“This isn’t part of the plan!!” Nataniel whispered hoarsely to the small band of Official Guards he had led thus far. “They’re supposed to go back to that lair place, I know they are! I heard them! Just wait, we can still follow them!”

One of the soldiers gave him a looooooong, cooooooooooold stare.

“I swear by my mother! I swear by my beautiful mother (you’d of loved her had you met her) that I didn’t know the Phantom would disappear!”

The guard looked unconvinced. He grunted something entirely uncalled for about Nataniels mother... and then turned charged out without warning to attack the small band that the Phantom had just departed from.

“No!” screamed Nat, as all the other guards followed suit, charging on dumbly with their swords.

“Idiots! Changelings! Halfwits, the lot of ye!” He screamed, bouncing around trying to avoid the fighting that was going on around him. “Ye’ve got mud pies for brains! I told you not to attack til’ you’ve found the accursed lair!”

No use. No one listened to Nataniel. Oh nooo. They’d much rather go jabbing and poking with their swords. The Regent would here of this... if someone didn’t skewer him through, or throw him back in the cell first.

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"The piano is able to communicate the subtlest universal truths by means of wood, metal and vibrating air."

"CQS!" Jais cried, hugging the man and bursting into sobs. Needless to say, he did quite a commendable job of remaining on the horse during its manic gallop.

It was only after the horse stopped that he fell off.

Eyes widening, he scrambled to the side as the temperamental beast danced sideways, nearly trampling him in its happy wake. So intent was he in his scrambling that he inadvertently ran into a tree.

On purpose, of course.

And then the Phantom vanished into thin air, which was really too much for poor Bonbon's beleaguered state of mind. Life just wasn't fair.

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Jate groaned, and tried to rub his neck. However, his hands didn't seem to be working. He appeared to be moving at a quick rate, and bouncing around. The uncomfortableness of his position made him realize he must be on a horse, somewhere. He opened his eyes and saw ground flying by him at a rapid rate.

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going on a journey through my old claims

Ash kicked the horse again to get it moving. It quickly sped to a gallop, following the others. Just a few seconds later, Ash leaned back, pulling hard on the reins. The horse stopped in front of the fortress' tall iron gates, tossing it's head and stamping.

Noticing their impromptu captive stirring, Eledhe hastily rendered him unconscious again with the hilt of her dagger, and dismounted to fumble with the gate. Their following of irate guards had descended into pandemonium but it was unlikely to last very long.

An apparently riderless horse thundered up beside her, and the Phantom appeared very suddenly atop it. He shot the disapproving Eledhe a disarming grin. "It came in useful, that particular trick did."

The capable young woman allowed herself a brief grin in return. A moment more of rattling and the gates were open, providing ample excuse for both (or all three if you counted the unconscious noble) to canter into the surrounding night with a maddeningly smug air of success.

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Except for Jais, who had intelligently fallen off the horse. Being the wily survivor he wasn't, he did manage to retain a firm grip on the saddle straps as it zipped past, resulting in the fact that he was now latched sideways on the galloping creature's flank, hanging on for dear life.

Unfortunately for him, the Phantom didn't look intent on mitigating his frantic pace until they reached the Keep. Which meant that Jais would wake up the next morning with a severe back ache and a mindset of murder. Not particularly entertaining, if one asked him.

As the thunder of the reorganized pursuit party grew increasingly ominous, they veered off the main road, taking a secret path through the forest. They came to a halt beside an ancient oak amid an otherwise unextraordinary copse. Voluntarily falling off the horse for the second time, Jais dusted himself off and recognized the place. At the base of the oak tree, one would find a well concealed trap door leading to a subterranean tunnel, an abandoned dwarven mine, that wound all the way to the Earth's Teeth.

It was secrets like these and the genius input of a certain intellectual called Jais that aided the Phantom's success over the years.

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A rather peeved Cato decided on second best, he dashed after Jais to interrogate him. Ahead of the pursuit party the masked figure was raging towards this secret knoll, disregarding brush and tree in the wild attack.

"Go," hissed Eledhe to her companions, dismounting and giving her horse a smack to send it cantering off into the dark forest. She saw most of the motley group down the concealed trapdoor and paused, surveying the wood warily. It was unlikely that they'd been followed but if they had, she had to make sure they were no longer.

"Anything?" breathed the Phantom, raising the door a crack. Eledhe shook her head slightly and melted into the shadows. The door closed completely and she waited, breathing very lightly and crouching in the shadows.

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Cato arrived at the edge of the clearing and surveyed the area slowly. The only thing of interest was one gnarled tree. He removed himself from his horse and held his sword in a defensive posture, though it couldn't be seen because it was concealed in his billowing robes. A slow walk was begun toward the tree.

"What business have you here?"

Eledhe's voice, sharp as the blade she held, issued from the dark depths of forest and she stepped forward, eyes cold. "I would suggest you have done with it."

This was a thinly veiled threat, a means of communicating that he was not welcome and his presence a decided nuisance that could easily be remedied with the edge of her scimitar.

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A muffled laugh issued. Cato said, "I'm sorry, my lady, but my business is too urgent to be put off." The tip of his broadsword glinted as he moved the tip out of concealment.

"Conduct it elsewhere." Eledhe was in no mood for games. "I warn you, I can slay you where you stand." She hoped she could at least hold him off long enough for the group below to escape...she would kill him if need be, though the broadsword gave her necessary pause. Best to be careful.

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Ash crouched just inside the trapdoor, listening to the muffled voices from outside. He paused, then started feeling his way down the dark steps. Eledhe could take care of herself, he knew.

The only response was, "I don't want to harm you, my lady." Cato disappeared into his robes and like a blot of ink flew at a blinding speed toward a position next to Eledhe then reemerged with his sword fully shown. "Now where's the Phantom." he said flatly.

"What makes you think I know the Phantom?" Eledhe, too, had shifted position and now stood facing him, scimitar at the ready. "I assure you I have no affiliation with him at all."

It was, in an ironic sort of way, completely true. Eledhe was affiliated with whoever paid her the most. Though this irritating impostor didn't need to know that.

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