To End The War

[black shadow]

Ooc:
closed to matthewkuch (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?27197-gavner-nahs&highlight=)

[matthewkuch]

Gavner stared down at the wooden table he was sitting at in Dead Man's Drink, examining the grains from right to left. He narrowed his eyes at a knot in the wood and gouged at it with his tough fingernail. Shavings of the wood peeled off the table and curled under his finger. He looked at his mug and thought of all that had happened to him that day. He had been charged on a quest by the Queen of the elves that may persuade the King of Dwarves to end the war once and for all. Glancing up, his eye lingered on a man garbed entirely in black, with a bow slung across his back. He was sitting alone at a table in the corner of the tavern with a view of the whole joint at his disposal, sipping from a half full glass of red wine- the bottle on the table. Looking at this man Gavner could tell that he was skilled in combat, and extremely intelligent. Gavner did not want to venture on this quest alone, but he was not fond of sticking his nose where it did not belong. However, there was something about this person. Gavner knew that he was more than capable of assisting him, if he was up for it. Leaving his mug, and a neat little pile of shavings on the table Gavner got to his feet and started over to the table. Gavner suspected that the stranger noticed him out of his peripherals, but the stranger did not stir nor did he acknowledge Gavner in any way. When Gavner reached the table the stranger kicked out the chair across from him which stopped at an angle in a manor beckoning Gavner to sit down, but still did not acknowledge him. Gavner hesitated, but tensely sat down after several moments. The stranger silently sipped from his glass of wine, and slowly lifted his gaze to Gavner after setting his glass down. His black eyes pierced Gavner and he got the strange feeling that the stranger was tapping into his thoughts, and reading his mind. Gavner stared back into the stranger's black eyes for several moments that felt like forever, drew a breath, and spoke softly "You are different from the others here... Why does one enter a tavern with a mask?"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow did not take his eyes off the man. Instead, he grabbed a napkin and an ink pen from the table next to him. Not taking his eyes from the vampire sitting before him, he wrote blindly and handed the note to the man. The paper had a slight cream tint to it, obviously it was cheap. It felt almost like sand paper, feeling as if it cut layers of skin from him as he used it. The pen must have felt the same way, as when he wrote, it seemed to push the pen from side to side.


I can't speak. I am also a wanted man from my own kingdom. The one I was supposed to rule. I've been here many times before, but you, sir, you I have never seen. What brings a man like you here?

Black Shadow watched as the man read the note. Staring into his eyes once more, he waited until the man looked back up at Black Shadow.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner lifted his gaze to the man's eyes. Sliding the paper back to the man, he spoke still in a soft voice for fear of being overherad "I am here about to journey on a very important quest. What is your name?" The man continued to pierce Gavner with his cold black eyes, however it did not seem as hostile this time. For what felt like the longest time the man garbed in black did not stir. Gavner eyed the man's bow, and then the man's hand. He knew that the man could kill Gavner with one swift motion before he could even dodge, but Gavner was not going to pass up an opportunity to make a powerful ally. The man slid the paper back to Gavner and in the same black perfect lettering, "Black Shadow" was scrawled perfectly spaced below the previous lettering. Gavner looked up to find that once again, Black Shadow had not taken his eyes off of him. Gavner noticed how Black Shadow did not ask him his name. Maybe he expected Gavner to introduce himself, or maybe he didnt care, but Gavner did not have time to worry about this. Sliding the paper back to Black Shadow Gavner looked at him once more, studying him. After a minute or so he said "What have you done that makes you wanted in your own kingdom?"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow sighed. The memory of his brother flooded his mind. Anger and sadness both overwhelmed him. The tears that had now been forced to his eyes was pushed away. He could not allow himself to show this emotion. He turned his head away from the man, trying to force the tears away. Once they were gone and he felt he could hold himself, he turned towards the man and grabbed the napkin again. This time he looked down, trying to keep himself calm.


I "let my brother die" as my father says. He's the one who wants me dead. We were out training, we got attacked, my brother fought them off to let me escape, my father didn't like that. I was placed to fight against someone who I refused to fight against, my father ordered me to be killed. And now, I'm a wanted man.

He looked back at the man. He then wrote again.


What is your name, and why are you here?

He then handed the paper over and watched as the man read it.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sensed that black shadow was upset with him for asking such a personal question, and tried to apologize for it, but Black Shadow shook his head and pointed to the black ink he had just put on the paper. Gavner sighed, and then started "Queen Olivia of the elves has sent me on a quest. The elves of the outlands and the Dwarves of the outlands are warring, and I am to venture through the bloody battlefield of no man's land to reach the Dwarfish kingdom. When I am in the kingdom I must travel to their stronghold, Al Kitar, and discuss peace terms with King Hronzak of the dwarves. She knows the dwarves will not dare harm me for fear of starting a war with the vampires, which they will surely lose. I figured that a valiant fighter such as yourself would be a valuable companion on this quest, if you are up for it that is."

[black shadow]

Black Shadow thought about the request. Me? A valiant worrier? A good companion? I have had no such luck with men among these parts since Ashla. He thought to himself. Thinking about the decisions, the possibilities of gaining another ally... He couldn't pass it up. Black Shadow grabbed the paper and began writing again.


I will go with you on this journey. We will end this war and restore peace among the dwarves and the elves. Now, Let's get this journey under way, the less time it takes us to get there, the less casualties both sides endure.

He handed Gavner the paper and stood. As he did so, two men across the room stood and began to approach them.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner rose as the men approached. The man on the right was about 6'4" and he had a broad build. He had a small crop of messy brown hair, one brown eye on the right and a pure white eye on the left, and a box cut jaw. The man on the left was approximately a half of a head taller than the first but he had long blonde hair that he kept back in a pony tail. His face was long and he had stubble, but just above his left eye was a deep gash that looked very old. Both of the men were garbed in gray tunics, but underneath they had shoulder plates, nothing else. Gavner took a defensive stance as the man on the right crossed his right hand to his left hip and his left hand to his right hip, and pulled two shining steel knives from his belt.

The man on the left, clearly the tougher of the two, unsheathed a longsword and boomed in a loud gruff voice "Black Shadow! I hereby arrest you in the name of the king, if you show any form of resistance we will put you to death where you stand!"

Gavner leapt over the table and landed with three feet of clearance between the blond haired man, and three feet of clearance between Black Shadow. He was in a defensive stance, his right knee bowed directly beneath his right shoulder and his left leg extended far behind, his toe on the ground and his knee 2 inches above the ground. His arms were angled, each with a half foot clearence between his torso and his hands were open. His palms were facing Black Shadow, and his fingers were spread apart. Gavner knew that Black Shadow did not need help (he was more than capable of taking care of himself) but this was Gavner's chance to show his loyalty to his new ally. The man looked at Gavner with surprise, but recomposed himself immediately.

"Stand aside boy, this is not your fight" sneered the man

"An enemy of Black Shadow is an enemy of mine!" Shouted Gavner.

"So be it!" Roared the man as he took a swing at Gavner. Gavner anticipated the attack before it even came, and had already began to duck, but just as he dodged that blow the man with the knives had leapt at him. Gavner barley avoided this attack by rolling under the man when he was in midair and sprang up behind him. Apparently the man with the blonde hair had ditched his effort for Gavner and went for Black Shadow, but Gavner was too busy worrying about the man with the knives to pay attention. Before the man whirled around to face him, Gavner's arm reacted on instinct and shot out into the man's back. The heel of Gavner's right hand struck just below his right shoulder plate at the base of his shoulder blade and the force of the blow sent the man to the floor. He lost grip of one of his daggars and it slid across the floor under the table and out of reach. The man rolled over and Gavner sprang on top of him and the man with his right knee on the man's left arm, his left knee on the man's stomach, and his right hand on the man's left shoulder. The breath was forced out of the man, but he had the strength for another blow. He still had one knife in his right hand, and he swung it up and grazed the side of Gavner's face. Gavner would have had his throat cut if he had not backed away in time, but gashes were nothing new to him. Gavner's left hand shot directly at the man's wrist and pinned it to the ground. The force of the pin snapped the man's wrist and he gave a cry of pain, but he did not feel it for very long because Gavner forced his other arm through the air and struck the man on his forehead with the heel of his hand knocking him out cold. All had happened in less than 15 seconds, but it felt like over a minute. Taking his victory over the man, Gavner swung his sharp nails over the side of the man's neck and created a generous sized gash. Before the precious blood could escape him he lunged for the gash and placed his lips around the oozing wound. He drank from the man, relishing the flavor of the hot salty blood running down his throat. In the man's blood he could taste fear. Not the fear of battle, or the fear of death, but the fear of a master. Beneath that he could taste the strong moral character in this man, but the taste of fear was so strong. When Gavner had his fill he pulled away and applied pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. He then looked up to see the battle raging between Black Shadow and the blonde haired man.

[black shadow]

Black Shadow watched as Gavner stepped in front of him. As the men attacked, Gavner tried to stop them. He easily took down the first man, but the second took the opportunity to attack Black Shadow. Drawing his sword, Black Shadow placed his left foot almost directly behind his right, just two feet between them. His signature defensive stance was now set and easily noticeable. As the sword of the blonde haired man came crashing towards Black Shadow's face, he took one step to the side and bashed the man on the back as he went past him. The man fell to the floor but quickly got up. It was then that he saw Gavner drinking from his companions blood. He watched in horror at the sight. Black Shadow noticed the man was distracted and took the chance to win the fight. He sent the sword he was carrying towards the man's chest. As the sword pierced the man's chest, the sound of bones cracking and flesh being torn through hit Black Shadow's ears. A sound he had not heard in a while. One that he missed. It was then that he realized that the man Gavner fought had not died. Black Shadow put his sword away, pulled out his bow, and shot one steel arrow past Gavner and into his target, killing him instantly.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner watched in horror as blood gushed from the man's head. He had never intended to kill the human, only to subdue him, but Black Shadow unnesicarily killed this man. Gavner realized that he did not have much time, so he reopened the gash and sucked the man dry. This time he was not as careful, and ended up shreding some of the man's neck with his teeth. The area around his mouth was covered in blood when he was finished, and the blood ran down his chin and neck. He looked up at Black Shadow and said "Oh another thing I think you should know, about me, I'm a vampire"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow looked at Gavner in a sort of horror as he drank all the blood of the man. He knew he was a vampire, his pale skin gave that away, but he had no idea that he would drink so much blood within a few seconds. Okay... Now let's just forget we saw that. He thought to himself as he motioned Gavner to stand and begin their journey. He then weaved his way through the people standing around the two and made his way to the door. As he opened it up, he realized the sun was beginning to rise. Black Shadow turned to his new ally. Grabbing a napkin off the nearest table he began to write.


Gavner, the sun is rising. What is our next move? Continue and try to find shelter later? Or should we stay form the night?

Black Shadow walked back to Gavner, who was now drinking the blood of the other man, and handed him the note.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner knew that him and Black Shadow had a long journey ahead of them, and feeding would be an inconvenience so he stocked up while he could. He sucked the man who Black Shadow killed with the arrow dry, but he could only drink a portion of the other's blood before he was full. Gavner looked up to see Black Shadow standing, watching him in horror, and he grinned. He then realized that the area around his mouth was covered in blood and it was still running down his neck. He saw Black Shadow holding out a napkin for him and he thought Black Shadow was being polite. "Thank you" he said taking the napkin and wiping the blood from his face with it. He saw Black Shadow roll his eyes and sigh and looked down at the napkin. More of Black Shadow's perfect writing was on the napkin, but it was now illegible from all of the blood on it. "oh... sorry" Gavner said as Black Shadow wrote another note. Gavner read the note and said to Black Shadow "We have exactly 52 minutes before the sun will rise. We have to get moving." Black shadow nodded his approval and the started to the door but Gavner stopped before exiting and ran back to the body of the man he had been fighting. He found what he was looking for in the right hand of the man, a shiny steel knife. He put it in his cloak and hurried out the door with Black Shadow. "Follow me" gavner said and he lead Black Shadow into the woods, through a maze of twists and turns. They traveled for roughly 40 minutes, and the sun had started to peek over the horizon. Gavner winced in pain at the weak rays of sun. They came to a large clearing surrounded by trees, and in the clearing was a cottage. Black Shadow looked at Gavner but he replied "Its a friend. we will be safe here for as long as we need, and we can plan our journey here" and they started off towards the cottage

[black shadow]

Black Shadow nodded and followed Gavner to the cottage. They walked through the front gate and along the path to the front door. There rows of flowers lined along the path. Black Shadow stopped and picked a flower. Holding it to his nose, he took a sniff. The sweet smell filled his nose and calmed his mind even more than it already was. Gavner reached the door before Black Shadow and knocked on it. The sound caused Black Shadow to turn towards the door, just as a man, most likely another vampire, opened it. He was young, looking about the age of Gavner. He had blood red hair, and glowing orange eyes. The began to speak,

"Gavner? Is that you?" The man said.

"Mavrick, it's good to see you again." Gavner said as he shook the man's hand. "I have brought a friend. We are in need of shelter from the sun. Can we stay here?"

"Of course you can. Please, come in."

"Thank you." Gavner said as he entered the cottage. Black Shadow quickly followed. The inside of the place was small and made entirely of wood. There was two rooms, but other than that, it was just one small building.

"You will stay here tonight." Mavrick said pointing to the room on the left.

[matthewkuch]

"Thank you, old friend. It has been too long since we have last saw each other! What has happened since we last parted?" Gavner and Mavrik spent the next hour or so swapping stories of the past, reminiscing old adventures, and deadly tests that they took underway. "And your eyes. Why are they glowing orange, what happened to the beautiful purple they used to be?" Gavner asked

"Well you see, I was in the forest of the elves and I stumbled across an old elf that asked me a riddle. He said if I answered correctly he would give me something great."

"What was the riddle? Was it difficult?"

"Aye, it took me 30 minutes to answer it, but when I was finished he asked me 'orange or purple?' And I answered orange and he gave me a vial of glowing orange liquid. He said 'drink up' and the bloody potion turned my eyes orange! At least they are glowing though."

"That is most peculiar!" Gavner said "I am surprised that you are back here. I thought you would be out roaming the world on general business"

"I gave up being a general Gavner. I retired after.... You know..." Mavrick stared at the ground and Gavner remembered the traumatic Incident that had happened to him. Mavrick led a small squadron of generals to eradicate a brakeaway group from the clan. They were led into a trap and all other vampires were killed except Mavrick, who very narrowly escaped.

"Well it was lovely chatting with you Mavrick, thank you so much for opening your home to Black Shadow and myself, but we have a big night ahead of us so we should get some sleep. Goodnight" Said Gavner

"Goodnight Gavner" Replied Mavrick, and Black Shadow and Gavner retired to their quarters for the day

[black shadow]

Mavrick looked at Black Shadow when he stood. "Why have you not spoken?" He asked.

Gavner then turned to Mavrick and said, "He can't speak. Lost his voice a while ago."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry to hear that. Now go ahead and go to bed. You have a long night ahead of you tomorrow." Mavrick said as Black Shadow and Gavner retired to their room. The room was small, only one double bed, and a bedside table. There was a single candle that lit the room. The bed had no sheets, only one thin blanket. Better than what I usually get. Black Shadow thought to himself as he lay on the bed. It wasn't long before he and Gavner had both fell asleep.

It was just before sunset that Black Shadow woke. When he sat up, he noticed than Gavner was still asleep. Quietly, he stood and walked out of the room to the main area. There was no one around, not even Mavrick. He must be in his room. Black Shadow thought as he walked to the cupboards and grabbed some breakfast. He then sat at the table in the middle of the room, and began to eat.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner woke when the sun was just barely visible on the horizon. Black Shadow had already woken up and left the room. Gavner stretched, yawned, and walked into the kitchen rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Black shadow was sitting at Mavrick's wooden table eating a small piece of bread and a bit of cheese. Black Shadow passed another napkin to Gavner. Looking down he saw:


Goodmorning sleeping beauty

"Yeah yeah..." Gavner grumbled as he looked through the cupboards to find some breakfast. Mavrick walked in, fully dressed and looked at Black Shadow.

"You can eat more than that you know, Im not stingy with food" he said. Black Shadow waved off Mavrick's offer and continued to eat.

"I'll take you up on that offer" Said Gavner

"With you I will be stingy" Mavrick said jokingly, then pointed him to the cupboard and let him pick something out.

Over breakfast Gavner looked at Black Shadow and said "I want you to ask all of the questions you can, so you can find out all you need about vampires. I dont want your questions to go unanswered and to have you traveling with a complete stranger"

Black Shadow took the napkin and wrote on it without hesitation.


The only thing I need to know, is why you have not killed me

Gavner read the note and knew exactly what Black Shadow was thinking. "I do not kill people unless they pose an imminent danger to myself or the clan. Even when I get into battles I try not to kill anybody. Only when necessary. Most people think vampires are cold blooded killers, but truth be told that is as far from the truth as could be. We need blood to survive, but we do not kill those we feed from. We take a small amount of blood, and we feed only a few times a week. I only drank so much from those two men in the bar so I would not have to feed as much while we were on the quest. Basically, we drink blood from humans and have supernatural attributes. The older and more skilled we get, the stronger the attributes become. Oh, and vampires also age at 1/10 the rate humans do." Black Shadow cocked his head in confusion, and Gavner said "For every 10 years that passes, my body ages one year. I am 114 years old." Black Shadow's eyes widened with shock and Gavner laughed. "well, we had better get going. The casualties are growing for every minute we hold off on our journey." He turned to Mavrick and said "Thank you Mavrick for your hospitality. I would be fried by now if you hadnt welcomed us"

"You are welcome in this house any time Gavner Nahs. Thank you for your company, and may the luck of the vampires ever be on your side." He embraced Gavner and turned to Black Shadow. "And you, Black Shadow, a friend of Gavner's is a friend of mine. You are welcome here any time as well." Black Shadow nodded in gratitude and then Gavner and him were off into the night. This time Black Shadow motioned for Gavner to follow him, and he led him through the forest. The wooded area was a dense area of conifers and maple. It was a very odd mix, but there were many odd things in this land; these sights were not uncommon. Black Shadow and Gavner stalked silently through the dark forest, but neither one stumbled or ran into a tree. They seemed to be making good timing, and after about 20 minutes the forest started to thin out. The trees got smaller, and the odor of pine needles grew weaker. Gavner could see a small village in the distance, and he concluded that this was their destination. Black Shadow looked at Gavner and brought his finger to his lips. Gavner nodded to show that he understood, and they started off towards the village.

[black shadow]

The sight of Hanquilden, a familiar city to Black Shadow, caused his face to light up. If it was the middle of the day instead of the night, there would almost certainly be children that would run up to them. But Gavner caused this trip to have no such pleasure. There was very little possibilities of seeing the children. Hanquilden was located along the boarders to the northern seas, and would certainly house someone who could give them a ride to Al Kitar.

AS they reached the gates, one of the guards noticed the two men. "Halt!" he said. "Who Goes there?" He then looked straight into Black Shadow's eyes. "Shadow! Sorry for the confusion, I'll let you in."

Black Shadow smiled as he entered the city. "Can I help you with anything?" The guard asked.

Black Shadow responded in sign language "Yes, we need a boat to Al Kitar. I thought you could help us."

The guard looked at him and said, "Of coarse, the next one leaves in an hour. Just head to the docks, it should be the last ship."

Black Shadow nodded in thanks and begin to walk to the boat. The roads were dark, not one light was on. The docks were equally as dim. Black Shadow and Gavner stepped onto the ship, a large one, probably heading to Al Kitar with deported refugees. The sun then began to rise, and the two were forced to go below deck.

[matthewkuch]

The ship was not elegant, but it was not just a cargo ship. The area below deck was lit up by oil lamps and there were many hammocks. The first mate showed Gavner and Black Shadow to their hammocks, but Black Shadow motioned to Gavner to stay put and disappeared. He came back with the captain of the ship who led Gavner and Black Shadow back past the kitchen, through the storage room, and into a trap door beneath a few crates. The room was packed full of sacks of dried fruit, crates of salted beef and pork, barrels of wine, and a mattress was in the corner.

"Here you are Black Shadow" the captain said annoyed, I dont want any trouble, do you hear me?" The captain said dangerously. Black Shadow nodded and the captain left. Gavner walked over to the mattress and lay down on it. It was firm, but heavenly after a tense night.

Gavner closed his eyes and said "You can go up on the deck and speak with the crew and other passengers if you like, dont worry Im not going anywhere." Black Shadow hesitated, but then left, closing the trap door behind him. Gavner drifted off to sleep, only to be woken several hours later by footsteps directly over him. Clearly this was not Black Shadow, because he tread a lot softer than this. His steps would be significantly softer if even audible at all. The footsteps paused and then Gavner heard the moving around of crates and barrels. Gavner got to his feet and crept closer to the area under the trap door, ready to pounce. The footsteps turned and left, but Gavner did not relax. He was so darn tired though... If he wasnt so tired then maybe he could have prevented all of the trouble that was going to happen later that day...

[black shadow]

The sun... One thing Black Shadow had not seen for nearly a month. It was a beautiful sight. Today was a cool day, with a slight breeze. The temperature was perfect in Black Shadow's eyes. He closed his eyes when he got to the railing, and took a deep breath in through his nose. The smell of the salty sea filled his nostrils. This smell was not very familiar with him, but yet he felt as if he was out at sea every day of his life.

It was then that one of the passengers broke his trance. "You there, in the black! Were you the one who got on this ship with that vampire?" The man asked. Black Shadow just turned towards him and put his hand to his sword's hilt. "So you are? Then you, along with him, must die!"

The man lunged at Black Shadow, sending the tip of his sword to be aimed at his chest. A sure kill if it hit. But the attack had no such luck. As the sword came towards him, Black Shadow ripped his sword from its sheath and blocked it. Taking a step to the side, Black Shadow placed his hand on the man's back and threw him over the rail.

You want to attack me? That's what happens. He thought as he spit at the water where his attacker landed. Wait... Gavner! Black Shadow realized what was happening and ran under deck. His ran came to a sprint when he reached the bottom of the stairs and heard what sounded like barrels being moved from the back. As the room where the trapdoor was came into view, Black Shadow could see four men, each moving a barrel.

"There's the trap door! The vampire must be in there!" One man said as he opened the door. Black Shadow readied an arrow and fired, killing the first man instantly as an arrow flew straight into the sided of his head.

[matthewkuch]

The men must have been dumber than Gavner thought, as they were yelling and stomping around and they seriously didnt expect him to hear? Either that or they thought he was weak. When Gavner heard the men push off the last crate and the latch on the trap door slide out of place he slammed the door open with all his might and poked his head up to see what was going on. One man was dead on the floor with an arrow in the side of his head, two men had been thrown back by the trap door, and a third was on the ground. Gavner leapt up into the room as the men got to their feet. One man came Gavner and waved a cross in his face, and the other had a bottle labeled


Holy water

The third man was brandishing a wooden stake, and Gavner knew he could have fun with this situation. Gavner grabbed the cross and balled it up in his fist, took the holy water from the second man, and drank it. He smashed the bottle on the ground watching the men's horror and kicked the first man square in the chest and sent him flying into a stack of barrels. The kick alone killed the man but if it hadn't the impact with the barrel would have. The barrel Gavner kicked the man into was destroyed and it sent the rest of the stack crashing down on the man with the wooden stake, killing him as well. The second man who used to be holding the bottle began to scream and alert the whole ship of the presence of a vampire. Black Shadow easily disposed of him with an arrow but the damage had already been done. Gavner and Black Shadow exchanged an annoyed look and prepared themselves as the rest of the passengers on the ship began to storm the storage room.

~30 minutes later~

"Of course. Not even on my ship for 2 days and you get discovered! You two didn't have to kill all of the passages!" The captain growled angrily

"We did not kill all of them" Gavner started

"You spared three toddlers and an infant" the captain retorted

"But all the rest were-" Gavner started heatedly, but he was cut off by a motion from Black Shadow who started speaking to the captain in sign language

[black shadow]

Black Shadow stopped Gavner before he got himself into even more trouble. Stepping forward, he began to speak to the captain. "Listen, we really had no choice as to kill almost everyone. The wouldn't stop attacking us, we had to..."

"That doesn't matter! Almost three hundred people, dead because of you two! I should have you thrown off the ship into the sea! But because there is so few people left, and only you two can help with keeping the ship in good shape, I'm going to let you stay!" The captain said as he turned his back to Black Shadow. "Now go back below deck vampire, and Shadow... You stay here, I need to talk to you."

Gavner placed his hand on Black Shadow's shoulder and leaned forward. "You always have the right to say no." He whispered in Black Shadow's ear and then walked away.

"I expect you to help clean up the bodies!" The captain shouted at Gavner. "What is with that guy?" He said as he turned to Black Shadow for a possible answer.

"Well you see, he is a vampire."

"Well I knew that. Why does he act the way he does.?"

"Well... He's a vampire."

"Oh forget it! Just get out. Clean the bodies up." The captain said and pointed at the door. Black Shadow obeyed and left the captains quarters.

~later that day~

Black Shadow was about to enter the trap door to below deck when he heard crying. Not of a child, but a baby. As he walked towards where he thought he heard the sound coming from, it seemed to grow louder. There were a few barrels in the far corner of the ship, roughly where the tip of the bow was. There was not anyone, or thing, in sight. Maybe one of the barrels? He thought to himself as he opened the lid to the farthest back barrel. Sure enough there was what Black Shadow wished he would not have to see. A baby girl, probably only two weeks old. She had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Without it's mother, or anyone really to take care of her, she would surely die. Black Shadow's protective instincts then kicked in. Picking up the child, he comforted it and gave it some ground rice, pounded to almost a powder. The baby ate then fell asleep. No name? No mother... Gosh dang it!

[matthewkuch]

Storming out of the captain's quarters Gavner slammed the door and gasped in pain as he was hit by the sun. The sun had already risen and Gavner was way behind on his sleep. He walked to the passageway leading below deck and grumbled as the sun hurt him. He made it to his matress and collapsed on it to fall into another sleep. Gavner was awoken by footsteps upstairs, and he decided to listen. He heard now that there was crying upstairs and knew what had happened. Opening the trap door and popping his head up into the storage room he saw Black Shadow tenderly holding a sleeping baby girl. Gavner sighed, because he knew that leaving the child was out of the question, but he knew it would slow them down and put them in danger. He walked over to Black Shadow and asked in a low whisper "Did you find any milk for her?" Black Shadow shook his head no, and Gavner sighed again. "Get her downstairs and care for her, I will take care of it." Black Shadow nodded and started to the trap door. Gavner hunted down the first mate and asked if there was any milk on the ship.

"Nah sir, 'ere ain't no milk permitted 'less its rationed by the cap'n," the first mate replied

"Very well. Thank you for your trouble" Gavner said

" 'welcome" The sailor said, but Gavner had already started towards the deck. He knew this was going to hurt, but he had to do it for Black Shadow. He didnt agree with leaving the child either so he stepped on deck into the sun with his hood drawn and the sun burning his pale skin. He walked to the edge of the ship near the captain's quarters and threw his foot over the railing. Careful not to fall off the ship, he took off his boots and threw them on deck. Digging his sharp nails into the side of the captain's quarters he climbed to the edge of the side. Taking care not to lose grip and plummet 40 feet into the water below him, he made his way around the corner and onto the rear face of the captain's quarters. He spotted a window not far from his grip, but he had to risk the captain hearing him if he did not go slow enough. He crept along at a painful pace, seeing as the sun was hitting him from all angles off of the water. He reached the window and pulled out his left hand. Silently and slowly he pushed open the window and peered in. The captain was sleeping in his big chair, and Gavner narrowed his eyes at him and he suddenly felt nothing but despise for the captain that did not care enough to even look at things from his and Black Shadow's point of view. He climbed in the window and searched the quarters. He found a key on the table and soon found that it led to a locked cabinet. He opened it to find valuables, an ominous box, and the stash of milk. Taking a few of the bottles of milk, Gavner's eye lingered on the box. He didnt have time to observe, so he took it and locked the cabinet. Rushing to the door he opened it as silently as he could and shut it behind him. He rushed below deck and into the trap door with Black Shadow and his baby. Walking over to Black Shadow he set down the bottles of milk and started over to the bed. Laying down on the mattress and wincing from the pain in his now pink skin that was burned from the sun, he asked Black Shadow "What is her name?"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow looked up at Gavner as he placed the bottles next to him. He knew that the sun had burned him, he was a vampire after all, but he didn't expect him to have been burned that bad. His pale skin was now a slight pink, almost as if he was a human out in the sun for a few hours. Then the question came. "What's her name?"

I can't give her a name. I give her a name, I become attached. I become attached, I can't let her go. Placing the girl onto the top of a barrel, Black Shadow grabbed a piece of paper he found when Gavner was out and began to write.


I can't name her. You know what happens when people give names, They can't let them go. You know this, and I'm no exception.

He handed the paper to Gavner. As Gavner read the note, he agreed with Black Shadow. "Okay, feed her and get to bed, you need the rest." Gavner said. Black Shadow fed the baby and fell asleep.

~12:00am~

Black Shadow and Gavner had awoke but 3 hours earlier, both by the sound of a crying baby. Black Shadow hoped what he thought it was really wasn't the problem. He walked over to the baby, only to find that it was exactly the problem. Gosh dang it. He thought to himself as he grabbed a few more pieces of cloth from the stash he found her in. He changed her and fed her, hoping she would stop crying. He had comforted her up until now, when the ship reached the docks. Black Shadow approached the captain before leaving. Carrying the girl on his back with a cloth carrier he made, Black Shadow spoke in sign language.

"I must leave to finish my quest now. Please, will you be kind enough to take care of her until I return?" He asked.

The captain replied in a disgusted voice. "Take care of that thing? Heck no! It would ruin my brand new carpet. She's your problem now."

"Fine, suit yourself. Do not leave until we return. I will pay extra for it."

"You aren't even paying at all! You're lucky I let you get on this ship. Now go, finish your quest and hurry up. I want to get back to my wife and kids." The captain said.

Black Shadow bowed and exited the captain's quarters. Once off the ship he met back Up with Gavner. Gavner noticed that Black Shadow still had the baby with him and sighed.

[matthewkuch]

When they made port Black Shadow was off to the captain's quarters, Gavner assumed to discuss matters with him but Gavner did not care to see the worthless scum bag. Walking to the edge of the ship and, ignoring the cries of protest from the crew, Gavner jumped from the ship onto the dock. Vampires could fall great distances without dying, but Gavner did not have that toughness to him yet, so he rolled to break his fall and continued smoothly not missing a step. Walking into a back alley he paused and looked around. This was a nice town full of strong sailors and militia; he would be sure to return later and see the town when he had more time. Hurrying to find supplies, Gavner rushed to the outskirts of town and located a stable and large pastures with horses out sleeping, and some grazing. Observing the whole field, he located a brilliant black stallion which was large and muscular. He was watching the magnificent creature trotting around the pasture keeping watch over all of the horses.

Then from far behind him, Gavner heard a deep gruff voice say "Ye best be gettin' back te where ye came from sonny, I know wh't yer thinkin and trust me, it ain't worth yer life."

Gavner turned to find an old man with a long grey beard walking towards him. "And what might I be thinking sir?" Gavner asked suspiciously

"Yer thinkin of stealin' one o' those horses. Trus me, I see many come with yer mindset. They all en up dead 'fore they cn' blink" the man answered

"Why? Does the owner kill everybody who steps foot in the pasture?" Gavner asked

The man laughed and said "nobody owns those horses. Yeh see 'at black one? 'E waches o'er em all."

Gavner stood back in thought for a few moments, but then thanked the man and started back for the port. He got there just as Black Shadow was coming off of the ship while, to Gavner's disappointment, carrying the baby. Gavner sighed, but he knew this was not a choice. "Black Shadow," Gavner said when he reached him. Black Shadow flashed him a look and then looked at the baby and Gavner noticed that she was sleeping, so he lowered his voice. "I found a mount for you. Surely before we leave we must gather provisions, more so for the little one than for us." After pausing for a moment, Black Shadow nodded, then pointed to his wrist signifying they had to make haste. Gavner nodded and started off for the pasture he had come accross.

When they reached the pasture the old man was, to Gavner's relief, nowhere in sight. Gavner pointed to the black stallion, who was still trotting around the field keeping watch over the sleeping horses. Black shadow studdied the magnificent creature for several moments, then nodded. Handing Gavner the sleeping infant, he walked to the opposite field and returned with several bundles of hay that had escaped Gavner's eye. Placing them at the base of the fence enclosing the pasture, Black shadow created a small cradle out of hay that he lay the baby in after taking her back from Gavner. Exchanging a look with Black Shadow, Gavner nodded and they both hopped the fence.

When they were in midair over the fence, the very fabric of time itself seemed to slow down. It almost seemed as if they were passing through some aura of magic, except this was strange supernatural magic that was radiating with pure power. Gavner touched ground first, and as soon as his feet touched the ground time returned to normal speed, but he could tell that there was definitely something wrong with this picture. Every single horse in the pasture stood up in unison and looked at Gavner and Black Shadow, and the black stallion froze in his tracks. Gavner and Black Shadow glanced at each other, and then back at the horses. For several moments everything was still, then all of the horses turned and started to gallop in the opposite direction. Gavner and Black Shadow started to run after them but quickly stopped because they saw the Black Stallion about 50 yards away charging toward them. When the creature was about 30 feet from the two, it reared up onto its back legs and unfolded a pair of wings that were enormous in proportion to its body. It opened its mouth and bellowed out a sound that sounded like a cross between a whinie and a fierce roar. Then from its mouth it let lose a magnificent pillar of fire that was white at the base, blue farther out, and the majority orange.

Then Gavner gave out a cry as a voice boomed out in his mind, "Why do you trespass here? Have you not been warned to stay out?" The immense mental wave sent piercing pain all throughout Gavner's head, and instantly gave him a splitting headache. Gavner and Black Shadow were forced to their knees clutching their heads from the insane amount of pain that was being caused. The creature then returned to all four legs and began to charge directly for Gavner. He forced himself to his feet and pushed off the ground with a mighty leap, soaring over the stallion that had just charged under him. Turning around Gavner saw the horse directly behind him, and it reared back and kicked him in the chest. Gavner flew back well over ten feet by the force of the blow, surprised that his sternum hadn't been broken, and landed hard on the ground tumbling back. He now heard thundering on the ground, a noise that he realized to be thousands of hooves pounding on the ground in a rampant stampede. He looked to his right and saw more horses than he had ever seen all charging toward the fence Gavner and Black Shadow came in through.

Mustering all the breath that he could Gavner shouted "Black Shadow, the baby! Run, get to safety, I will hold this off as long as I can!" Forcing himself to his feet was way more difficult than Gavner had thought because the center of his chest felt like it had been hit by a cannon ball. Stumbling to his feet he wanted to act more as a distraction rather than fight the creature, but the stallion had stopped and was watching Black Shadow run towards the fence. The creature was about to charge at Black Shadow when Gavner shouted "No! Take me instead!!" The horse looked back at Gavner for a second in what seemed like confusion, but then turned and charged at Black Shadow. Black Shadow had reached the fence by now and had picked up the baby, but the mystical creature was now less than 15 feet from him. Rearing up on it's hind legs it shot a jet of fire into the air, and then poised to kick. Instead of dodging, or running away from the attack, Black Shadow turned his back toward the creature submissively, and protectively cradled the baby in his arms. At this moment, Gavner could see that Black Shadow cared about this baby more than anything right now, and he valued the baby's life more than his own. Then something even more Amazing happened; the creature stood down and bowed its head. Then the creature boomed in its mental voice again, except it was gentle. This time it did not hurt to hear. "You two value the life of the infant more than your own. No human or vampire I have ever come across has valued the life of another over their own. This is an honorable thing"

"It knows..." Gavner thought, astonished that the creature knew he was a vampire.

"Yes Gavner. I know" the creature boomed back. Gavner cringed back in astonishment that the creature could read his mind, but it continued on "For years I have waited for worthy opponents, and you have proven yourselves worthy. For that, I will hear out your plight. Is there something you need my assistance with?"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow looked up from covering the baby. He didn't kill me? Why? He thought as he turned towards the horse. Then a voice appeared in his head, not as loud as it was before. It had a calm tone to it now, and spoke slowly.

"You value the life of her more than anything else. Even your own family will be below her, I can see this now. It is already happening. You need a way to get to Al Kitar, your quest requires it. Come closer, you have a good soul." The voice spoke to him, almost certainly from the horse.

Black Shadow hesitated to move, but gave into the wish of the horse and took a step forward. "Now place your hand onto my nose, know that I will not hurt you." black Shadow did so and then heard the voice speak again. "Now climb on my back. I will serve you well. My son will take my position as guardian." Black Shadow placed the baby in a carrier he made on the ship and climbed onto the horse's back.

Black Shadow turned the horse towards Gavner. What about him? he thought.

The horse then boomed a loud cry. "Renegade!" He boomed. "This man needs a ride. you will be that ride." The horse said. "Oh and by the way, My name is Nightmare, according to the locals, but I prefer Echo."

Black Shadow patted Echo on the sided of his head. Echo it is then. Black Shadow thought as a voice entered his head. "What is her name?" Echo asked.

Black Shadow thought for a few minutes then answered. Espoir... Hope He smiled as he thought.

"Good name. Espoir, I like it." Echo said, turning his head back to Gavner.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner was astonished at all that had happened, but when Echo called Renegade and a rust colored horse began trotting his way he had to draw the line. "No no no no, its okay" Gavner said, "I can walk I dont need a-" Gavner was cut off by renegade who snarled at him and lowered his head, bearing two sharp horns.

What kind of horses are these... Gavner wondered when Echo said in his mentally audible voice, "On shall we, we haven't all night." Gavner grunted and mounted Renegade. The horses started off without being spurred on, but they weren't heading for the Al Kitar mountain range.

"Wait, this isnt the way to Al Kitar" Gavner protested "we are heading south, the mountain is East."

"We are taking a short cut Gavner. I assure you we have been to the Al Kitar mountain range before" Echo said

Gavner opened his mouth to protest but just as he did he heard another voice, only audible in his mind. It was cool but firm, and it said "Listen to them Gavner they know what they are doing."

Gavner cried out in surprise and was so startled that he fell off of Renegade and hit the ground hard. He looked up to see that Black Shadow was equally as startled, but he didnt fall off because he had Espoir. "I thought you couldnt talk!" Gavner cried

"I cant!" Black Shadow cried back in his mental voice, but before the confusion continued Echo stepped in.

"Peace Gavner, peace Black Shadow, this is of my doing. I have the power to cast an aura of telepathy to those I wish so I can speak to them. You could say it is somewhat of a telepathic room to talk in with whoever I chose to include." Echo boomed

"So you can talk to me in my mind?" Gavner asked

"Yes" Echo said, "and you can mentally communicate with us without physically speaking."

"Wow" Black Shadow said, "this is a lot easier than writing it all down on paper."

"I'll say" Gavner replied out loud while remounting Renegade.

"Now, hold on tight and watch this" Echo boomed. He gave a neigh to Renegade and they started to trot. Their trot turned into a canter, and then a full gallop. Gavner saw Echo spread his wings and was startled when he felt something beneath him begin to move. He looked down and saw that Renegade was now unfolding his wings and they began to flap. The two creatures began to lift off the ground and rise in the air. Gavner felt the cool wind of the night flow through his hair and fill his lungs, and he looked down to find he was high above the tree tops. The horses began to veer to the east and Echo called out in his booming mental voice, "To Al Kitar we go!"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow held on for his (and Espoir's) life as the two horses, actually known as a Pegasus lifted into the air. they flew fast, almost breaking the sound barrier. It would be mere minutes before they would have to land. The wind blew in their faces, the cool breeze calming Black Shadow's mind. Making him forget all that had happened in the past twenty four hours. He closed his eyes and the whole world seemed to just melt away.

It was then that the booming voice of echo entered his m ind again. "Open your eyes, we must land." Black Shadow's calmed state turned to one of panic. As he opened his eyes, he noticed an arrow fly past his face. They began to descend, their trajectory being the middle of a battle field. The dwarves were defending their home from the elven army who had not yet heard the news, and they were expected to be elves.

The two landed and were forced to get off of Echo and Renegade as they flew to safety. Surely they would have died if they didn't. Echo's booming voice appeared again. "Meet me outside the battle field, I will be there waiting, but I cannot stay here." Black Shadow nodded and turned to Gavner. pulling out his bow and arrow, he knew they would have to fight their way through.

Black Shadow readied an arrow and aimed it at the chest of a dwarf charging at them. Releasing the arrow, it flew through the air directly into the dwarves heart. The dwarf fell lifelessly to the ground. Black Shadow readied another arrow and turned to Gavner.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner was ready for this unexpected turn in their journey, but as they landed he realized that he was going to have to slay some dwarves. Gavner and the dwarves were on pretty close terms, but he knew that none would recognize him in the dark. The battlefield was brutal, savage, and absolute anarchy. Arrows were showering the battlefield in waves, felling elves and dwarves alike when each came down. The air rang out with screams of agony, rage, and battle cries that sent chills down Gavner's spine. All around one could see dwarves battering elves with hammers and tearing apart their enemies. The sound of metal clashing, flesh tearing, and limbs breaking was among the dwarves.

The elves were absolute and clean to say the least. They fought quickly and swiftly, dealing clean blows with longswords or piercing through the heart and even the forehead with arrows. When they were felled they gave shrill cries and fell still, but they fought honorably and sophisticated unlike the savage brutality of the dwarves. Locating their rendezvous point with Echo Gavner turned and kicked a dwarf in the chest with all of his might. The dwarf was killed instantly, and he pounded through a line of dwarves and elves who were ferociously battling to the death.

"This way!" Gavner shouted at Black Shadow as he let lose more arrows at the dwarves. Gavner began to run through the channel the dwarf he kicked had created, but dwarves began to surround him all brandishing their hammers. "You dont want to do this" muttered Gavner as 9 dwarves encircled him. One dwarf on his right side took a mighty swing at Gavner's shin but the dwarves were slow and lumbering with their attacks. Gavner extended his foot into the dwarf's face, pulled it back, and grabbed the hammer out of his hand all before he made contact. Throwing the hammer to his left it planted in a dwarf's head crushing it instantly. Leaping over the dwarves in front of him Gavner brought his leg up behind him in a backwards kick, making contact with the dwarf behind him. Turning around he saw that the dwarf had flown into two others knocking them down, and Black Shadow let two arrows lose like lightening felling two dwarves and Gavner leapt through the air and did a frontflip with all of the force he could muster. As his torso came up and his legs were now pressed up against his chest Gavner was several feet in the air above one of the remaining two dwarves. Swinging his feet down as hard as he could they came crushing down on the final dwarf and obliterated him with a sickening series of snaps and flesh tearing. Gavner had now landed in a crouch position and turned to see Black Shadow in furious combat, fighting more for Espoir than himself.

[black shadow]

Black Shadow made sure to keep himself from shaking and moving too much. The slowness the dwarves had helped him with this. He did not need to move hardly at all, only to turn and kill more dwarves. Then he was surrounded, all he could d was hope Gavner could help him get out of this one. He readied three arrows at one time, shooting them caused them to spread out, killing three at one time. Three wasn't enough. They kept coming, keeping Black Shadow from fleeing. Then Black Shadow heard a horn blow. The sound was similar to that of the Raiaeraian people from Hanquilden.

The a large group of white horses, with elves mounting them, soared over Black Shadow. All the dwarves surrounding him were crushed withing seconds. One Elf walked over to Black Shadow and unmounted his horse. "You are not with the dwarves. Are you with us?" Black Shadow just looked up at the man and shook his head. "Then you must die." the Elf said as he brought his sword up. Out of desperation to save Espoir, Black Shadow turned his back, showing Her, but keeping her out of a position that she would be killed. "I see, you are a father, caught in this battle. Men! Make a path to for this man, keep him safe." As the elf said this, the others started to cut their way through the dwarves in the direction of Echo.

Black Shadow started following the path, and reched Echo with ease. He then looked for Gavner, but noticed he was no where to be found. Where is he? Gavner thought in panic. As he looked up, he noticed Gavner's unconscious body being dragged by a pair of retreating Dwarves. Black Shadow aimed an arrow at the dwarves, but conly hit one. as soon as the one fell, another took his place. Gavner was on his way to Al Kitar, and not the way he wanted either.

[matthewkuch]

After landing in his crouch position a whole other circle of dwarves engulfed him. Gavner went berserk, annihilating every dwarf within reach. Gavner loved this. A lust for blood and battle filled his mind, all he could think of was destroying every single dwarf on this battle field. Every one that opposed him he felled, and three stepped forward to take their place. Dwarves were engulfing him, but they were still no match for him in their sheer numbers. Finally Gavner felt the back of his head being hit with something very hard, sending him to the ground. Instantly a swarm of dwarves overtook him and started punching and beating him into the ground. They beat him senselessly for several minutes until the world seemed faint, Gavner held onto his last sliver of life for as long as he could until he slowly sank from world; and out of consciousness.

When Gavner came to he was in a cell of polished marble stone. Red light emanated from a strip in the ceiling casting an erie and somewhat evil glow about the room. The strip led to a thick door of some sort that looked like steel that was reinforced with stone. There was no gap between the top of the door and the ceiling, and the door had three bars towards the bottom for ventilation, but other than that the space was completely confined. Right away he knew where he was, and it was the last place he wanted to be; the dungeon of Al Kitar.

This was a place deep below the very stronghold of the dwarves in the bowels of the earth. It was one of the most heavily guarded areas of the mountain range, and where the worst of the criminals were held. Dwarves were civil with their justice system and usually passed judgement immediately on those who had committed crimes, but only those who committed offense after offense repeatedly were brought to the dungeons. The dungeons were also for those who had committed a crime against the clan, and was awaiting a convocation to be judged. Every 10 years the dwarves held a convocation in which every dwarf was to attend. This was the dwarves' chance to settle conflict with any other dwarf, visit with old friends, or declare war between households. At the end of the convocation all the dwarves would gather in Al Konvar, the room in Al Kitar which was large enough to hold every single dwarf in existence, where the king would sit and discuss matters and world events with the clan. This would also be the time when the king could declare war on another race, and when the criminals of the dungeon would be judged.

Gavner groaned. He was where he wanted to be, but in the opposite end of the mountain. Here he was rotting in jail several miles beneath the surface of the earth, when the king was on his throne miles above the surface of the earth near the peak of Al Kitar. Gavner looked around and found that the dwarves had been civil with him and given him a comfortable bed with fine linens. He was still covered in blood in his cloak, but his boots had been removed and were neatly set up at the foot of his bed. Struggling to his feet, Gavner felt an immense amount of pain coming all throughout his body. No bones had been broken, but there were many bruises on his limbs and torso. After struggling to his feet, Gavner almost fell to the ground but he regained his balance and hobbled to the door.

Banging on the door he shouted "Hey! Can someone explain to me what is gong on?"

From the other side of the door he heard scuttling of feet and the sound of figures running. "The savage is stirring! Man your positions!" A rough and authoritive voice growled from the other side. Gavner continued to pound on the door and demand that someone explain his situation to him, but got no avail. Just as he was about to return to his bed an idea crossed his mind.

"Bring me Woodan!" Gavner shouted, and all the hullabaloo that was going on outside ceased.

All of the dwarves on the outside began to murmur to each other, and Gavner could easily hear them saying "He wishes to see Woodan." When the murmur ceased Gavner waited for awhile hopefully but found that nobody was coming, so he retreated to his bed and sank into a deep sleep.

Gavner found himself on the caldera of a mighty volcano with his hands bound and his mouth gagged. The glowing orange lava illuminated the volcano surrounding the caldera but beyond was pitch black. Looking up he saw birds circling him high above. There was a stench of death about the place, and taking a closer look around him Gavner saw there were tons of dead bodies littering the side of the volcano. Gavner did not want to look at the dead, but it was as if something was forcing him to. His vision coming into focus Gavner saw the body of Amoux and the rest of the wolf pack that had been the closest to family that Gavner had recently had. Hearing a yip in the distance Gavner tried to shout, but he was still gagged so only a muffled cry escaped. He heard a triumphant laugh, and the same rich disgusting voice that Gavner had slain out of rage.

A figure stepped from the pitch black into the shadows of the orange glow from the lava, holding another figure in its arms. Stepping into the light Gavner could see that Balthazar Jenkins was holding Gavner's precious little Eva, the only survivor of her pack. Gavner yelled into his gag and viciously fought the ropes that bound his wrists but they did not give way.

"Now now Gavner, you dont want Eva to see you like this do you?" Balthazar tutted disapprovingly as he stepped closer to Gavner. Sneering viciously Balthazar kicked Gavner squarely in the chest and Gavner flew backwards and plummeted toward the deadly substance that awaited him. Gavner could feel the immense heat scorching his back and lighting his cloak on fire. As he drew closer and closer he felt the skin on his back begin to burn and turn leathery. When the heat became almost unbearable and Gavner was sure he would perish, he woke up extremely startled in the pasture, and Echo was trotting toward him.

"Gavner" Echo boomed in his mental voice, "you are still dreaming."

"Anything is better than this!" Gavner gasped, still feeling hot and unsettled.

"We have been separated. Black Shadow and I are on our way into Al Kitar, but we are traveling undetected so we are going at a slower rate. We will rendezvous with you in Al Konvar the eve after next to speak with the king. Do not speak with him before we rendezvous."

"But-" Gavner started, but Echo cut him off.

"I have not the time to discuss this, I have used enough energy as it is." and with that, the scene faded and Gavner woke in his cell.

[black shadow]

Black Shadow grew nervous for Gavner. The memories of what had happened to his friend Ashla appeared in his mind, and he could only think about what they would do to Gavner. The flight was slow and the waiting almost unbearable, the wind no longer calming his mind. Fear of Gavner being killed became visible along his face.

"He is okay, don't worry." Echo said. "He is in a prison cell with bruises, but other than that he is okay."

Good. I don't know if i could live with myself knowing I let someone die. Black Shadow thought to himself. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When he awoke, the two were slowly gliding into the hole of the golden peak. Black Shadow snapped his head down and saw Gavner waiting for him. How long have I...

"I put you and Espoir into a deep sleep. You have been asleep for almost a week now." Echo said. "Now we have a quest to finish."

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sat up abruptly on his bed, his breathing heavy and uneven. The horrible dreams kept coming, even though it had been quite awhile since the incident with Balthazar. He sat there for a time staring at the wall, which was illuminated by the eerie red glow, deep in thought. He was startled by an extremely loud sound that was similar to that of two enormous slabs of rock slamming together. He looked at the door to find a slat opening in the door that was half the size of a dwarf, and a silhouette squeezing through the opening. After it was through the slat closed with the same noise it opened with and the figure stared up at Gavner.

"Master Nahs?" The figure said in a deep nasally voice.

"Woodan!?" Gavner almost shouted, with a mix of surprise, excitement and relief in his voice.

"Yes it is I."

"Boy am I glad to see you! There has been a big mix up, I have extremely urgent news for King Hronzak, and we got caught in the middle of the battlefield and-" Gavner started, trying to explain everything at once when Woodan silenced him.

"I know you Master Nahs, and I know that you are not supposed to be here. I have tried to consult with the guards but they would not yield. I spoke with the king and he is personally coming down to release you when he gets time. Things are really tied up in Al Konvar; the king is discussing new strategies with his war council." Woodan wheezed

"What strategies are they contemplating?" Gavner said dangerously, knowing that if the dwarves launched an attack at the elvish capitol the queen would revoke her peace terms.

"I do not appreciate your tone Master Nahs, and if you must know I ask that you consult with the king. You know of his respect for you." The dwarf said.

Gavner did not like being told off by the dwarf but he did not have time to argue. "Woodan are you sure you cant get me out?"

"I am sure. Await the king's arrival" Woodan said, and then they heard a bang at the door telling Woodan his visiting time was up. After bidding Gavner farewell he exited and Gavner waited, refusing to sleep because of the horrid dreams that might result.

~24 Hours Later~

"Who locked master Nahs in the dungeon!?!?!?" Gavner heard a clear deep voice boom from outside of the cell. The sound of fiveteen sets of weapons and shields clattering to the ground came from outside the cell. Gavner also heard sets of armored bodies falling to the ground in fear as well. "Well???" The voice boomed.

"F-f-footsoldiers from the b-battlefield your m-m-majesty" another voice trembled back.

"What is the meaning of this!!!" the king shouted, even more enraged than he already was.

"He was a savage, rampant on the battlefield. That creature killed over thirty dwarves in under twenty seconds. It could have defeated our entire brigade and the defense regiment before sunrise. That creature should be executed in the name of the king" A dwarf said in a deep, disgsted voice. Gavner had the feeling this dwarf was among those who had not fallen during the king's arrival.

"SAVAGE!?" The king roared truly infuriated, "SAVAGE!?!?!?"

"Sire!" The deep voice said heatedly, "that thing claimed over 120 lives that we cannot rep-"

"Silence!" The king shouted at the top of his lungs, "Master Nahs is an ally of the clan, and you have offended him, therefore you are now an offender of the clan! You shall take his place!" The king boomed. "Now will somebody please get him out of here!"

Gavner heard signs of struggle, but then he heard another cell door slam shut. Gavner's door opened and bright golden light flooded his cell forcing him to shield his eyes. Looking down he saw King Hronzak gazing up at him kindly. "Master Nahs! It is excellent to see you again! I am so sorry for the way you have been treated here. I can assure you the rest of your stay will consist of nothing less than the finest."

"It's okay your majesty" Gavner said, "but some new clothing would be nice."

"Of course! But first you must bathe." The king said, noticing that Gavner was stained with dry blood. "Woodan!" he said, happily clapping his hands together, "please get Master Nahs cleaned up. Then treat him to the finest clothing we have in stock."

"Thank you Your Majesty!" Gavner called off as Woodan rushed him off.

After Gavner was taken care of he asked to go to Al Konvar and Woodan showed him to the ancient dwarf meeting place. The room was extremely large and circular. Gavner assumed that they were nearing the peak of Al Kitar. In the room were hundreds of thousands of stone pews, and an extremely long table at the front of them. Raised on a platform with elegant stairs was a large golden throne with silver trim. Dwarves were in the room murmuring among themselves, but the throne was empty, and there weren't even a fraction of the room's carrying capacity in there. There was a set of stairs on the right of the room. It took over 15 minutes to walk over to them, and almost an hour to walk up them they were so large. When he made it to the top he found a large room with a beautifully polished stone floor that had the insignia of the dwarves on it. There seemed to be an enormous golden dome over him that was far too large to describe, but it had a large hole up towards the top. This was where Echo was going to meet Gavner, and this was where he waited. Gavner waited for about an hour, until he saw Echo's black figure flyiing in through the hole. The whole party was here, now all that was left was the hardest part of all; to speak with the king.

[black shadow]

Woodan led Black Shadow and Gavner to the dining hall, leaving Echo back in the peak. Woodan seemed to be broader than the rest of the dwarves that they saw on their way, but not taller, nor was he shorter. His red beard reached about a foot down from his chin, and his longer hair went down to his shoulder.

The walk to the dining hall took several minutes, and felt almost as long as the flight to Al Kitar. Then a thought came to Black Shadow's mind. Reaching back, he carefully grabbed Espoir from the makeshift carrying sack. She was still asleep, but as Black Shadow touched her soft face, he noticed something. Her temperature was high. Throwing a worried look at Gavner, Black Shadow tapped the shoulder of Woodan. He stopped and turned to Black Shadow, who held out Espoir, and motioned Woodan to touch her head.

"She is hot. Here, I'll have someone take you to the medical facilities right away." Woodan said as he felt Espoir's temperature. "Ozmark!" he shouted. "Take this man and his daughter to Inti."

Another dwarf walked up to Black Shadow. This dwarf was taller than most, and built with a greater muscle mass than he had previously seen. Obviously a fighter, the dwarf must know where the doctor was. Black Shadow motioned Gavner to stay with Woodan and to get something to eat. After that, he began following the dwarf. The walk was short, just over five minutes, but it felt like an hour. Black Shadow's feeling for Espoir grew tremendously in the past week, and now he could not let her go.

Walking into the medical facilities was a sight of beautiful craftsmanship. vast amounts of tunnels leading to the one room could be seen throughout the walls. Wooden benches, cabinets, and drawers could be seen in between the tunnel entrances. Then the doctor walked up to them.

"Hello, I am Inti. How may I help you?" The female dwarf said. She was short and had blonde hair. Her voice was soft and she spoke with carefully chosen words. Black Shadow just held out Espoir. Inti took her from him and felt Espoir's head. "I'll get her fixed up, I promise." She said as she smiled and walked towards another small room. "Please stay out here." She said as she entered the room alone with Espoir.

Black Shadow's heart raced as he waited for Inti to return.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner was reluctant to part with Black Shadow after they just reunited, but after they left Gavner lost his appetite. He did not want to dine without Black Shadow, and was worried about Espoir so he turned to Woodan. "Woodan, would you mind taking me to Commander Sczarnaf? I would like to discuss something important with him."

"Of course Master Nahs, this way please." Woodan replied in his nasally voice. Woodan led Gavner down a beautifully polished stone tunnel composed of granite, marble and many other stones combine. There were so many different stone types but when Gavner ran his hand along the side of the tunnel it was as smooth as glass. The tunnel was illuminated by the mysterious thick line of golden light on the ceiling that veined through the entire mountain range. The dwarves were the best builders and architects that ever lived; and Gavner could not even begin to understand the complexity of the dwarves' home.

After making their way through various twists, turns, inclines, and declines, Woodan led Gavner to the military department of the Al Kitar Mountain Range. The tunnel, which was about 10 feet tall by 12 feet wide, opened up into a large cavern with huge wooden doors. The structure of the cavern was no longer of polished beautiful stone, but of rough basalt and grey stone. The floor was worn to a flat bumpy plane, but the walls and ceiling were still jagged from the cuts and hews made by the builders. Gouges and uneven edges were left in the walls, giving the new territory an entirely different air.

The doors were made of thick, and presumably extremely strong dark wood reinforced with iron supports with no handles. Woodan and Gavner continued to the door and Woodan knocked on the door very loudly. While waiting Gavner noticed that the doors had and metal rectangles that had a wooden slats in them. There were two slats, one about woodan's height, and one about Gavner's height. There was an awkward silence that dragged on for several minutes until the bottom slat opened. Behind the slat peered a pair of small dark beady eyes that squinted when they saw Woodan. The slat slammed shut and the top one opened. The eyes stared directly at Gavner, widened a little, then the slat slammed shut faster with even more force.

"Don't open the door!" A medium pitched voice hissed from behind. "The undesirables have come!"

Hearing this Woodan's face contorted with rage. "Open the door Ärger, I shall not stand for this!" Woodan roared through the heavy wood.

"You fool!" A different but hostile voice shouted nastily behind the door. "You do not work for me to refuse guests, you work for me to answer the door! Guards, open the doors."

The doors slowly opened and standing in the portal was General Xnias. General Xnias was a taller dwarf with long black hair, and he served in thousands of battles. He had a long face with red irises and a small nose. His two symmetrical scars that ran from his mid-jawbone to his temple gave him a grim look, and his battered shoulder plates and black breast plates added to the effect. Underneath those he wore a black shirt that looked like it had padded leather underneath. His legs were clad in dark armor that protected his thighs and his calves down to his black boots that went under his armor. Fastened to his belt on his right hip was an exceptionally large hammer. On his left was a sheathed sword, and he held a black helmet under his right arm.

General Xnias was among the toughest of the tough, and when it came to ranking he was second in command of the entire dwarf army. At the sight of Gavner the dwarf smiled with a mouth of white straight teeth. "Gavner Nahs," he said "to what do I owe the pleasure of your acquaintance?"

"Actually I am here to see commander Sczarnaf. I have important matters to discuss with him." Gavner said curtly.

"Well then right this way, Gavner." Xnias said politely, turning to lead Gavner and Woodan deeper into the quarters. There had always been cold enmity between Gavner and the dwarf general, but neither openly expressed it. Both hated each other with a burning passion ever since day one and nothing would ever change that. The dwarf had an air about him that suggested he was always up to a malicious agenda.

Before Gavner left into the belly of the dwarven military department he decided to take care of the other problem he was facing. He had felt it for a whole day now, but he wanted to hold off as long as he could. Now the time had come where he could not ignore it any more.

"Woodan" Gavner said lowering his voice and kneeling down so he could be close to his ear, "I am getting... hungry..." he said in an even lower voice.

"I assure you Master Nahs, we will be dining very soo-"

"No" Gavner interrupted, "the other kind of hungry."

"Ohhhh." Woodan said suddenly understanding what Gavner was trying to say. "I will supply you with your necessity Master Nahs, come to the dining room when you are finished with your business." And with that he turned on his heel and walked out of the tunnel leaving Gavner to follow Xnias.

Woodan and Gavner were very close because of previous interactions, and he knew that Gavner needed human blood to survive. Gavner had to be careful who knew when he was feeding, because if an enemy found out the blood could be contaminated. The blood of Dwarves, cats, wolves, and many others were poisonous to vampires, and if enough of it was consumed it could be lethal. There were also several lethal herbs that would kill a vampire if consumed. Several households in the dwarf clan who abhorred Gavner, and he had to be careful that somebody didn't poison the very substance that kept him alive.....

[black shadow]

Black Shadow paced from side to side outside the room, his nervousness was clearly showed on his face. just a week ago he found a baby girl, and already she was fighting for her life. I'm a terrible father. How could I have let this happen? He thought to himself. He waited for what felt like hours, then Inti returned with Espoir in her hands.

"She will be fine sir, just an average fever." Inti said as he handed Black Shadow Espoir. "She also needs food and water soon." Black Shadow nodded, feeling bad that he couldn't thank her.

He looked down at Espoir, her soft features a beautiful sight to Black Shadow. a sleeping child was always one he loved to see, but with Espoir, it was a thousand times better. Black Shadow turned back to have Ozmark lead him to the dining hall, but he was no where to be found. Guess I'll be finding the hall alone.

As Black Shadow walked down the stone hallways, he did nothing but look at Espoir, and search for the dining hall. Looking up at one of the room entryways, Black Shadow saw "Dining hall". As he walked towards the door, Black Shadow saw a sight he had only seen once since the journey started. Feeling something touch his face, Black Shadow looked down. Espoir's bright blue eyes brought a sort of happiness to Black Shadow. Seeing her okay was a sight he wanted to see the second Inti brought her back to him. seeing a corner of a wall cut into the surface, Black Shadow walked over to it.

Black Shadow reached to the back of his head and grabbed the back of his mask. Pulling his mask down, he revealed his pale skin and his dark hair.

[matthewkuch]

Standing outside the wooden door Gavner waited until a deep voice called "Come in."

Pressing his pale hand against the door Gavner gently pushed open the door and stepped into a large room. The room was just as it was when he had seen it last, all the work area of Commander Sczarnaf. On the far wall were many cabinets, and 5 feet in front of them was a very large desk piled high with papers. On the walls a big map was painted, with small holes and colored metal tacks pushed into places. The dwarves had mapped as much of the outlands as they could but it stretched on beyond comprehension for any one race. In the center of the room was a giant table that had to be at least 10x10 feet, and it had small models of mountains, trees, plains, and a wide array of landscape.

At the sight of Gavner, Commander Sczarnaf's face lit up. He was tall for a dwarf, and a medium length mane of untamed hair.

"Gavner!" The commander exclaimed, "it is wonderful to see you!" Gavner and the Scarnaf had previously fought together. When Gavner and Sczarnaf first met the dwarf was a high ranking general and they hated each other. By mere chance they were put in the same squadron on a covert operations mission and Gavner saved Sczarnaf's life multiple times.

Smiling Gavner shook the dwarf's hand and asked, "How fares the war?"

Sczarnaf's expression drooped. "Not so well" he replied. "The elves are pushing us back further and further and we have lost more casualties than in any other war. But I can let you in on our plans...." he said.

Gavner began to worry, so at this he knelt down and inquired "What might these plans be?"

Sczarnaf hesitated, then bent closer and said "King Hronzak has sent in a team of his most skilled builders to the outskirts of Kasimforêt. They are tunneling underneath the elvish capital. After they make it in they will plant explosives and blow Queen Olivia to kingdom come!" Sczarnaf said with a triumphant laugh and a punch at the air. "Gavner? Are you okay?"

Gavner had fallen backwards onto the hard ground in shock of what he had just heard. The dwarves couldnt tunnel under Kasimforêt! If they were caught the elves would surely revoke their peace terms and eradicate the dwarves once and for all!
"No Im okay I just need some water. Listen, I have to talk to King Hronzak as soon as possible!"

"You will see the king in due time Gavner, dont you worry. But first, you must accompany us to the feast! Come." Sczarnaf chided as he exited the room.

As they made their way to the dining hall Gavner saw a figure over the huge, and extremely long table all the way accross the room in the corner. A figure garbed in black- it was Black Shadow. He had his back turned to the rest of the dining hall, but Gavner could tell that he was tenderly holding something; presumably Espoir. Gavner looked up and saw something wrong with this picture. Black Shadow was not wearing his mask. Gavner could not see his face, only the back of his head and his medium length dark hair that fell to his shoulders, but Gavner did not want to risk seeing his face.

Turning his back to Black Shadow Gavner planted his feet and told Sczarnaf to go get Black Shadow and tell him to come see Gavner when he had his mask on. Gavner would remain in his spot until Black Shadow came. Gavner stood where he was and thought about the dwarves that were tunneling under Kasimforêt at this very moment and his stomach dropped. He thought about that until he felt a soft tap on his right shoulder. He turned around to find Black Shadow cradling a jubilant Espoir who was smiling and cooing happily. As Gavner saw Espoir a smile tickled his lips, but then he was hit with a realization like a ton of bricks.

On the ship Gavner and Black Shadow had been attacked by all of the passengers, and killed them all. Among the passengers; Espoir's parents. If Gavner had lay low instead of drawing attention to himself on the way in, maybe this girl would have a home to go to, maybe she would have a nurturing mother, or maybe she would go by the name she was given at birth. Gavner would never know what her true name was, or who bred her. When Espoir was old enough, Gavner would have to explain to her how he murdered her parents. How it was all his fault. This realization was too much for Gavner, and instantly all of his breath was taken away. Staring at the floor he lost his balance and stumbled about to keep his balance. Black Shadow looked at Gavner alarmed, but Gavner didnt pay him any attention.

Just then Sczarnaf called all the dwarves to the long table and announced that the feast had begun in Gavner's honor. Tons of dwarves came in and sat around the table. Gavner and Black Shadow sat down next to each other and looked at all the food on the table. At the head Sczarnaf was carving a huge boar, and many dishes were steaming in the center. There were mushrooms, potatos, bread, pastries, meat, fish, and tons of greens. There were tons of bowls of fruit and pitchers of ale, mead, wine, juice, and water. Naturally Black Shadow fed Espoir first, but Gavner took the luxury of fixing both himself and Black Shadow a plate.

The many different smells that came from the table were all so amazing and mouth watering. Gavner gave Black Shadow some fish, potatoes and two lush fruits, one purple and pear-shaped and the other light yellow, orange, and round. He took a roast of mountain llama (a rare delicacy to the dwarves), a small mound of potatoes, and a large slice of garlic bread. Taking two glasses he poured a generous portion of mead in each and gave one to Black Shadow. The mountain llama was amazing as the roast was lightly salted, marinaded in mountain herbs, and cooked to medium rare tenderness. The bread was heavily salted, but the garlic flavor was not weak, nor too potent. The potatoes had bits of mushrooms and lightly cooked onions mixed into them. When Sczarnaf was done carving the boar he gave the first slices to Gavner and Black Shadow.

Halfway through the feast Gavner felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to find Woodan holding a glass with a thick red liquid in it. "Thank you Woodan." Gavner said greatfully taking the glass. Woodan nodded and left. Turning to Black Shadow Gavner softly said "May I have a word with you in private?"

Black Shadow nodded and they left a safe distance away from the table away from earshot of anybody. Gavner explained the king's plans to Black Shadow and his eyes widened in horror as he realized the dangers. "We have to talk to the king as soon as possible." Gavner said. Black Shadow nodded and Gavner returned to the table. They werent going to sit down, Gavner just needed the blood. Picking up his glass he brought it to his lips and took a swig, but as soon as the blood touched his lips Gavner knew something was wrong. The blood had the normal salty taste, and this person had extra iron in their blood but there was an extra taste that did not belong. It wasnt fear, it wasnt pride, or anything to do with the person who the blood came from, but it was a physical substance. It burned the inside of his mouth. It was poison.

Spitting out the entire contents of his mouth and throwing the glass Gavner bent over coughing and spluttering, trying to get the poison out of his throat. Straightening up he furiously looked around at the table of dwarves who were now staring at him and roared "Somebody tried to poison me!"

[black shadow]

Every dwarf in the room stopped and stared at Gavner. Horrified looks scattered the room. Blood from the chalice now was scattered across the floor. The realization of what had happened sent a chill up the backs of those that watched.

"Well?!" Gavner roared again. "Who did this?!" After several seconds of waiting for an answer, Woodan appeared again with another chalice of blood. Gavner snatched the chalice out of Woodan's hand and downed it in seconds. The horrified looks turned to disgust as they watched the scene. "I will find out! and when I do... You will be sorry!"
Gavner threw the chalice at the ground, a slight indent being left where the chalice and the granite floor collided.

Infuriated, Gavner turned from the hall and stormed out the door. Black Shadow turned to follow his friend. As the two exited the dining hall, Gavner stopped to speak with Black Shadow. "We need to speak to King Hronzak as soon as possible. I know the way, we just need to go there." He explained. Black Shadow nodded and followed Gavner as they began to walk to the Throne room.

As they reached the giant gold doors of the throne room, Gavner stopped. Black Shadow noticed something was wrong too. black Shadow walked up to the door, examining the lock. The door had a giant lock, and it was clearly locked into place. Then Gavner did what was unexpected. he ran back about five-hundred yards, turned, and began to sprint. This sprint was faster than black Shadow had ever seen anyone do before. As Gavner approached the door, he could be seen throwing his legs out in front of him. As his feet made contact the giant doors flew open.

[matthewkuch]

Nothing could have horrified Gavner more than the scene he saw after busting open the door. As soon as it opened sounds of struggle, and battle flooded the hall. Inside the royal throne room a battle was raging; dwarf against dwarf. Inside a circle of body guards was King Hronzak fighting with a huge hammer, but wielding it like it was lighter than a feather. The king was wearing a gold colored helm with with prongs that made the top of it look like a crown.

The convoy was viciously under attack by dwarves in black robes. They seemed to be faster than the average dwarves; probably as fast as a normal human, and they wielded different kinds of weapons. Five wielded short swords, five were fighting with traditional dwarven hammers that were flat at both ends, and the other five had pikes. All of their weapons were grayish with elegant handles.

Despite their furious defense, the convoy was extremely outnumbered and overpowered. They were losing ground fast, King Hronzak in the center and four body guards composing the defense. Instantly Gavner and Black Shadow came to the king's defense. Gavner ran back about 50 feet into the corridor and sprinted as fast as he could towards the throne room. With a mighty leap Gavner soared to the other side of the throne room five feet in the air; just a mere foot over the dwarves' head.

Just as Gavner leapt, Black Shadow released a spray of three arrows that lodged perfectly aimed in the hearts of three dwarves. Just as he landed Gavner was attacked by three dwarves. One rushed at him and he leapt several feet in the air. Pulling his legs up into his chest at the peak of his jump, Gavner extended both of his feet out into the dwarf's face with all of his might. Gavner heard the neck of the dwarf snap and watched it's lifeless body did a backflip, landing face down on the elegant marble floor.

Now the enemy dwarves were retreating towards a tunnel in the side of the throne room, only about 4 of them left. Gavner dove several feet, rolled off the ground and sprang up between the last dwarf and the other three, facing the backs of the three retreating dwarves. Instinctively, Gavner thrust his right foot out into the back of the dwarf in front of him, arcing his foot up so the dwarf was launched into the air. Bringing his foot back at top speed with deadly force, Gavner kicked the dwarf that was right behind him in the face, sending his body to the floor.

The two remaining dwarves were now almost to the tunnel, about five-teen feet away from Gavner. King Hronzack roared something in dwarf tongue from across the room and the dwarf nearest to Gavner hesitated and looked back. The dwarf did not even look back for more than two seconds and an arrow plunged directly into his eye socket, in the very center of his eye. The dwarf bore a blank expression and dropped to his knees, then fell to the ground.

The last dwarf looked back at his fallen comrade and Gavner remembered the knife that he had taken from the man in dead man's drink over two weeks ago. Reaching into his cloak Gavner pulled out the knife just as the dwarf had turned and begun to run to the tunnel. Gavner focused on the spot where the dwarf's heart was, and threw.

Throwing knives were Gavner's specialty. During the years of his training to become a vampire general he was trained in all weapon lore, but throwing knives were his best. He was deadly accurate up to as far as he could throw, and the best of the best when it came to throwing knives. The knife was a flash of silver that lodged completely in the dwarf's back. Though the dwarf was about twenty feet away by now, the knife was so far in that only half of the handle was visible. The dwarf fell to the ground and Gavner turned to the king who was still in the convoy of body guards, all of them breathing heavily.

Looking around at the scene of death, Gavner was disgusted. "What happened!" Gavner said urgently to the king.

"I was discussing war tactics with General Xnias when the emergency exit tunnel was breached by about twenty five of those masked dwarves. General Xnias left to get help, they put up a terrible fight, we would have been done for if you hadnt come." They counted the bodies and found out that there were 24 of the masked dwarves, and three of the king's bodyguards that had fallen. The king lamented for his fallen, and scorned for the attackers, but finally Gavner decided that it was time to complete their mission.

"Your majesty. I must observe that the casualties of this war have been massive, for both sides." Gavner said, "Queen Olivia of the elves has requested a truce. She sent me here with peace terms, and assured that she would call off her army if yours were to stand down."

The king sighed and his brow furrowed as he stood back in thought. "Normally for such a decision as this I must consult the council, and the whole dwarven kingdom. I shall not make such a great desicion without consulting them."

"As any great king would." Gavner said, with renewed respect for Hronzak.

Hronzak smiled and said "You are very kind Master Nahs. I cant help but notice that your companion is the best with the bow that I have ever seen, and for him I have a gift."

Addressing one of his bodyguards in his dwarven tongue, the body guard ran from the throne room and came back holding a quiver of glowing orange arrows. Holding out the quiver of warm orange arrows to Black Shadow, King Hronzak said "On behalf of the dwarven kingdom, I thank you for your defense. You and Master Nahs have saved my life, and for that I give you this gift."

Black Shadow took the arrows with a gesture of thanks and Gavner said "This is Black Shadow. He cannot speak, but he is one of the best fighters I know."

"Thank you Black Shadow. In this quiver is five arrows that were worked on by our best spellweavers, they will catch fire to any burnable surface when pierced."

Gavner smiled, and he could tell Black Shadow was smiling under his mask. They both stood in a respectful stance and Gavner said what both of them were thinking.
"Long live the king!"

[black shadow]

~Al Kitar Dungeon~

Where the heck are they? Xnias thought. They should have been here about an hour ago with the king's head! Those simpletons can never do anything correctly. Xnias waited as a dark figure came down the corridor that led to the dungeon. Xnias realized this was one of his men and a wave of relief washed over him.

"Well?" He asked, "Is he dead?" The figure hesitated and Xnias's relief turned to rage.
"I told you not to come back until he was dead!" Xnias roared.

"We were faring well until that vampire and his traveling companion interfered!" A higher pitched voice complained back

"How did Gavner interfere!? I thought he was poisoned!"

"So did we! Our team was overpowering the king and his men until the vampire and the masked man broke down the door and took the upper hand. I escaped just in time. All else was lost." The figure said timidly.

"Hmm" Xnias said scratching his chin, "so there were no survivors."

"None, save me sir."

"No. There were no survivors," Xnias said tearing his sword from his sheath and piercing the dwarf through the heart before he could squirm away.

Picking up the dwarf by the neck in one hand, Xnias turned around to face the entire army that was stowed in the Al Kitar dungeon. "Is there anybody else who would like to disobey orders!?"

The sound of Xnias's voice echoed through the enormous room until there was dead silence. Dropping the body Xnias smiled, baring his perfectly straight teeth in his smile of pure evil.

"Good. Now listen up, all of you! Tonight is the night we have all been waiting for! When I give the signal in Al Konvar you will all uprise and take the hall, cut down all who oppose you! I will personally kill their precious king and take my rightful place on the throne. Do I make myself clear?" He shouted

"Long live the king!" The army chanted in unison.

"Good," Xnias said softly to himself. "And Master Nahs will have a lovely surprise coming his way, a lovely surprise indeed."


To Be Continued In "There And Back Again"


Matthewkuch would like to request that he does not receive any GP for this thread, instead receiving extra EXP.
Spoils: I would like to request the arrows given to me by the king please. They are made of Siccblagh, a dwarven material equivalent to Delyn, as it breaks, it explodes the enchantment. The Enchantment in it has a burning effect like fire.

[Quentin Boone]

Thread Title: To End The War (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?27210-To-End-The-War)
Judgment Type: Full Rubric
Participants: black shadow, matthewkuch



Plot: 11/30

Story- 4/10
The story only had minimal links to the past; we got told that Gavner was there looking for a partner in his quest but nothing explained Black Shadow's reasoning for being there. Events seemed random and added in simply to try making it epic, which is normally fine, but they felt like they were just 'tacked on' and didn't really have proper lead-ups to them.

Both writers did, however, try to give a complex plot involving betrayal and intrigue which was almost carried off well.

Setting- 4/10
Setting was generally lacking here. There were little snippets throughout the thread where setting was described in passing, but it didn't immerse the reader or paint a vivid enough picture to bring the setting to life. Given the different areas the characters went to, this could have been a major highlight for the thread.

On the plus side, there was use of multiple senses in describing setting. This is a strong positive that prevented a lower score.

Pacing- 3/10
Generally, the thread just flew by - one event, next event, another event, and another, and another. It felt almost like a race to the finish. There were also issues with timing between both writers that jarred the pacing of the story. One writer would state one amount of time passing, the other would state another, and it made things a little confusing and inconsistent. Another thing that hurt pacing was the way that posts overlapped in terms of time. One writer would state the other did something, and then continue their post. Then the next would recap at the beginning of their post. This isn't necessary and should be avoided.

You kept a consistent pace throughout, which can be useful, but remember that changing up the pace to demonstrate the time taken to do things can help to maintain the reader's interest as well as building emphasis.



Character: 11/30

Communication- 5/10
Communication served a good purpose throughout the thread and Black Shadow's use of hand-written notes made for an interesting twist. However, the dialogue throughout felt very 'cardboard' and lacked any real character, with the exception of the use of accent in a couple of posts while they were on the boat. It would also have been nice to see more non-verbal communication. Body language and tone of voice, etc really add depth to communication and can often say more than words.

Action-3/10
There was plenty of action in the story here, but quantity does not matter. What matters is who well those actions fit into the story and the characters. In this case, a lot of the actions were confusing, unclear and contradictory to what the reader was told about characters. Gavner is a vampire, but was able to go out in the sun for a considerable amount of time while on the boat. He also telegraphed the kick to the chest, and it got predictable. Black Shadow fought in the middle of a battle with a baby on his back and barely took notice of her, this was very peculiar, especially after the care taken when approaching the pegasi. The dwarves didn't try to kill Gavner and Black Shadow after killing countless of their kin, instead they celebrated the pair; this will be discussed more under Persona though.

Also, some of the action scenes didn't make much sense. Much of this is due to description and possible 'time jumps' - The writers describe a massive number of enemies, fight a handful, then state that that meant they were all defeated. It was very jarring and also affected the score for Pacing.

Persona- 3/10
There was very little insight into Black Shadow's personality, and what was given felt inconsistent. When he first finds the child, he has no intention of becoming attached, but without explanation, she is suddenly the most important thing in his world. It was confusing and didn't really seem to make much sense, especially considering the dangers he put her in.

Gavner's personality was also inconsistent. We are introduced to him being an almost 'kind' vampire not believing in killing people unless absolutely necessary, then throughout the thread we see him kill countless enemies with no attempt at an alternative solution. It also made no sense for him to feel such loyalty to someone he had met only a few minutes prior, when he jumped in front of Black Shadow against the two assailants in the pub.

The reaction of the dwarves made absolutely no sense whatsoever. While it's fair that Gavner has had previous dealings with them, it was nonsensical that only a small handful would feel anger towards him after he killed a whole load of their people. It even went so far as the feast being in Gavner's honour! This simply would not be the reaction to someone murdering a load of people, regardless of past dealings.



Prose: 12/30

Mechanics- 4/10
On the whole, mechanics weren't too bad, but there were consistent errors in spelling and grammar. A lot of the spelling errors or misplaced and repeated words would have been caught with a proof read. Persistent grammatical errors include apostrophe usage.

Gavner, especially early on in the thread, struggled with using paragraphs properly, which resulted in unnecessary walls of text. Sometimes parapgraphs need to be long, and that isn't a problem. However, a paragraph should be a series of connected thoughts. When you
move on to the next set of thoughts or ideas, a new paragraph should be started. This didn't happen a lot, and while following the 'rule' could have resulted in some very short paragraphs, it would have broken up the text better and possibly have improved the pacing of the thread.

If either of you want specific feedback on this area, feel free to contact me via PM.

Clarity- 4/10
While the thread was generally easy to understand, points were lost due to points mentioned throughout the commentary here. It was also hampered by unnecessary repitition in the narrative. Certain actions were mentioned more than once in quick succession which made it difficult to understand exactly when they happened. For the most part, however, if other areas are improved upon this score will rise on its own, so don't worry too much about it. If you do want further feedback, feel free to PM me.

Technique- 4/10
Generally speaking, the thread lacked any real literary 'colour' and as such came across a little bland. Where imagery was used, it felt a little forced and clunky. There were a few uses of smilies (thing is like a thing), but they would have been better served as metaphors (thing is a thing) to add more depth. With the plot twists and conspiracy, foreshadowing could have been utilised to add tension.

The pacing also affected the score here, as both writers could have used changes in pacing to add suspense and tension in crucial areas.

There were spatterings of introspection throughout, but they didn't really add any depth.



Wildcard: 4/10
The thread was a difficult one to read from start to finish and I have to mention the fact the baby was given ground rice despite being only two weeks old. That would have been a major failure and at best made the baby ill - beyond a simple fever. Babies sometimes even have trouble drinking milk at that age, let alone eating a semi-solid that as far as I could tell wasn't even made wet.



Final Score: 38/100

black shadow (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?16247-black-shadow) receives:


1159 EXP!
50 GP!
A 100 GP discount in the bazaar towards the arrows requested as spoils. Be sure to link this post when purchasing them.


matthewkuch (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?17109-matthewkuch) receives:


1062 EXP!
145 GP!


Congratulations!

Due to the score this thread has earned, the request for extra EXP in exchange for GP has been denied.

[Alyssa Snow]

EXP & GP Added! Congrats on the Level Ups!

Black Shadow to level 3!

Matthewkuch to level 2!