There and Back Again

Rewrite deluxe!

~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."

Gavner drew in a deep breath of the immaculate air from the dwarven stronghold. After the chaos which had just ensued, the vampire and his new quest-mate had been offered a hot bath in the springs royal springs of Al Kitar- the great stronghold of the dwarves’ which was a mighty mountain- and their clothing mended and restored. Woodan, the king’s head steward, had been busily fussing over Gavner and his appearance for the past half hour while the vampire had been cleaning up.

“Please Master Nahs, let me have this red re-dyed for you,” or “Please, Master Nahs, allow me to re-stitch your collar for you!” By the time Woodan was done, he had virtually made Gavner an entire new outfit identical to his old. Gavner pulled on his brilliant new leather boots and made his way out to the hall where he would rendezvous with Black Shadow.

The clopping of Gavner’s boots echoed through the grandiose hall of polished granite which gleamed in the torchlight. Gavner stepped into the passageway where three tunnels met in a cross joint, and the mouth to a fourth passageway was closed off by great golden doors, which seemed to be larger than life. Above the doors, etched into the granite in the most beautiful craftsmanship, were the words “Al Konvar.” Standing in front of the doors was Black Shadow in, likewise with Gavner, a nearly brand new outfit. Strapped to his chest was a baby carrier with a happy baby Espoir suspended snugly. She was cooing and happy gurgling at Black Shadow. Everything had happened so fast; on the voyage to the dwarves’ stronghold, Gavner and Black Shadow had been attacked by all the passengers on the ship because Gavner was a creature of the night. The people fought so relentlessly that the two travelers had to kill all of them; that was when they found Espoir.

Slung across his back was Black Shadow's bow, and in spite of all that happened, a happy Espoir was lovingly gurgling at Black Shadow. The baby reached up to his face and closed her tiny fingers around the bottom of his mask, happily squealing as he smiled underneath. Gavner walked up next to his traveling companion, and smiled. The vampire felt fresh and ready to take on even the most difficult of challenges in his brilliant, crisp attire. He and Black Shadow looked like “a million bucks,” and after what they had been through, they were ready for anything.

The torches and the polished stone in the passageway gleamed in the bright torch light.

“The kingdom awaits, Master Nahs, Master Shadow.” Black Shadow nodded and gently took hold of one of Espoir’s baby hands with his index finger and his thumb as the doors to Al Konvar opened up to make way for the travelers. The two quest mates began to walk prudently through the doors and into the address hall.

The two men walked into the hall to find ranks upon ranks of civilian dwarves seated- every eye on them. The room was clearly in the peak of the mountain, as the ceiling of the hall, seemed to be so far up that it was nonexistent, and the walls were conical and tapered as they ascended. Thousands of dwarves were seated, all in front of the throne, which was at the very end of the hall, and upon a raised platform. Behind the throne were two large panels of glass which let crisp moonlight into the hall, and allowed a view of the surrounding mountain range. In front of the throne was a table, and a panel of nine dwarves who were seated. Woodan mentioned these men. Apparently they were the royal council of the kingdom, which acted in making decisions in the absence of the king.

Black Shadow and Gavner walked slowly down the aisle and finally reached the table where the council was seated. The two travelers now finally looked up and saw the dwarven King Hronzak, seated in his throne. He had a golden helm and a long red beard, as well as long red hair that was held back in a pony tail. The king rose to his feet, and the entire kingdom in the hall followed suit. The king shouted something in a foreign language, and shortly thereafter the kingdom began to recite the code of the clan. After they were finished, the king held up his hands.

“You may be seated,” he bellowed out. Shortly after the noise had settled, he continued, "We are gathered here today," the king boomed, "to discuss urgent news from these two men." Hronzak looked at Gavner and Black Shadow and Gavner.

Black Shadow looked at Gavner, who nodded and stepped forward. "Queen Olivia of the Outlandish Elves has entrusted me with very important news." The vampire said loudly. "She requests a truce, and for both sides to cease all violence! This war has gone on for long enough!"

There was murmur all throughout the room. From some came cries of agreement, and some cries of angry protest. Gavner threw Black Shadow a look. This was going to be a long night.

It did not take long for Gavner to realize that the overarching division of the clan was opposition for selfish motives. After the first two hours of arguing, it was evident that the council did most of the arguing and swaying of the kingdom, and it was the council which was divided. The two opposing sides were the war hawks, and the peace keepers. The peace keepers had the first hour to present their side and rant. Their primary argument included how war was not only draining the resources of the kingdom, but it was also causing such a high casualty rate on the army, and another draft would have to be issued if the rates continued like this.

For the second hour, the war hawks hammered out their demands. They argued that the clan was at an all time low in terms of pride. Pride was a big issue for the dwarves, and the war was certainly not swaying in their favor. They said that if they gave in now, then there would be no recovering from such a blow. Also there was the promise of the price that the elves would pay for restitution, which was needed to cover the cost of the war.

The third hour was consumed by King Hronzak proposing compromises to the two sides’ wishes. Finally, the king proposed a clean compromise, for a new treaty to be drawn up with peace terms, where the elves paid restitution, and the Dwarves would concede the elven relics which they had been withholding for the past century, save for the relics given to the clan as gifts.

“For this,” The king said, “We will send Master Nahs, and Master Shadow back to the elven kingdom to discuss these terms with Queen Olivia. If further negotiations are required, we will send ambassadors, and myself to meet with her and her ambassadors at the Hall of the High Dramorsha.”

Gavner sighed. Finally, all of the arguing was over. Gavner understood that this meant tons of additional footwork for he and Black Shadow; however, he would have happily sailed the high seas rather than listen to this petty political jargon. Suddenly, a struggle arose outside the hall and before anybody could react, the doors burst open.

“Shadow, grab the king!” Gavner shouted as he picked up an end table and ran to the window for cover. There was no time to think; only time to do.

Black Shadow and Gavner had taken cover just in time. As soon as the doors to the hall burst open, a barrage of flaming arrows were let loose into the hall. Black Shadow looked up at the throne and saw an arrow lodged directly into the back of the throne where the king’s heart would have been, had he not moved. Black Shadow stood up to find an army of dwarves marching into the hall, rank after rank. He grabbed some arrows from his quiver and began picking off the officers of the divisions as they entered. Out of the corner of the dark archer’s eye, he saw that Gavner had dislodged a massive stone from the base of the platform on which the throne sat and carried it back to the table.

Just then, Black Shadow noticed another barrage of flaming arrows incoming. He ducked behind the table where the king was cowering away from the incoming danger. Black Shadow grabed a small stone which he found on the floor, created from the newfound destruction, and threw it at the side of Gavner’s face with exceptional precision. Without looking, Gavner dropped the stone he had been struggling with and dove behind the table. About thirty arrows lodged into the table and set the hard mahogany ablaze.

“Hold on,” Gavner shouted over the chaos as he picked up the stone once more. Black Shadow stood up and continued picking off the higher ranking dwarves when he heard a massive shattering behind him. The archer spun around on his heel to see that Gavner had thrown the stone through the window on the far wall of Al Konvar. Their exit point had been made. Black Shadow motioned for the king to follow him. Grabbing a rope from the massive curtains above the window, Black Shadow tied it to an arrow and turned toward the newfound exit.

Without thinking, Black Shadow sprinted full speed at the window and jumped off the mountainside into the crisp night air. He knocked the arrow and fired it at the side of the mountain above the window, then grabbed onto the rope with one hand and held onto baby Espoir with the other hand. The arrow lodged into the side of the mountainside. There was still quite a bit of slack left in the rope, and time seemed to freeze as the archer was falling in space.

Gavner felt as if he couldn’t look as his traveling companion was falling off the mountain. Suddenly, the rope became taught, and this was the moment of truth. Gavner held his breath in anticipation, before sighing with relief as he saw the rope hold, and the dark archer and his baby swing toward the window. Gavner grabbed the rope and held it in the window as Black Shadow began climbing it up to the summit.

“Your Majesty,” Gavner shouted, “You must climb this rope to safety with Black Shadow!”

“But how will you escape?” The royal dwarf asked urgently.

“I need to create a diversion,” Gavner said, “For you to escape. I will find other means.”

The dwarf king nodded and looked at Gavner reverently. “The royal hot springs drain into iceberg lake on the South Side of Al Kitar. Godspeed!” With that, King Hronzak grabbed the rope and began climbing to the summit.

With a running start, the vampire leapt over the platform the throne sat atop, and ran to the west side of Al Konvar, and began gouging with his sharp fingernails a large rectangle large enough for himself to fit through. He then grabbed another mighty stone and hurled it at the wall with all of his might. The beautiful polished granite wall was now a crumbled mess, as the wall was now concaved in on itself, and a small hole was visible, but not nearly large enough for his fist to fit through, let alone his whole body. Just then another barrage of arrows came in through the door. Gavner hugged the wall and ducked down as an arrow whizzed directly above him.

“Right,” Gavner said standing up to face the commotion. “Let us party.”

Most of the civilian dwarves had taken cover at this point, and were either ducked down under their seats, or up huddled by the throne. Targeting the army, Gavner picked up a massive solid stone bench and hurled it at a rank of dwarves. It was as satisfying as bowling, watching all of the dwarves crumble under the thousand pound rock. Just then, Gavner saw General Xnias, the supreme commander of the dwarf army (second to Hronzak himself) enter Al Konvar. Shocked, Gavner froze in his tracks. Part of him knew of Xnias’s treachery; however, it still escaped the vampire how one could betray his kinsman and country like so.

Black Shadow pulled himself up the rope and onto the side of the mountain where there was a ledge, and the steepness of the peak was mild enough to climb. He grabbed the rope when he was done climbing, and began to secure it for when the king began to climb. Even though the king was much shorter than Black Shadow, he weighed nearly twice and a half his weight; the arrow in the mountain would not have been nearly enough. After the long and strenuous climb- on both the archer, and the king- Black Shadow made sure that King Hronzak was on secure land, before retrieving the arrow from the mountain and hoisting up the rope so that none could follow. Even if dwarves had seen the rope, there was no way they could replicate the ascent to the peak.

Turning to the snow capped mountaintop, Black Shadow began with one foot in front of the other, climbing higher and higher. King Hronzak climbed behind him, putting his feet in each of the steps that Black Shadow had made for him in the snow. Black Shadow looked back occasionally to see how the king was doing, but the surface seemed to be holding up. After a long and arduous climb, Black Shadow was only five feet from the peak. As he closed the final distance to the top, the pure white of the snow on the top was replaced with the endless view of the entire mountain range. Al Kitar was the tallest mountain in the range, and beautiful wilderness seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

“Incredible,” Black Shadow heard the king huff from behind him. “In all my years, I have lived in this mountain, I have never stood atop it. I have ruled over this kingdom, and my ancestors have ruled, and their ancestors have ruled, but never before have we viewed our kingdom like this.”

Black Shadow continued to look out over the landscape. Up at this altitude, there was a snowstorm that gave the whole landscape a whiteish overtone. Down on the scene, there were rivers and lakes, forests and massive tracts of land that seemed so majestic.

“My father once took me when I was a young prince, and told me to trek to the top of the falls on the far side of the mountain range, and all that I could see was what I would rule. I never truly understood the scope of what he said until now.”

“Oh, no you did not!” Gavner said to himself. He took another running start and bounded through the army to the middle of the hall, jumping on the massive stone seats as to avoid the attacks from the soldiers. When standing in the middle of the aisle to the throne from the doors that lead into Al Konvar, Gavner was directly in front of the treacherous general.

In a heat of rage, Gavner’s face turned bright red, and as loud as he could, the vampire shouted “Hey, Xnias!” The black bearded general looked directly at the creature of the night, but before he could react, Gavner turned around and dropped his black slacks down to his ankles and bent over, shaking his full moon at the traitor. For extra effect, Gavner spun his hand back in a windmill motion and slapped his rear end as hard as he could, leaving a handprint directly in his left cheek.

Pulling up his drawers, Gavner stood up and pointed at the general. “Traitor!” He shouted, “You do not deserve to command this army!”

The general’s face contorted in fury as he saw the spectacle that Gavner was putting on. He shouted angrily and began charging at Gavner, his Warhammer brandished. Gavner got down on one knee and held out his arms, open wide, saying “Oh come here, of course I will give you a hug little guy!” At the last moment before Xnias had closed enough distance to swing his hammer at Gavner, the vampire shot to his feet and took a mighty leap back, ten feet in the air and did a back flip, before sticking the landing.

“You will have to try harder than that, my dear adversary.” Gavner taunted.

“Seize him!” Xnias shouted in rage.

“It is about time!” Gavner said with a menacing smile, “I thought you would never say so!” Suddenly dwarves began to charge the vampire from all sides with hammers and shortswords. Gavner stepped forward and kicked the first one in the chest as hard as he could. The dwarf flew back and knocked down a whole row of soldiers. The creature of the night picked up the hammer that the dwarf dropped and leapt over the hoard of dwarves and onto a stone bench. “Now for the fun stuff!”

With the hammer, Gavner began to smash the bench, breaking it into many smaller chunks. The vampire picked up a piece of stone that was douvle the size of his fist and hurled it at an incoming dwarf’s head. With a loud grunt, the dwarf dropped to the ground, and into an eternal sleep. Gavner looked up and met the eyes of a soldier who had been standing nearby to see the whole scene take place. He looked at the dwarf. The dwarf looked at him. Gavner looked at the rock in his other hand, and then at the dwarf. Flashing his sharp, ebony black teeth in a smile, Gavner whipped the rock at the dwarf who had now turned tail in a futile attempt to escape his fate.

The creature of the night began hurling stone after stone at all of the incoming dwarves, making the soldiers now jump behind benches to take cover, and think twice before storming the vampire. While the dwarves were distracted, the creature of the night took his opportunity to make a grand exit, and picked up the entire bench from which he was gleaning chunks of stone. He threw the bench to the far side of Al Konvar, and leapt toward the hole in the wall that he was making. While the dwarves began to charge to the opposite side of the hall where Gavner had thrown the bench, the creature of the night picked up the massive stone that he took from the throne base, and he once again threw it at the wall with all his strength. The wall collapsed in on itself a bit more, and the hole grew larger in diameter. Gavner looked at the wall, and then at the approaching horde of dwarves. And suddenly decided that the hole was large enough for him to fit through, before diving into the wall. The hole was just large enough for Gavner to fit through. If Gavner had but drunk one more glass of water, or eaten one more crust of bread, he would not have fit through the hole in the wall. Using his arms and legs to wriggle himself, the vampire slowly squirmed down the tunnel which he had opened up. When the dwarves had first dug into the mountain, they needed to dig extra shafts for air in case of cave ins. Gavner had just been lucky and found one of these closed off air shafts.

Gavner continued to crawl through the tunnel until he reached a small opening. He had now come across a real tunnel that clearly had been closed off because there was absolutely no lighting, and no lanterns. If it were not for Gavner’s vampire sight, he would not be able to see anything; however, he could see in the dark. Looking back, he noticed that he was not being tailed. Dwarves may have been shorter than humans and vampires, but they were certainly not skinnier. No, no dwarf was going to be able to crawl through that old abandoned air shaft like Gavner could.

Gavner began to duck walk through the tunnel. The passage was only the size of a dwarf- it must have been an escape tunnel at one point. Perhaps this tunnel could take Gavner directly to an exit. As he continued down the tunnel, the temperature began to rise, and Gavner grew hotter and hotter. The tunnel began to slope upward, and Gavner felt himself climbing upward in the mountain toward the summit. He began to feel relieved. Perhaps his escape would have been easier than he thought!

---

General Xnias was pacing in the hall in front of the throne. Down at the table where the council once sat, his commanding officers were reporting.

“I don’t care that nobody can fit through that tunnel, just find where it goes!” He shouted angrily. “Ever since day one, that vampire has been nothing but trouble. He has escaped me for the last time.” The officers began to go out and command ranks of men to go and search tunnels throughout the mountain. “Unless…” Xnias thought out loud.

“Captain!” Xnias said.

“Yes general?” The captain replied.

“ He isn’t trying to go covert. He is going to try and escape, that coward! Send all your ranks to the hot springs.”

Gavner was excited at this point. He smiled as he began charging through the tunnel at an accelerated pace, when he ran directly into a pile of stone, barricading the tunnel. He fell back on his heels and rocked further onto his back with a grunt.

“Xzcunge!” The creature of the night cursed, “Cave ins.” He looked at the barricading stone with fury. How was he to escape now? Suddenly he became aware of the sound of running water below his feet. “The royal hot springs,” Gavner muttered to himself. He pressed his ear to the ground. The floor of the tunnel he was in only seemed to be several inches thick. Something he could easily break through. Stepping back, the vampire took out the hammer that he had stored on his belt, and he prepared a blow.

“One, two… three!” Gavner brought the warhammer down onto the floor of the tunnel. He saw a dent in the stone and cracks that spider webbed to the walls of the tunnel.

“One, two, three!” Gavner said again as he smashed an even bigger dent with more cracks into the tunnel floor. “Come on,” he said, “just one more time!” He panted and raised his hammer before drawing in another big breath. “Three!”

One moment Gavner was swinging the Warhammer with all his might, and the next, he was freefalling- plummeting- in a long unsettling drop in the dark. He did not scream, he did not think, he simply fell for several seconds before he was plunged into the blood warm pool of hot water which he had just bathed in previously that day. He was in the royal hot springs of King Hronzak.

Popping his head out of the water, he took a deep breath in before looking around. The high cavern ceiling sounded out an insidious cracking sound which spread throughout the entire cave. Gavner looked up and noticed the admonishing stalagmites sticking directly down in a daunting manner. The ceiling of the cave must have been eroded throughout the years in the history of the mountain and worn down the escape tunnel’s floor so that it was nearly a few inches thick. Looking around, Gavner saw no inlet for the water, but the soothing trickle of running water he could hear echoed throughout the cavern.

He saw a medium sized tunnel with an overflow level which must have been the outlet, and he began to swim for it when he heard footsteps in the entrance to the cavern.

“Xzcunge.”

“Quickly, this way!” Gavner heard a gruff voice, followed by the boots of others.

“There he is!”

“In the water!”

“I see him!”

“What are you waiting for? After him!”

Gavner booked it to the overflow where he pulled himself up onto the tunnel of the floor. He looked back toward the entrance and saw hundreds of dwarves flooding the entrance to the cavern. They began to jump in the pool of water and wading toward the escaping vampire. He had to think fast.

“Think, think!” Gavner said to himself looking around. Hundreds of dwarves were now in the cavern, and more flooding in. With the sheer amount of volume displacement in the pool, water began to rush up through the overflow and flood the passageway. Gavner looked down at the hammer that was still in his hand, and then at the ceiling of the cavern. With a well placed throw, he hurled the Warhammer at the spot next to the hole which he had created in the ceiling where the tunnel was, and the same angry cracking noise came from the roof of the cavern. However, this time it was angrier. This time the noise came back with a vengeance. A stalagmite fell down from the ceiling and skewered an unlucky dwarf who was standing in the entryway. Suddenly, another fell, and then another.

Before the catastrophe could play out fully, Gavner turned toward the exiting water in the overflow and began to run down the tunnel, his feet sloshing through the warm resisting water. From behind him, in the previous cavern, Gavner heard the sound of a massive piece of the ceiling being dislodged, and the eerie silence that followed as it was falling. Then came the screams of fright and anticipation. Then the massive splash. Gavner knew what was coming, so he ran as fast as he could, but there was no way he could escape it. He heard the eerie whisper of water approaching, and then he was overtaken by the tidal wave. Gavner took a deep breath before he was consumed and the tunnel was completely filled with water.

The vampire was battered and smashed against the sides of the tunnel as he was shoved though the passage. He could feel himself being forced into a smaller tunnel, as the water speed increased, and he was battered much more, until finally, the pressure in the tunnel was released, and he burst through the side of the mountain in a brilliant, steaming waterfall.

Black Shadow looked over the mountain range, admiring its beauty, when in the distance he saw a large black, flying figure round the peak of a far mountain. As it came closer, he could make out the shape of a horse but it was flying with large feathery wings. It was Echo, the Pegasus which had brought them to Al Kitar in the first place.

“Black Shadow,” A deep voice boomed in his head, “We don’t have much time. I have come to take you on your first leg of the journey.” Black Shadow nodded. Echo swooped in gracefully and landed on the summit, which was gleaming in the crisp, cool moonlight. He helped King Hronzak mount Echo before making sure that Espoir was secure, and wrapping her tighter in his blanket. Then he mounted the Pegasus. The black beast then spread its wings and began to descend from the summit, circling the mountain as he gradually began to fly closer and closer to the ground. Black Shadow looked down at the ground when they were on the South side of the mountain, and saw a beautiful waterfall of steaming liquid trickling from the side of the mountain into a large lake. In the lake was a massive iceberg, which gave the whole side of the mountain a beautiful, and peaceful look.

They began to descend out of the snowstorm on the summit, and the temperature began to rise, as a comfortable breeze blew through. As Echo began to circle the North Side of the mountain, Black Shadow braced himself for the bloodied battlefield which they had witnessed on their way to the mountain. The scene was not much better than Black Shadow had remembered. There were scores upon scores of battle consumed dwarves, and the occasional elf or two. The elves had suffered virtually no casualties whereas the dwarves had suffered thousands upon thousands- in which the land was ridden. Black Shadow shook his head. The sooner they got to the elves and negotiated the treaty, the better.

But now there was another problem. The dwarves were going to need reinforcements to take control of their own army once more. Now this was a matter of negotiating peace terms, and aid with rebuilding, and reinforcements.

Echo began his final circle around the mountainside, where a gruesome sight awaited. The small trickle of a waterfall was now a roaring fall of crimson red, steaming water gushing out. Gavner had done his work.

Godspeed, Gavner. Black Shadow thought.

Black Shadow did not feel right letting Gavner go alone, but he knew that it was necessary. He just hoped that his traveling companion had escaped safely. As they left the mountain range, Black Shadow felt Echo’s presence in his mind, and he gave him his attention. The black Pegasus' voice boomed within Shadow's head.

"I will take you as far as I can. I will not be able to take you all the way though. You must find your own way after a time, as I am needed to escort the king to The Hall of the High Dramorsha."

The flight was accompanied by King Hronzak gripping Echo's mane tightly in fear. It was when the steed's booming voice entered his mind that the king released his grip, almost falling off while doing so. As the night grew old, Black Shadow remained alert and awake, observing the rustic landscapes fly by underneath them. Trees and meadows, streams and lakes, all different kinds of habitat were all seen. The pegasus flew over several small villages, and continued towards the great forests of the North.

A dark tree line grew into a light green field, and Echo began to tire. He found a small cave, and quickly dropped his passengers off, speaking to Black Shadow.

"I will stay and attend to the King’s needs tomorrow evening. You go and negotiate with Queen Olivia." Echo said in his deep voice. Black Shadow nodded and turned to exit the cave. “Black Shadow,” Echo said.

Black Shadow turned to look at the entity, to whom the king was still clinging. “Stay true to your course, and remember that there is quite virtually no time left for the dwarves. They grow weaker and weaker as we speak.” Black Shadow nodded. “Godspeed.”

“Wait!” The king said before Black Shadow could turn to leave. The short royal wriggled himself off and landed on the ground to run over to the archer. “You’re going to leave me?”

Black Shadow looked around and couldn’t find any paper, so he grabbed stone and began to write on the wall, “Yes, Your Majesty. Echo will take you to a safe place.” The king hesitated a moment, and then nodded reluctantly.

Black Shadow turned to the mouth of the cave. The journey would be at least a few days. Before Black Shadow left, he tended to baby Espoir. She was still fast asleep from the journey, as Shadow had kept her out of the cold, and stopped the wind from irritating her face. He made sure that she was comfortable before starting off. The journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.

Black Shadow ran as fast as he could, he felt like he was moving faster than he had ever run before. The trees were flying past him and the grass behind him was kicked up and flown a few feet. It took but an hour for the fatigue to seep into his mind and for him to stop. Black Shadow took in a few more deep breaths and began to run again. He had a goal: Get to the elven kingdom and call upon queen Olivia.

The stops became more frequent until Black Shadow was forced to stop completely. He was tired, and hungry. Sitting on a log for a momentary rest, Black Shadow began to think about making camp. He was in a well wooded area; shelter would not be difficult to locate. Food was not hard to find either, as there were plenty of wild animals around to kill. He followed a small, nearby stream that he found until it lead to a small opening under the wooded canopy, the south end bordered by a felled tree. Using his sword, he began to chop up a small section of the ground before taking off his gloves and scooping the dirt out of the ground, making a small pit. Sheathing his sword, Black Shadow used rocks from the stream to create a relatively large fire ring to accommodate cooking dinner.

Going out into the woods, Black Shadow started the hunt. He crept silently through the trees, listening intently until he heard rustling in the distance. More silent than a cat, the dark archer moved through the woods swiftly until his prey was in view. Sniffing around a berry bush was a mother black bear. She was a large and admirable opponent; but Black Shadow liked a challenge. He knocked an arrow and drew back his bow to take aim. Shadow drew in a deep breath, ready to let the arrow fly, when he felt Baby Espoir stirring. Shadow’s eyes grew wide as he felt her yawn and reach up to grab at his mask. He had almost forgotten that Espoir was even there. The archer slowly brought his bow down and began to turn when she let out a happy coo. It was that cry- the cry of a happy infant- that alerted the bear of Shadow’s presence.

Shadow was barely peeking out from behind the tree when he saw the bear look up in his direction, but the archer was completely obscured behind the tree. The bear hesitated for a moment- the moment of truth- before she went back to her berry bush. For a moment, Black Shadow was relieved. They had flown under the radar for the time being. Baby Espoir happily began to hit his chest with her little arm. Shadow had barely even taken a step, and that was when she cried out again, even happier and louder than before. Black Shadow knew what this meant, and instantly he turned around to see the bear charging in his direction. Swiftly, without missing a beat, he drew his bow, knocked an arrow and let it fly directly at the bear’s left eye in one fluid motion. The bear roared in agony as it jerked back and reared on its hind legs, but Shadow didn’t stick around to watch it be angry. In a moment’s notice, Shadow was behind the bear, an arrow aimed directly at its brainstem. Before releasing, Shadow thought of Baby Espoir, and how the bear was going to harm her. He drew the bow back extra, and released the arrow at a deadly velocity.

The bear hit the ground with a thunderous “thud,” and Shadow began to haul it back to camp. When he finally returned back, he made a small cradle of sticks and small logs to keep Espoir from rolling into danger, and set her swaddle down. He then proceeded to gather twigs and sticks for his fire. When he found enough kindling, he sought out some fallen logs which he could drag back to his camp. After finding about five large logs, he came across a mighty fallen tree which there was no way he could haul back to his site. Pulling out his short sword, Black Shadow began to chop and quarter the wood nicely and stack it so that he could return to this spot if he needed any more than what he had back at his campsite. After he returned and kindled the fire, he began to skin and quarter the bear meat. He made a pile of the meat on the face of a log which he cut the bark off of and leveled to resemble a table. He set the offal into a pile near the stream, and hung the hide on the branch of a small tree.

As Black Shadow began to cook a few filets for himself, a sudden wave of extreme exhaustion set in. His adrenaline rush had worn off and it was all he could do to stay awake. The archer finished his cooking and ate part of his food before he realized he was too tired to eat. He then threw a sizable log on the fire and lay down on the forest floor. He was asleep before his head hit the ground.

The plummet toward the lake below was painstakingly slow, but it was nothing compared to the landing. Gavner held his breath, but it was all that he could do to keep himself from screaming and letting it all out once he plunged into the subarctic water. The current from the falling water forced Gavner down forty feet or so, from whereupon he opened his eyes. He did not have much strength to do more than that, as his muscles were still frozen in shock. When he gathered enough willpower, he broke out of his trance and started to swim around the iceberg. His body was in a state of paradox, as the water was so cold that his skin felt as if it was on fire.

He continued until he was clear of the large mass of ice, and on the shore. Breaking through the surface of the water, Gavner gasped in a breath of new air as he began running for dry land. Finally, Gavner’s feet hit the warm grass, and he was out of the water, but he did not stop there. Turning, Gavner began his journey around the mountain to the North Side. He was rounding the east side, which was terraced farm land. The terraces were not bad, as they went in one-foot increments, so he could simply step over them. A smile crossed his face as he thought of General Xnias. Gavner was home free now. There was no way that they were going to stop his journey, and when he came back, he would not be alone. Gavner finally cleared the terraces, and began to sprint. As he sprinted, he steadily began to increase his pace until he was at the threshold of fliting speed. Taking one last look at Al Kitar, and the battlefield, he crossed the speed barrier and began traveling upwards of one thousand miles per hour.

As he “flitted” through the landscape, Gavner had no idea where he was going, but the moon was beautiful, and so was the countryside, so he was content. Suddenly the figure of a great black Pegasus came into his vision. There was a cool air about it as if it was an apparition, but Echo’s familiar booming voice resounded in the vampire’s head.

“Gavner,” it said, “Black Shadow has made camp. Follow the constellation of Vir Fortis, and you will reach his camp in a deciduous place by a stream.”

When Gavner saw the dark tree line, he slowed to a sprint, and then a jog before entering the forest. As he continued, he saw a stream, and after an hour of running, he saw the faint glow of embers about a mile ahead. The creature of the night slowed to a walk, so he would not wake his friend. He had made good time; the first break of daylight was a mere ten minutes, as the sky had begun to lighten. Gavner would not be in danger here- the canopy of the trees would provide adequate protection from the sun’s insidious rays. As Gavner approached the glow, he began to smell a large mass of raw meat, and his mouth began to water.
He crept into his friend's camp and suddenly spotted the pile of meat near a massive bear skin. He was very tired from flitting, but his hunger was a more pressing issue. He decided that Shadow wouldn’t mind if he took some of his kill, so the vampire decided to make some dinner for himself, and what would be breakfast for Shadow. Gavner found some wild herbs and mushrooms that would go perfect in a soup. Finding a nice sized boulder, Gavner carved out a large stewing pot with his razor sharp and extremely hard fingernails. He filled it with water from a nearby brook and boiled it. Placing the articles of the stew in the pot he looked around for a thickening agent.

Gavner remembered Fintin teaching him something about Tara Gum; an agent in roots that caused liquids to thicken. Digging up some roots from a tree Gavner ground them up with two rocks and added them to his stew. Now all he had to do was let it boil down. He stared into the fire for several seconds, admiring the beauty of it. Looking around he noticed that the sun would rise in several minutes. The trees should provide cover for him, but it would delay he and Black Shadow for a day.

Going over to Black Shadow, Gavner lay down next to his friend; fairly close. He was looking directly at the archer, who was sleeping on his back. Gavner waited about ten minutes until his friend began to stir. Black Shadow opened his eyes and Gavner could tell he smelled something cooking. He looked up with his head and observed the pot on the fire. Laying his head down he rolled onto his side, the side that Gavner was on. Black Shadow's nose touched Gavner's and he found himself staring into the blazing red eyes of the vampire who had a grin from ear to ear, displaying his sharp black teeth.

"Hi there."

Black Shadow shot his hand forward, connecting a clenched fist with Gavner's nose. Quickly spinning and standing up, Black Shadow grabbed his bow and aimed it at Gavner. When he realized it was his ally, he put the bow down. Gavner hissed at him and turned his back away laying down again.

After some coaxing out, Gavner told Black Shadow all about his great escape, how he created the diversion to stop the enemy from noticing the archer’s escape, and then how he blasted a hole through the wall in Al Konvar.

“I must have hit an ancient air channel that had been closed off!” The vampire exclaimed. “The luck of the vampires must have been with me, otherwise I would have had to power my way through the golden doors and on to the hot springs, and who knows if I would have made it.

“And then,” Gavner continued, the air shaft lead into some sort of escape tunnel, but go figure that the tunnel had caved in toward the end of the mountain! So I took the hammer and smashed a hole through the floor. Imagine my surprise when fell thirty feet to land shoulder deep in the royal hot springs! But of course, I had an entire dwarf army coming after me, and they happened to be checking if I was in the cavern. So I caved in the cavern and escaped through the overflow! But of course, I ended up falling out of the side of the mountain and into a lake full of ice.”

Gavner’s attention was suddenly drawn to the soup that he had cooking over the fire in some strange stone pot, and noticed that it was done. “Here,” he said, pouring some into a carved stone bowl and handed it to Black Shadow. He poured himself some and began to eat it. Black Shadow tried some and realized how hungry he was. The soup was actually really good, and he was surprised. Apparently Gavner was a good cook. Black Shadow had a second bowl and was working on his third by the time Gavner finished his first. Shadow brought the bowl close to his face, and felt the heat radiating from the nourishing liquid.

“Hmm,” Gavner said, “I think it is a little too salty. I must have added too much of my urine.”

Black Shadow froze. He turned and gave Gavner a disapproving look under his mask. Gavner must have been able to sense it, because he said “What? It is just used for fla-“

Black Shadow threw the bowl into Gavner’s face. The vampire fell to the ground, grasping the side of his face which was now covered with blisters and second degree burns. Standing up, the vampire hissed at Black Shadow. He pointed at him and opened his mouth as if he was going to reprimand his traveling partner, but he hesitated. “Yeah, I guess I deserved that,” Gavner said.
"I'm going to sleep. We can continue tonight." He said, laying down, falling asleep within a few minutes.

He waited for the day, taking a nap or two so that he could be rested during his and Gavner's journey. As the sun fell an the moon began to rise, Gavner awakened, and the two set off on foot again.

Gavner woke up to Black Shadow having cooked and packed up all of the bear meat that could fit in Gavner’s knapsack. He himself was breakfasting on a tenderloin, and there was a fillet waiting for Gavner before they headed out. They didn’t say anything to each other; they simply picked up and started running. Gavner made sure to take it easy, so that Black Shadow was able to tread lightly as to not wake up the baby Espoir. They began to run throughout the landscape, at a normal pace, The first day they made it through the long plains that stretched up through the outlands. After the plains they encountered the lagoon which was a two day voyage across. They had to stop and trade off some of their bear meat for more baby food for Espoir, and some salt to salt the rest, but for the most part they did not need to eat from it because they hunted fresh meat every night. They agreed that they would save the bear meat as emergency reserves.

Finally, after a seven day long trek, they reached the forest which was home to the great elven capital. They walked for hours and hours, but the walk did not seem to bother either of them. They rather enjoyed one another’s company.

“Okay,” Gavner said, “So, I spy with my little eye… something…. Black.”

Black Shadow pointed to himself without skipping a beat, or looking away from the trail in front of him.

“Darn it!” Gavner said. “How did you know??”

Black Shadow shrugged his shoulders. Baby Espoir looked up at the vampire and it was almost as if she raised an eyebrow at him before cooing.

“Oh alright,” Gavner replied, “It is your turn!”

”Hmmm,” Black Shadow said in sign language. ”I spy with my little eye… Something brown with green eyes and a big bushy tail.”

Gavner looked around the forest and suddenly noticed, about 300 yards away on the side of a tree, a little brown squirrel, just before it scurried around out of sight. “Was it that red squirrel??” Gavner shouted, pointing off in the distance.

Black Shadow shrugged and nodded. It was kind of fun playing I spy with somebody who matched Gavner’s supernatural senses. The vampire smiled, he had never had a friend with whom he actually enjoyed spending time like this. “Okay,” Gavner said, “Your turn Shadow!”

---

To Be Continued...

Name of Thread: There and Back Again
Judgement Type: No Judgement

Rewards:

Gavner Nahs receives:
4114 EXP
363 GP

Blackshadow receives:
3168 EXP
297 GP

Rewards inclusive of 3x Althanas Day rewards.

“Clary- "How to Come Out to Your Parents," she read out loud. "LUKE. Don't be ridiculous. Simon's not gay, he's a vampire.”
― Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes

“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”
― Sebastien de Castell, Traitor's Blade

All rewards have been added.