The Phantom had barely a moment to cast a cursory glance over Jais and Ash before the requested dwarf was in front of him, wearing the expression dwarves wore best - offended self-righteousness. He knew all too well, having put up with them for quite some time.

"I'm of the opinion that the good master dwarf here can tell us," he threw over his shoulder in response to Silvryn's demanded query, and swiveled to answer the dwarf's question. "If I knew, I wouldn't need you. I - "

The crowd swelled and the Phantom broke off, pausing to bow to an anxious young woman followed by three wide-eyed children and assure her that all was well. "This way," he said offhandedly to the band behind him, and strode purposefully through the gathering people. That draft was still there.

_________________

Someone send for a dwarf!

"'Scuse me, comin' through!" Muttering and cursing, the crowd parted just in time for a member of the mentioned race to barrel straight through. Master Belnarr, stonemason-and-architect-in-one, fell on his face right before he smacked into Phantom Grey.

Jais hid his snicker behind a cough that sounded strangely like another snicker.

"I'm watchin' ye, boy," Belnarr growled, and squared his shoulders and glaring at the accumulated throng. "Now what be the - " His eyes alighted on another stout fellow who bore remarkable resemblance to himself. Those same eyes widened in indignation. He planted one hand on his rather large hip and used the other to poke Khraven Copperhelm in the chest. "I'm the dwarf 'n the Keep, laddie, so ye might as well hit the road."

-----

Torchlight flickered sullenly on slick stone walls and jutting stalactites. Falch'nus ducked under the latter and held the torch higher. The tunnel, straight and tenacious as the earth itself, descended into the darkness. It seemed to lead beneath the Earth's Teeth. What artifact would be hidden beneath a mountain?

Why, one crafted by dwarves of course.

"Sir, what's that?" One of his men held up his own torch and pointed.

Pressing against the wall, Falch'nus took two more steps and narrowed his eyes at the darkness ahead. Or was it truly darkness? His attention was piqued by an eldritch glow, argent in hue, seemingly cold and undulating no warmth. He closed his hand over his dirk and inched forward.

The breath he'd held so determinedly a moment before was promptly stolen away.

The tunnel opened into a circular chamber, twenty feet in diameter. Twelve slender pedestals bearing basins of silver light lined the walls. The walls were covered entirely with glittering mosaics. Had he the time to study these, he would have found intricate depictions of the ascendancy of Kytana as it once was eons ago, gleaming with cities of gold and ruled by an ancient line of kings.

But he hadn't the time. His gaze was drawn to a cynosure in the chamber's center, where stood the largest pedestal yet. A sterling hand pulsated with inner fire on its surface. The hand's fingers were curled, as though clutched around some priceless treasure... or some artifact...

The fingers grasped empty air. The artifact was gone.

_________________

The Phantom hadn't specifically asked Ash to come with him, but he was sure that was just an oversight on his leader's part. Taking the initiative, Ash followed along behind the Phantom, shouldering his way through the growing crowds.

He stopped again as Belnarr rushed up to the Phantom and hid his grin behind his hand at the dwarf's antics. Knowing the nature of dwarves, this would likely be an interesting conflict.

"Hit the road? My work is here! I am not leaving these tunnels until I find something worth my while."

Khraven protested, but wasn`t going to let Phantom slip away until he would find out what the commotion was all about and pushed past Belnarr. The first impression he got from Belnarr was nosy and rather dim, not at all unexpected among dwarves or so Khraven thought. The many years in a human city had changed his attitude towards his own race and humans as well not to mention his priorities. He fastened his phase and jogged to the side of the Phantom, Khraven threw a suspicious and curious look at him.

"So I bet this racket is because of you?"

He asked with a strict tone and expected a straight answer, not the usual `going around the edges of the question` crap.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

so i suppose our character infos just go that that place...whatever it's called? (havent been here in a while, don't know the name)

~^~
Feuer discreetly followed behind the knot of people a safe distance behind. He almost had a heart attack and almost became deaf because of the stupid boom that blew up the stupid mountain that almost killed and/or deafened him.

And he wasn't very happy about that.

Not to mention being killed and becoming deaf wasn't on his list of top priorities at the moment- in fact, stealing something valuable was, that or finding a hoard of pistachios- Feuer certainly didn't want to be caught thieving. That had punishments.

Feuer didn't really like punishments. Especially since they were designed... to hurt, to punish, and to make you want to never do what you did again... with the exception of punishments that prevented you from committing crime. Beheading is one.

Feuer has never been beheaded before, and he didn't really want to be beheaded. To avoid it, being careful, following behind the group, and trying not to get caught or to make noise or to get stun by falling rock or fall into a puddle or run into anyone makes perfect sense. Speaking of which, he was getting very near the last man of the knot of people who look dangerous.

In Feuer's view, people in possession of anything sharp, pointy, or that which can lead to minor injuries or death is dangerous. That and a couple other types of dangerous. Like the guards that policed the city.

Like the guards, Feuer avoided the last peoples in the knot of people in the tunnel. Luckily, they had torches, so Feuer could see that they were in front. Unluckily, it wasn't wise for him to have a torch, so he couldnt' see where he stepped. Resorting to making no movement to make no noise, Feuer grabbed the left wall of the tunnel- not a hard grip lest any stupid rocks fall and reveal his presence - and hoped he wouldn't be noticed and that he wouldn't have to kill anyone and that he would get something valuable out of this from which he could get rich.

That and that they had pistachios.

_________________

Eledhe half-slid, half-trotted down a steep incline in the rough hallway, going as fast as her booted feet could carry her toward wherever that explosion had come from. She had a very shrewd suspicion as to its source and perhaps the perpetrators following, and knew that it could possibly be very much in her own personal interest to meet them.

Skidding around a corner - as the passage grew deeper moisture was seen more often - Eledhe loosened her scimitar in its sheath just in case. Very suddenly she could feel cold air on her face, and a rough hole in a passage wall that she was sure hadn't been there before. "Eledhe Darkstar," she called warily into the opening, hearing muffled voices. "Who goes there?"

---

Having fought his way out of the crowd and into a smaller side passage, the Phantom turned around very abruptly, arms folded over his tunic, and surveyed the small following he'd acquired. "You," he said imperiously, indicating Belnarr and Khraven. "You're coming with me. I want to know where that draft is coming from and why. You," and he turned to Jais and Ash, "can come if you'll promise not to do anything out of the realm of intelligance - anything stupid - and my lady Silvryn can go wherever she wishes," he finished with a bow.

And he was off with a whirl of grey cloak, obviously not about to explain anything to anyone just yet.

_________________

Thoughts reeling, Falch'nus stared at the sterling hand's empty palm. Had the Regent misled him? Inadvertently, most likely. The ancient tomes could not be trusted for their accuracy, especially after a few thousand years. Of the artifact itself he knew little, save that it was a destructive force of some kind. And that the Regent wanted it. Quite badly. It wasn't everyday the avaricious despot parted with a thousand crowns.

A sound in the tunnel behind made him swivel around, rapier halfway out. Hearing a name, he cursed. This boded ill. Who in their right minds - besides his guild - would be taking a jaunt on the barren mountainside? Female, too. "You three." He picked out his best marksmen. "Reconnoiter ahead. Subdue her, but don't kill her."

The rangers nodded and melted into the shadows.

-----

"The dwarf 'n the Keep is on the job, Laddie Grey!" Belnarr declared brightly enough, stumping off to match the human's long strides. Passing Khraven, he threw his fellow dwarf a glare that could curdle milk and had curdled milk in the near past.

How else could one explain the agonizing stomachache Jais had experienced last week?

"I," the forgiving stomachache victim began in a posh voice, "am not stupid. Do I look like Kjan to you?"

"Shut up, boy, or I'll make a plaque of yer tongue and string it up on m'wall."

"Really?" His jaw dropped. "Can I sign it too?"

The stonemason-and-architect-in-one made an almost comical flapping gesture over his shoulder. Jais gasped in delight and imitated the gesticulation, inadvertently hitting Ash in the face.

Grumbling incoherent phrases, Belnarr stumped on ahead with the Phantom and Khraven until he could no longer hear Jais's voice echoing off the walls. "This way, lads." He made a right turn down an adjacent tunnel, then stopped, twisting his expression in alarm. He felt the air and plastered his ear on the stone floor. "Someone's been passin' by here recently. Bah - but that's impossible! Would've meant they 'ready passed through the Keep!"

_________________

Eledhe heard nothing more except shifting footsteps and a murmur or two, and waited a moment with her head up as if scenting. Carefully she ducked through the ragged hole and was met by suddenly blinding sunlight, cascading in through what seemed a hole blown in the raw mountainside. it was dazzlingly bright after the Keep's torchlit dimness.

The three rangers, experienced enough to take advantage of this opportunity, were fast enough that Eledhe's reflexes gave her just time to whip her scimitar half out of its sheath. Her hand froze, wrists effectively trapped, and a grip on her braid forced her head back. Eledhe felt a blade pressed to her throat.

"Stars, I've not come to cut your throats," she growled, jerking her head forward, and the grip on her braid loosened, blade falling from its position.

"Your name and allegiance," the one demanded coldly. Eledhe couldn't see him past the sun's dazzling brightness. "Eledhe Darkstar," she repeated in a snarl, "and I'll serve the highest bidder."

---

"That's our explosion," said the Phantom curtly, already swiftly moving ahead. "Where, Belnarr? Two levels down, three?" No, not three, that would take them too far down for any explosion to reach. They must reach it before it was seen, or the well-preserved secrecy of the Keep would lie in so many crumbled ruins.

_________________

<i>Stupid, me?</i> Before Ash could voice his question, the Phantom was already off in a swirl of grey fabric. <i>He needs to learn to relax more, take a few breaks.</i> Any further thoughts on the Phantom's wellbeing were cut off by a hand in his, Ash's, handsome face.

He considered responding to Jais with a boot in his rear end, but decided the slap had been an accident. Besides, Belnarr had decided the floor was a nice place to hang out, and Ash had to stop abruptly to avoid tripping over the dwarf.

Falch'nus hung a little ways back until a sound reminiscent of a falcon's call echoed down the tunnel. Quarry subdued. He moved forward slowly, blinking at the fading twilight. Four figures came into view, silhouetted against the sunset at the tunnel's mouth.

"Eledhe Darkstar, sir," one of his men introduced, parting to reveal the intruder.

The Guild Master couldn't contain his slight intake of breath. The stunning blue eyes that glared back from those striking features belonged to a woman. Granted, a woman no amateur to battle, as indicated by her lithe grace and the ease with which she bore her scimitar. Could she have been trailing them? Unlikely but not impossible. His rangers were skilled, and scarce tracks were left on the bare mountainside.

"Eledhe. Elven, is it?" he mused with a raised eyebrow. "You must be a skilled tracker, my lady. Who do you currently serve, then?"

_________________

"Something stopping your ears?" responded Eledhe snappishly, not at all receptive to being so effectively subdued. She'd already introduced herself twice. Granted, giving no straight answer regarding her allegience was the only pragmatic thing to do, but she had a feeling it would not satisfy her current interrogator. Besides, not much chance he was on the Phantom's side, what with blowing up the Keep.

"Regent," she said finally, eyes fixed on his face to gauge a reaction. "But only as long as he pays well." Skilled tracker? Only if you consider following a deafening explosion tracking...

She realized abruptly what he was talking about and rapidly assimilated her options. Her information was worth a fortune, she was sure.

_________________

Falch'nus's eyebrows came within perilous range of shooting off the front of his face. The Regent sent her? Could the despot have played him for a fool? Did he think - did he not trust the guild to safetly retrieve the artifact? True, the artifact was blatantly missing, but that was hardly his fault. Anger stirred in his chest, but he did well to hide it.

He gestured for Eledhe's captor to release his death grip on her. The ranger eased his dagger, but the arrows pointed at her face kept level. Drumming his fingers on the pommel of his rapier, Falch’nus stepped closer. “You work for the Regent? As do I. What, pray tell, is the task he assigned you?”

_________________

"He assigned me no task," said Eledhe with a haughty toss of her braid, fingers drifting to the hilt of her scimitar. "My services were offered and he accepted. I am the rebel Phantom Grey's resident mage."

She did not glance back at the mouth of the passage, though every muscle was taut with the apprehension that at any moment the Phantom - who would no doubt be extremely anxous to find whoever was exploding parts of his mountains - would come barreling out. Three years of slowly acquiring his trust, shattered. Eledhe was by no means willing for that to happen. "You seem to have stumbled upon his current residence," she continued, keeping her voice cool. "I suggest you think upon your next course of action before he discovers you - no doubt with armed men."

_________________

Somehow this news startled him but hardly surprised him. Ever had the Regent been known for his guile. There was, of course, the more than probable chance that she could be lying, simply to get him to talk.

It was then that the words hit him full.

Phantom Grey. The Phantom Grey. The one who Falch'nus had captured earlier, only to - as gossip and trustworthy sources claimed - only to be the luminary of an escape of which the bards were already composing songs. The Regent had stamped the rumors down, which inexorably had only made them escape faster.

Children had it that Phantom Grey shared meals with the dwarves beneath the earth. Old wives claimed he lived like a dastard, cowering in a fortress where no goodly knight may ever find him. Dwarves. Beneath the earth. Mountain.

Earth's Teeth.

One of his men hesitantly prodded him. With a start Falch'nus realized he'd been staring at Eledhe for the past ten seconds, as though puzzling out a conundrum. He hoped, a bit desperately, that his currently less than reserved visage had given away nothing.

He composed himself, attempting perfect calm despite the epiphany of the century. She could still be lying. He had to find out. Leaning back, he assumed an air of nonchalance. "You work for both Phantom and Regent, then. Surely you must know of the artifact I seek?" He waved a hand noncommitally at the tunnel behind him.

_________________

"The artifact you seek?" said Eledhe before she caught herself. Intriguing. "Assuming it is the one I know of," she began slowly, a sly smile creeping over her lips before disappearing. This was an unexpected development. "The one he seeks also."

She paused a moment, reflecting, and scanned Falch'nus. "The Heartshard?" she queried, an eyebrow raised, keenly watching his reaction. If he knew of it, she would be able to tell. Had the Regent grown impatient? surely with Eledhe so firmly installed in the Keep he would have trusted she would bring it to him, once acquired - ?

No matter. "You are very fortunate not to have stumbled upon the Phantom himself," she added lightly. "And I instead."

_________________

Feuer counted his lucky stars that the woman was before him in the tunnels and had so nicely shouted out her name so she could be found and escorted to the leader of the knot of dangerous men.

Had Feuer been in front, he would've been the one who was so nicely escorted. speaking of which, in front of him was sunlight.

Not good. Especially if he expected not to be caught.

Feuer turned around as quietly as he could and went the other way. Could these tunnels get any more confusing than they already are? Feuer's going to be very much lost by the time he gets through with this...

Thinking about this, Feuer weighed risks and gains on a scale in his head. Is the possibility of finding pistachios worth the risk of being caught and, at worst...killed, and at best... there wasn't a best situation? With the love of his life on a scale teetering through his head, Feuer lost track of where he was going. He turned a corner, saw the crowd of people, one of which was crouched on the floor, maybe he got hit in the head with a rock, and another of which who was, apparently, tryign to bring the whole tunnel down by the strength of his loud voice alone -Feuer liked that very much, and would be friends with him and ask for him to share his pistachios with Feuer if he could- and ducked back around the corner and began inching away slowly, hoping, praying to his lucky stars -how many did he have?- that they didn't notice the strange person who stepped around the corner and back who, Feuer was pretty sure, they'd never seen before.

_________________