once there was a powerful creature of darkness, now, due to the roots and branches, there was little left. Curiously, the plant life stayed well away from the sword, which lay in an open spot amoung the weeds. Eldarion reached down and retrieved his sword. This caused some growling from the watching werebeasts, who seemed to be negotiating with 'bush'. After resheathing the blade, Eldarion found his mount and pulled a camp axe from his saddle bag, and moved to where Zeph was imprisoned by brambles. "Hang on Zeph, I'll have you out of there in a moment" He called in to his cousin. "Eldarion, waaiiittt!" Zeph cried out. "As much as I want to get out of here, I don't think you should go chopping what could be considered one of 'bush's friends!" Eldarion thought on her words "You're right, Zeph. What could I have been thinking. Too many years out on campaign. I've cut much wood and brush, but I've never stopped to think about it before. Thank you for stopping me. I'll go get 'bush' to let you out." Eldarion whistles, and Dardt lands on his shoulder. Eldarion moves the pocket dragon onto the brambles. "Dardt will keep you company for the moment!" Eldarion smiles, and watches the pocket dragon scramble through the brambles, leap to Zeph's lap, and proceed to lick her face. Eldarion turns and replaces the axe in his saddle bag. He walks back over to where Garrison and 'bush' are talking to the now human werebeasts. "Well, I suppose even a Captain of Legentors can learn new ways..." He thinks to himself, smiling. ___________________________ b> "Come on everyone, we have a date with b>Eldarion's family!" 'bush' nervously rubbed a tree, as they waited for b>everyone else to exit the clearing. As Garrison arrived, and Eldarion came b>with the horses, 'bush' wispered, "We'll keep an eye on them to make sure b>that they don't come after us immediatly. We'll give you enough time to b>make the crag, if you hurry, then we'll come running." As an afterthought, b>'bush' added, "It might be a good idea to leave Dardt with me as a sort of b>speedy messenger." z> Eldarion quickly utters a few commands at Dardt and the small dragon z>leaps gently leaps from his perch on Zeph's shoulders and hovers around z>'bush's' head. "Don't mind the girl dear 'bush', you know how independent z>adolescents can get." Eldarion says in a kind voice after noticing his sad z>reaction towards Zeph's anger. "I want you right behind us 'bush'. Don't z>waste to much time with these pathetic creatures!" Eldarion orders as he z>mounts his horse and signals his guards to do the same. z> "I'm sorry for getting upset with you, I just don't want to be treated z>like a defenceless baby." the girl says with a change of heart. "Please be z>careful with those creatures!" With swift intentions, she mounts her horse z>with the grace of an acrobat. "Come on, let's get away from this cursed place!" z>With Eldarion taking the lead, Zeph second pulling the reigns belonging to z>Garrison's horse behind her and the two other members of the Legentors z>taking up the rear they leave 'bush' to follow on foot. Eldarion quickly moves the group along at a fast pace. Garrison groans and says "Eldarion my friend, these old bones of mine are most definately not used to such josslings...Ohhhh!" Eldarion smiles at the old one's complaint, knowing that this old man could really take much more punishment than he let on. "I'm sorry my friend, but both 'bush' and Dardt feel we are near being surrounded by darkguards...and other evils. The crag is not far, in fact, these rocks we now pass show the beginnings of the formation." The group continued into the rocks, and as the path suddenly narrowed, Eldarion halts the group. "The 'gate' is right on the other side of this rock wall. We must walk the mounts through though, as horses sometimes do not set well with the porting. Joreen, will you wait where these rocks meet the forest for friend 'bush'? He should be along any moment." Joreen salutes Eldarion, and goes back the way they had come. Eldarion leads the group around the rock wall. There is another elf here holding a lance, who immediately salutes Eldarion. Eldarion returns the salute and says "Well met, trooper Kannis. How fares everything here?" Kannis responds "Everything is fine here captain, save for the strange noises I have heard coming from the surrounding woods." Zeph, who has been looking for some kind of gate, and not finding any, inter- rupts her cousin. "Eldarion, where is the gate you speak of? All I see is rock walls!" Eldarion grasps Zeph by her shoulders and moves her toward one of the rock walls, followed by Garrison. As soon as they are rougly one pace from the wall, Zeph sees the wall begin to melt away, and be replaced by a shimmering blue portal. Garrison, who is holding out his hands, can feel a sort of magic static charge coming from the gate. "How reliable are these gates of yours, my friend?" He says to Eldarion. "Well, I've travelled through them most of my time with the Legentors. They are strategically placed throughout the lands, mostly for scouting purposes. In all those times I've used them, I have only been waylaid once. I appeared in a strange land I did not know, and all the folk of this land started calling me 'Avatar' :-), and followed me around. The king of this land, who was also a mage, saw that I did not belong there, and helped me get back to Tynntangial, through one of his 'gates'. Other than that, they have always been reliable." Zeph was busy taking a step forward and a step back, watching the blue gate appear in the rock and disappear again "This is really neat!" Eldarion smiled at his cousin. "We will go through as soon as 'bush' appears." He glanced up at the sky. "I wonder what happened to Beroth? He seemed so set on accompanying us. I hope that he gets here before we have to leave." He turned to Kannis "Kannis, go find Joreen, and tell her we may also be expect- ing another friend. He is a winged elf by the name of Beroth." Kannis looks at Eldarion with a puzzled expression. "..A 'winged' elf, my lord?" Eldarion nods "Aye, a winged elf, now off with you!" With that, Kannis makes his way to the opening of the crag. Eldarion watches his cousin 'playing' with the magicks of the portal. "We are cutting this close!" He says to himself, thinking of the evils approaching. _________________________________ z> "It must be the Darkguard. They have found us!" 'bush' mumbles. A z>few more missiles fly by harmlessly, missing their intended targets. Eldarion z>rushes over to join them. "Is everyone all right?" he questions. z> "Yes we're O.K., but I'm afraid one of the guards wasn't so lucky," z>Zeph responds as she points out the body of the dead Legentor. z> Members of the Darkguard, slowly encircle the group hiding z>behind the crag with weapons drawn and spilling blood on their evil minds. z> A few seconds is all it takes for Eldarion to think up a counter z>attack, but before he says a word, Zeph draws her dagger and without z>hesitation, throws it, barely missing her cousin's head. z> "What the...?" Eldarion manages to utter, but his question is answered z>when he turns his head around to find a Darkguard tumble to the ground, z>clutching the butt of the imbedded dagger. "Nice shot, cousin!" Eldarion quickly shoves his sword deep into the body of the darkguard. Once again, the sword drinks deep, as what appears to be wisps of smoke leave its body and are drawn into the sword. Eldarion removes the glass dagger and quickly hands it back to Zeph "I think you'll need this!" g> Garrison suddenly steps forward. "We must retreat through the g>portal before more lives are lost or before it is to late. We don't know g>how many of those Darkgaurd there are out there." g> "But what about Beroth?" Zeph yells out. g> "We don't even know exactlly where he is. He will have to fend g>for himself for now." Garrison replies. Turning to Eldarion he says, g>"Withdraw your men. You and I will be the last through the Gate." g>Garrison waits while Eldarion calls out orders. All around, pandemonium had erupted. Corporal Joreen dragged the body of the slain Kannis to the portal. The other Legentor had drawn his bow and was shooting arrows at a miraculous pace. 'bush' had moved next to Garrison, who was taking stock of their peril. As the impaled darkguard shuddered its last, Eldarion pulled his sword free and turned towards the path leading out of the rocks. The arrows coming from the dark creatures suddenly stop, and the path is soon filled with dark, orc like creatures, being led forward by three more darkguard. g> "So, the lackeys have come to do the work of men. Tell your g>Dark Master that I have Awaken!" With that, Garrison extends his arm and g>blue flames leap from his hand. The three creatures twist and contort g>in pain and agony as the flames burn through thier skin. < ***NOTE - Here is the scene from which the [Dark] artwork on the web page was done ***> Eldarion calls Joreen to his side, and points out Zeph "No matter what happens here, you get her through the portal, understand!" Joreen nods her head, her blond hair matted with the blood of the fallen Kannis. Joreen moves over to Zeph, who is crouched in a fighting stance. "The captain wishes us to cross over, youngling. We'll help out here, but if things go bad we must do as he says!" Meanwhile Eldarion has moved next to Garrison and 'bush', and takes a fighting stance. He looks at the ashes of the three darkguard the old one had challenged, and says "Quite impressive, Garrison!" Then looking back to the assembled evils, he calls out "Which of you will be the next to spend eternity suffering in the hell of my blade!" he challenges. The darkguard and the darkorcs stop moving forward. From behind the crag of rocks, a hellish roar is heard, as a dark creature steps forth. The assembled orcs and darkguard immediately move aside, and make the path availible to it. The hideous creature shambles forth, looking like a giant spider with dragon wings. The venom spilling from the creatures mouth seared into the ground like acid. An evil laugh is heard to come from behind its dripping fangs. "One of the Dark One's higher minions" Eldarion said to the wide-eyed 'bush' and blind Garrison. "Beware, for tis not only hideous and horrible to behold, but also possesses foul magicks." The other creatures of the dark take up the evil laugh as Eldarion, 'bush' and Garrison back away to where Zeph and Joreen waited. The other Legentor, seeing he was almost cut off from the rest of his party, took up his lance and thrust it through the nearest darkguard. The darkguard turned its head to the elf who had just impaled it, and smiling, reached out a claw. The Legentor sudden- ly explodes, with his blood and gore raining on all who watch. The evil beasts take up their laugh again, as the skewered darkguard pulls out the lance. Making a quick decision, Eldarion yells back to Joreen "Move her through, NOW!" and takes a running leap at the spider-thing, thrusting out his sword. Before the sword can bite, Eldarion is swatted in the air by one of the spider-thing's claws, and is thrown into 'bush'. Zeph, seeing her cousin hit by the beast, screams out "NOOOOOOO!" and breaks free from Joreen's grasp, running to where Eldarion and 'bush' lay stunned. ________________________________________ z> Zeph stands by the portal, z> ready to jump in if the need arises and waits for Garrison. As she stands z> there, she witnesses the immense power released by the old man. With a z> single motion of his staff, he disintegrates the attacking villains. "Over z> here Garrison, I'm waiting by the portal." Zeph yells at Garrison. Slowly, z> the old man manages his way to the portal. "Are you ready to meet your kin, z> my child?" The tired old man asks as he senses a slight z> feeling of apprehension from her. "I think so." she responds as they enter z> the portal together. The group was awash in blue light followed by a tingly feeling. As the gate transported the group to Tynntangial, Eldarion came to with a start. "All is well, my captain!" whispered corporal Joreen. Eldarion shook his head. "That's twice in two days...ooohh my head!" Suddenly the group felt a wave pass over them. Eldarion looked concerned. "Someone or something just entered the gate behind us!" Suddenly, the group stepped out of the gate into the middle of an immense forest. They immediately moved forward, looking back at the gate from this side, which was in the trunk of a giant redwood. Eldarion drew his sword (which Zeph had placed back in his scabbard) and waited, But nothing followed them out of the gate. Finally, as some moments passed, he resheathed his sword "I guess it was nothing, but thats exactly how it feels when someone enters a gate behind you." Eldarion looks around at the party and smiles. He grabs Zeph by the waist and lifts her up, spinning them both around. "Welcome to Tynntangial, Zeph!" he says, quite happily. For the first time the group gets to look around at the land Eldarion had taken them to. The forest was ancient and grand. Old growth trees were everywhere. Oaks, maples, pine, it was a forresters dream. Eldarion moved the group into a clearing and pointed past the treetops. "Behold, Daventry, the capital city of Tynntangial!" The group looked towards where he pointed and saw white marble towers capped with spires which gleamed of gold. "If we leave now we'll make it there by sundown. Corporal Joreen!" Joreen steps over to Eldarion "I want you to go to this gate's station and bring a lance of legentors here. I know our gates are warded against evil beings from using them, but I don't want to take any chances. Also give my compliments to the station commander and request that he send you back with three additional mounts." Joreen salutes and turns away, stopping only to smile at Zeph. "Welcome home, Zeph!" she says, and then she disappears into the woods. Eldarion speaks a few commands to Dardt, who then streaks out toward Daventry. "I've sent Dardt ahead to let them know we are coming. I suspect my sister Ellana already knows though." He looks around at his friends and smiles again, truly glad to be home. "It will be a few moments before Joreen gets back with the horses. Let us sit here and wait." He motions to some boulders nearby. The group sits in a circle, and Eldarion passes around some waybread he had in his side pouch. "Sorry there is not better fare, but our rations are back in the packs on the horses." Zeph starts at this. "Oh no! those poor horses!" "Legentor mounts can definately take care of themselve, Zeph." Eldarion reassures her. The group sits and eats, relatively safe for the first time since their meeting. __________________________________ b>Zeph's sudden motion brings 'bush' back to reality. "..." 'bush' makes b>another attempt, this time starting with their mouth closed. "mmm" They b>finally get it together, and 'bush' wispers in awe, "We've never been b>_anywhere_ like it!" g> A smile comes to Garrison's lip and a faint expression of g g>recognition. "It's nearby. I can feel it." Everyone looks at Garrison g>as though he nuts. g> "What are you talking about?" Zeph asks. g> Garrison ignores the rest of the group and starts to head into g>the woods as if he knows exactlly where he is going. After a short g>distance Garrison stops and falls to his knees infront of a very large g>and very old Oak tree. "Your still alive my friend." He wispers to the g>tree as he embraces the trunk. "I was afraid you might have fallen since g>I last saw you. It's good to know that somethings don't change much." g> As the others arrive, they stare at the display of emotion put g>forth by the old man. Zeph is about to question Garrison as to what is g>going on, when 'bush' raises his hand to quiet the child. 'bush' realizes g>this why this tree is so important to Garrison. It must have been one g>that he planted and grew from a seedling, g>'bush' ushers the group back to the path to meet up with the horses. As they walked back to the clearing, Eldarion looked to be puzzling something out. "Hmmm.....the tree that friend Garrison is hugging is a very old oak.