((Yes, sorry that wasn't too clear.))

((lol No problem ^^))

Eramthgin was about to reply when he was alarmed by the approaching sounds. Turning around quickly and inwardly glad he had kept his skeletons around, he got into a defensive stance and narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. His skeletons also rearranged their positions, two going over to Fallon (whom he mentally dubbed 'Fal' for short), and three circling him against possible sudden attacks.

With a Final loud Crash, Lyle burst into the clearing. Clutching his broadsword in hand, he looked up, spotted Eram, then leaned over and stabbed his sword into the ground, using it for balance as he struggled to catch his breath. "I... heard fighting... back there... saw the crossbow shots... followed them here." He took a long, deep breath, then let it out slowly as he stood up. "Is everything alright here?"

Eramthgin blinked, and relaxed slightly. He wasn't quite expecting Lyle to come bursting out the woods like that...

"Oh. There were some weird spider-like people a few minutes ago, saying something about the Nez king and calling him the 'Dark Prince'...but they left." He glanced over at Fal and back at Lyle, wondering what would happen between them now. Subtly, his skeletons inched out of the way. If a storm was coming up, he might as well be left out of it.

((btw, I'm not sure if you actually got that they aren't like spiders, just like the men in the desert aren't like scorpians. They are just named after the animal. It's a patern that all Nez special forces use, though no one has encountered them till now. Tree Spider Troops, Desert Scorpian Troops, Mountain Wolf Troops, Water Snake Troops, etc. When I said they move like this guy, I meant they kind of look like him too. They do, to your Eram's credit, have a brown spider pattern on the front of their camo, another trait they share with all Nez special forces [their animal on their camo, not just a spider]. Sorry for the long rant, but they are going to show up later, so I needed to clear the air now.))

Lyle looked at him confused. "Spider-like people? Never heard of anything like that. I've heard some of his field Necromancers refer to him as something like the Dark Prince or the Shadow Prince or some such." He glanced over at Fallon, then back at Eram. "Where'd they go?"

((Ah, I see, sorry about that. I based all their movements off from the video you posted a while back, especially the part where the guy walked backwards up the tree on all fours ^^;;))

He glanced at Fal and back at Lyle too, and replied, "No idea. I think they headed that way." He pointed to a direction off to the side of Lyle. "They just retreated after attacking like crazy for a while, it was weird." He thought it might have had something to do with his skeletons, but then pushed off the thought. Five weak animal skeletons was hardly something to fear, especially with their speed and agility that they displayed back then.

((No problem. None of them had to climb the trees, the guy that came to ground level just jumped back up. But they CAN do that move, if they want/need to.))

Lyle nodded, glancing in the direction they left. "That's into Vex. They must be moving to report to the main force." He glanced at the skeletons. "Though you seem to have better reinforcements then they probably expected. I bet that threw them pretty good." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Come on, we should get back to the safety of the city before they send the whole army this way."

[Was Vizier (Vizer?) Carson older than the princess or just as old?]

"Vizier Carson was a spy?!" Henry turned his head towards the princess in shock. He was sealing the exit of the tunnel when he heard the disturbing news. "But how?" Both he and Ingrid couldn't believe what they had just heard. Many of those in the Aranan court were very loyal to the king and even those that didn't like the way Lord Vano ruled would never even think of betraying him. Treachery was hardly ever heard of after Lord Vano ruled Arana.

Shrike listened to what the 'grown-ups' where talking about but his interest in the topic had begun to wane. He watched his pet fly over to a nearby rock to chase down some unreasonably huge bugs. The smell, sounds and sight of the forests of Souel was interesting to him since he'd barely see more than a small group of palm trees clumped together in the desert.

((Older, by about 15 years or so))

"I can't say, and you would not believe me if I told you. Just please, believe me when I say that Taarn is more powerful then even we believed. If we continue to fight the war defensively, we will all lose. That's why I needed to go, to ask the other kingdoms to attack now, before it's too late. But you both must know my father would never approve of such a move."

She shook her head. "If he learned what I have, I'm sure he would." She looked back up at them. "But he can not, and I'm afraid that for now, neither can you. I'm sorry, but it's for your protection. If they learn you know this secret, they will go to any lengeths to kill you, even to attack the capital. But they won't, as long as I am free of them. Will you trust me?"

[Ok, thanks :) I hope you don't mind but I'll be letting you lead the way while we're in Souel.]

"Of course your majesty." replied Ingrid. "We will try to reach your father, but we first have some business to attend to." She gave the princess a map of Souel. Some parts of it were marked as places where Nezerus spies had been found and killed according to the friends of the couple. Ingrid pointed at one part of the map, "We are currently at the southeastern forest. You must make your way north." she continued, tracing a path towards the capital of Souel. "Again we apologize for leaving you alone your majesty."

"Shrike."

"Huh?" said the boy, his attention snapped back by Henry's call.
The innkeeper placed a shoulder on the boy. "No matter what, you must keep Princess Judith safe. You got that?"

"Sure." Shrike replied, unsure of why Henry had a somber tone in his voice. He had done some bodyguard work before and he didn't think of it as a big deal since he was up against low-level crooks at the time. But the boy hadn't yet grasped the gravity of the war. He had never actually seen Nezerus forces fight, the many bandit-guard skirmishes he was used to were no doubt small by comparison to the real battlefields.

"Alright." Henry finished as he turned towards his wife. "We have to go now Ingrid, if we want to reach Arana at all."

((No problem, I know exaclty where they need to go.))

Judith bowed to them again. "Thank you for everything you'v done for me. Tell my father I hope he gets well soon, and I will see him again." She glanced over the map, the turned to Shrike. "Follow me, I know exactly where we can go." With that, she pulled her hood over her head again, then headed off into the forest.


As the town burned, the hooded man turned to the portal that was opening behind him. With a whoosh, the fire split into a circle, and the royal figure emerged. He looked at the burning village, then at the hooded man. "So, they escaped?"

He bowed his head. "I... will find... them..." The Royal man shook his head. "No, we have a new enemy. Head North, and search for a Drow with the Dead Arts. He is a threat to everything we have going here. My sister has forseen that he will meet the Princess, and it could mean our destruction. Kill him, and bring me the Princess." He turned back to the open portal.

"Yes... my prince..." the hooded man said, bowing deeply to him. Prince Taarn turned again, then raised his hand. The bodies of the villagers still intact rose, and all but four headed into the portal. "Take these, as our Desert Troops will not be as effective in the Forests. You four, get going!" With a salute, the four Sand-Scorpian Troops took a running dive into the dunes and vanished into the sand. The prince turned back to the Robed Man. "Do what must be done... or else" with a woosh of his cloak, he entered the portal and it closed behind him.

The Robed Man turned to the corpses around him. "To... SOUEL!" He turned, and began to trundle North himself.

Ruby flew back to its master's shoulder as Shrike followed the princess deep into the forest. He continued to look around at the trees. 'So many of them. Huge!' he thought as they crossed a small stream. The small red dragon on the boy's shoulder was enjoying itself. Huge bugs were whizzing by them as they walked and all were within its reach. As Ruby swallowed three at the same time Shrike asked,"Hey princess, where are we going?"

She studied the map as they walked. "It says here that there is a village about a mile from here. The Nezerus marks aren't around it, and it looks like it might be pretty busy. Maybe we can learn some news, and at least try to get a ride to the captial, or close to it." She glanced up at Ruby. "So, is that REALLY a Dragon?"

"Yup. Ruby's got the wings, tail, horns and everything!" Shrike smiled, "It even breathes..." the boy paused as he tried to remember what it was exactly Ruby did. In all the time he had known Ruby, not once had it attacked with anything other than its claws and teeth. "Err, well it bites." he finished as he touched the bandages on his face. "Found it in the desert after it came out of its egg."

She smiled at it. "Wow. I mean, you know, everyone's heard the stories. The Gelex-Teren Prince and his dragon, who together united the two kingdoms. The Tales of the 'Benificent Lover of White Heaven', who helped the Queen of Souel's grandmother keep the throne by tricking the hoard from Kaodar, so on. But they haven't been seen for years." She held out a hand, trying to pet him as he flew by. "I wonder were it's parents are. I heard Dragon eggs take years to hatch. What was it doing out in the middle of the desert all alone?"

"Beats me." replied Shrike. Ruby flew onto the shoulder of the princess and began wrapping itself loosely around her neck. The dragon, now full from all the bugs, yawned and closed its eyes.
"Look at that, Ruby likes you" said Shrike as he watched the dragon fall asleep on the princess' shoulders. "Don't worry about waking it, Ruby's a heavy sleeper. One time, I was with some friends at a deli, and the deli caught fire because someone knocked over an oil lamp. Took me a while to figure out that I had left Ruby in there. I thought it was toast but I found it sleeping in the ashes." the boy smiled as he reminisced on that strange day. The food had been good at that deli, too bad it was gone. "Another time, I found Ruby at the bottom of a well, fast asleep! I don't know what kind of dragon it is but it sure is strange. It doesn't even eat meat!"

She ran a finger along it, smiling. "Well, he sure is cute. Though," she laughed a little, "I'm not exactly a dragon expert, so I can't tell you if that's unusual or not." She glanced up at Shrike. "But now I know more about this dragon then I do about you. If we're going to travel together, we might as well get to know each other. So," She stopped, puting her foot down in a slightly over-exaggerated way, and planted her hands on her hips, "what's your story?"

"Huh? Me?" Shrike asked, surprised at such a question. It had been a long time since he met someone who didn't know him or who wanted to know about him. In Talendar, work usually preceded formalities. Most of the things anybody knew about him they discovered through working with him. Mainly, he was a thief and a good one at that.
"Well..." he began, not sure how to continue or where to start. "I've lived in Talendar all my life...and well...I steal from bandits?"

She straightened up. "You... steal from bandits? Isn't that a little dangerous? For that matter, how old are you?" She looked him up and down.

"I'm 15." Shrike exclaimed with a proud look on his face. He never really knew his age but he guessed it to be around that number. "It's not that dangerous, I'm a pro at what I do." he continued with a big grin.

[Hah, I've been waiting for this question :D I had what Shrike would answer all planned out from the beginning :rofl: I was wondering when someone would ask this. Thanks Darkest :mrgreen: bohahahahahahahaha]

((:D Always glad to help, especially when I don't know I'm helping till after I do.))

She blinked. "Wow, 15? Well, alright." She started walking again. "So, where are your parents? I mean, don't they disapprove of you fighting bandits?"



A ways to the north, a Single figure staggered through the forest. He knew, after all the things he'd done, fate was finally deliering the final blow. Well fine. Fate, you cruel mistress, I shall fight you yet. With a last, final push, he broke the forest, landing on a small hunters path that travelled the forest a ways. He pushed himself up, pulled himself forward a step, then fell to the forest floor, and lay there.

[I'm sorry, I'm a dork :XP but well, I always imagined that Shrike would still act like a kid at times even though he already knows how to take care of himself :) Nyahaha...]

"My parents?" Shrike thought about how to answer this question. He had been asked this one many times before but he always had to think about it. "Well, they're dead." he said matter-of-factly. He had met many people who had lost their parents or their children. Death wasn't anything new to him. "I'm sure they wouldn't have minded. Bandits killed them after all."
"This was my dad's dagger." he said as he put his hand to the dagger at his hip. "And this was my mom's." he said with a smile as he tugged at the ring of his necklace a little towards the princess to for her to see. The vague memories of his parents always floated through his mind whenever he talked about his two precious possessions. He never let the two out of his sight.

((I like him. He's a fun character.))

"Aww, it's beautiful. Your parents must have been nice people. I'm sorry to hear they're gone. I wish the Talendar Government would tighten their belt on those bandits. That Leader of theirs is nothing but trouble. At Least, that's what my father always told me." She looked back at him with a smile. "Ah, but you don't want me to bore you with politics. Besides," she glanced around, then leaned in close to him and whispered "I hate politics anyway. Never could stand the royal court." She straightened up. "Going on and on about the problems to me like I was already queen or something. I haven't even been on a date. I mean, you know, with the war it's not like I can exactly get offers, and the only Prince that Arana considers old enough by law to marry me is Taarn anyway, so I guess I can't do anything about it." She sighed. "And now I'm boring you with my personal problems. I'm sorry."

"So...is that why you're running away from Arana?" Shrike asked, "Are your parents trying to make you marry someone you don't like?" He didn't understand why she didn't want to be a ruler, but slightly got the gist of the rest of what she had said.

He remembered three years ago, in one of the villages he and his nomadic companion had visited there was a rich man who was in love with a village girl. But the man and woman were to be wed to different people due to their arranged marriages. Ironically, the people they were to wed were also in love with each other. But the law in that village was strict and their parents would not allow them to switch fiancees because the dowries had already been spent. One of the couples decided to stand up for their love and marry in the open without their parents' consent. The elders of the village had them executed. But the other couple, the original fiancee of the rich man and the original fiancee of the village girl, decided to escape from the village and marry elsewhere in secret. After their escape had been discovered a few days later, Shrike's companion said to him, "A rule that thieves must follow is, in order to protect what's important, a thief must keep it in the shadows. The light...isn't always a friend."

"I hope you find a good shadow to keep you free then." he said with a grin.

She shook her head. "Not my father. He didn't even have anyone to set me up with. No, my father's advisor, Ramon Carson, tried to force me into a marrage with Prince Taarn. He was working for Taarn, and planned to kill my father once he got me to agree to it. He tried to convince me that marrying him would end the war With Arana and allow the people to finally rest, but I know it would only have forced the to become subjects of Taarn. With the Aranian Army, he could easily destroy the Souel army, and then it would only be a matter of time before Sarnes and Talendar fell." She looked down at the ground. "So, to protect my father, I killed him, and then fled. I knew that my father would never forgive me without understanding why I had to do it, and I knew that as soon as the Nezerus forces found out I killed him, they would come after me. I had to leave, for my father."