Cu'scath strode down the hallways of the citadel, on an errand important to none but himself. He paused as he passed Ewaviner. "Trouble?" he asked casually, watching the dark creatures wing their way from the citadel.

"Not so much of a trouble," answered Ewaviner. "More of a nuisance, shall we say."

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I was cured all right.

"What sort of nuisance?" Cu'scath asked. The last of the Shadows were dissapearing from sight.

"Ten renegades," Ewaviner said. "Wishing to overthrow our lord. Now if you'll excuse me, I've ten magicians to kill." He then turned into his demonic bat mode and flew with the Shadows.

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I was cured all right.

Damien smiled to himself as Radearle began trying to organize the others into something resembling order. Already prowling around the clearing, he was paying attention to the ground with one eye and to his peripheral vision with the other, while listening carefully with both ears. So far, he hadn't found anything that he hadn't been expecting. The few animal tracks that he found indicated that they shouldn't be in too much danger tonight, unless something was specifically hunting them. Given the circumstances, it wasn't all that likely that something was hunting them down the very first day of their journey, but he wasn't planning on taking any chances. He'd still be up all night.

Hopefully whoever Radearle managed to convince to be on watch wouldn't attack first and observe later--he didn't want to have trouble with the people he was protecting. He snorted quietly. If it had been just him, he probably would have ridden on through the night after giving Blight a brief rest. After all, if he didn't need to sleep, why bother?

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Rothar's brief respite from that penetrating stare was for moot when Devarion turned back around. He'd long ago grown accustomed to the Demon's powerful presence, but every now and then, especially when Devarion found reason for a particularly urgent calling, he still experienced the old discomfort.

The protocol dictated that he avert his gaze before one of the Archfiend's prestiged servants, which he happily did. He pretended to be studying a delightfully realistic sculpture of a Demon's victim in its last death throes. He had nothing to say, so he kept his silence. In truth he wished his employer would simply get to the point.

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"I'll take first watch," Erillyn said in response to Radearle's scolding. She had not planned on sleeping much anyway. She knew that starting a small fire would not be difficult, for she knew that although she did not, a few others in the group had fire manipulation skills. As far as the food went, she thought she'd pass. She knew it was probably foolish, but she had too much on her mind to think about food.

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I'm back!

The Shadows began gathering in a small area near the chosen ones. Some of them still remained in the air as bats, flying in circles around the area. But the rest had now turned into wraith-like creatures. They had a human body but their faces were concealed. Only two bright red eyes could be seen from the face. Everything else was clouded. They awaited Ewaviner's orders as he landed near them. He ordered three of them to go off and spy upon the lands. The rest waited.

_________________

I was cured all right.

Seryl had been very inconspicuously absent since making camp. Her horse was tied with the others, placidly munching anything he could reach, but since everyone had noticed a strange presence, almost as if someone were scrying the group, she had been nowhere to be seen.

Quite a ways from the band, in fact, the sturdy half-elf was making her way through the brush with a fair level of soundlessness. Pure-blood Elves moved through the forest like ghosts with very little effort whereas Seryl had to work at keeping silent, but she'd had plenty of practice.

But the birds had quieted. No squirrels chattered at her with injured airs, and the sun was departing very rapidly. More rapidly than usual? A twig cracked under Seryl's boot and she froze, inching forward. A powerful air of malice pervaded the atmosphere about her.

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The three Shadows flew past the group, who were busy making camp, and flew back towards Ewaviner and the waiting Shadows. One of them landed on Ewaviner's outstretched hand and said, "Ten. No escorts. They're making camp."
"They'll get closer to the Grainayar," Ewaviner mused as he planned his next move. Ten..There must be more than meets the eye with them. He had no idea how strong they were nor did he feel like testing it. He then came up with a plan.

(By the way, none of the Chosen have escorts, right?)

_________________

I was cured all right.

((Nope))

The voice, low as it was, still carried somewhat through the ominously still forest. "...closer to the Grainayar," was all Seryl picked up but she instantly crouched low. Who was this, and how coudl it be purely coincidental that in the very wood they traveled through was someone concerned with the Grainayar? Seryl didn't believe in coincidences. She inched forward through the brush in the direction she'd heard the words spoken from.

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Suddenly a Shadow hissed loudly. Ewaviner snapped his head towards the brush. "Find out what's in there," he ordered. "I don't want anyone to know of us." Four Shadows, who were in their human forms, moved towards the brush, followed swiftly by Ewaviner.

_________________

I was cured all right.

Seryl's heightened Elven senses, unfortunately combined with her less than Elven grace and stealth, resulted in her becoming immediately aware of the approaching hostile figures and scrambling rather too quickly to make a swift departure.

The brush rustled and twigs underfoot cracked in such a ridiculously exposing manner that Seryl gave herself up for lost. In an instant she had lashed out with her formidable mental capacities, but the minds she encountered were nothing like she'd ever felt before - impenetrable, iron-walled and hell-bent upon discovering her. As a last resort, still stumbling backwards, Seryl drew her short sword.

_________________

Erillyn was walking around the camp, making sure that all was well. She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary yet. She hoped it would stay that way throughout the night.

During her patrolling, she strayed away from the camp a bit, wanting to make sure that no one was lurking around out in the woods, waiting until they were all good and asleep before they struck. Suddenly, she heard a faint rustling. Immediately, she tensed. Maybe it was just an animal... but maybe not. She let one of her hands waver near her dagger, and she mentally prepared herself to use her new powers as she began stealthily making her way towards the noise.

As she got closer, it became apparent that this was certainly not an animal. Then that was when she saw Seryl. The young half-elf was stumbling and then she drew her sword. Then Erillyn noticed shadow figures. They were barely visible in the darkness and in fact she could only just make them out occasionally.

Gauging the amount of danger they were in swiftly, she immediatly spun both her daggers up into her hands. Though she didn't know how much of a defense those would be against these creatures of darkness.

_________________
I'm back!

I think Meldawen said that Seryl was actually a good ways away from the camp, Artemis, not right around the outskirts.

-----

Damien, still silently patrolling the outskirts of the camp, still in the woods and out of firelight, stiffened. There was a sense of malice in the air, strong enough that it seemed almost tangible. In fact, it might be tangible. The shadow in the fork of the tree ahead of him seemed a little too dark--and then one of them moved. There was no wind to rustle the leaves and shift the shadows; there was nothing to cause the shadow to move, unless it was alive on its own. When the feeling of malice grew stronger and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rising, he lifted his spear, still making his way towards the too-dark shadow. Then two slits of red seemed to appear out of the darkness. Whatever it was, it was looking at him. The malice grew stronger.

Damien threw his short spear at the creature, imbedding it in the tree trunk where it had been--the red-eyed shadow flew aloft from the branch with a harsh cry full of hate, flapping long, membraneous wings as it struggled to gain altitude. Damien cursed as he retrieved his spear, hastily making his way back towards the camp. They were most obviously being hunted, and the others needed to know, too, or he would be on his own whether he wanted to or not, but this time with no way to complete the quest.

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A shrill cry, hoarse and loud. Radearle, who had been sleeping uneasily, jerked to full awareness. Had that been part of a nightmare, or had something truly made that noise. A man cursed in the distance - no dream, then.

Fumbling in the flickering half-dark, she strung her longbow with cold fingers, throwing her quiver over her back as she rose and took cover against a tree trunk, not wishing to be silhouetted against the small fire. Arrow on the string, she waited. If it had been a false alarm, she didn't want to wake the others. They needed all the rest they could get.

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<center>Nothing but the Rain</center>