*Sen sat for a second, sipping his drink, alone save for the dutiful servant still waiting on him.* His head felt tired, and his eyes drooped slightly, but his mind was sharp. In the morning, he would be able to find out a bit more. He set his glass down, nodded to the servant, and followed him as he led him to his quarters. He noticed something, as he walked along. Even the walls and floor were made of ice... Trailing behind, and making sure the servant was not watching, he trailed his finger along the wall, heating it as he did. It left a small indent in the wall, melted into the ice. He decided to take it a step further. Then next step he took, he heated the bottom of his foot for a moment, and his foot sank about a half-inch into the floor. He smiled. 'Perfect.' He thought, as he was led to the room right next to Deawen.*

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"True Evil cannot be reckoned with. Only Defeated." - Sen L I Starfire

(Banner thanks to Imlosiel the Lost! )

( mwhaha I have trick up my sleeve now. Morwen is out of town, and I am having internet troubes so in those combinations posting will be slow and tedious.)
Deawen fell into a surprisingly peaceful sleep, not her usual dreams of worry or fear. THe peacful slumber coaxed Deawen to lower her defenses in her inner mind. Her innner mind consisted of her gift. How it worked what it's limits were, something she was very protective of. Unlike Sen she had limitations self imposed or not. THe winterking was delighted that her mind had relaxed and exposed the inner mind. But he was dissipointed by Deawen's suddenly snapping to reality he read her thoughts and was dissipointed again. Sen's close presence seemed to bring Deawen back even from the Winterking's icy clutches.

Mean while Malgar was pacing a chamber brooding on how to get rid of their guests. they were a threat even if the winterking found them amusing they could ruin everything.

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Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

Anira could no longer resist the alluring calls of sleep any longer. Try as she may to ward it off, she was utterly drained from the day, and the furs themselves seemed to invite her to rest. Sighing somewhat, she lay in the furs and sank into a dreamless sleep.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Morwen crept out of the stair well onto the first floor she came to. Wood doors lined the corridor, and she opened all that were unlocked. Of course, she thought to herself. Nothing. She left the doors open and set to the locked. All on this floor opened with a hefty kick. She ran up two floors and repeated herself, then again on the next floor up. Finally, in the fourth hallway, she came to a door that would not open. Here we are, she thought. She kicked the door several times to no avail. She tried her shoulder, but only gained what would become a large bruise. She looked down the hallway and saw a stone pedastal supporting an ice statue. She pushed off the transparent monstrosity and rolled the heavy stone down the hall to the door. Setting it on its base, she made sure it was just right and heaved. It tipped, stood for a moment, then smashed through the door. Inside was what seemed to be a small treasure chamber, perhaps for the Winterking's soldiers. There was fine armor and weapons. Sticking out amongst the splendor was the pile of their weapons. She strapped everything of hers back in place, lashed the rest together and slung it over her back. She staggered for a moment under the weight, but persevered and ran into the hallway, Sen's swords just barely above the ground. She had to find the others.

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Reasons I love England #217:
I saw "whilst" on a traffic sign

*Sen looked around the room for a few minutes, looking for any sort of thing that might be out of place. The large bed called to him, however, as he lay back down on its cushioned bulk; one of the few things not made out of ice in this keep. He could feel Deawen next door, calm in sleep. Tomorrow would be interesting, he thought, as he slowly closed his eyes...*

_________________
"True Evil cannot be reckoned with. Only Defeated." - Sen L I Starfire

(Banner thanks to Imlosiel the Lost! )

Icy probes etched into Deawen's mind as she slept. The winterking delving deeper into her exposed mind savoring his victory. " atlast I cannot be challenged by fire" he whispered to her mind. Deawen's insticts screamed trying to wake Deawen but she was unresponsive. as if her mind had been turned off. She felt Sen nearby but could not wake from the slumber. SHe felt memories flood her and she shuddered.

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Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

Anira turned slightly as the Winterking began to probe her mind, searching for her greatest fear. He sifted through her memories, twisting them so that she no longer could determine the real from the fabricated, and her dreams took on a grotesque quality. She frowned slightly in her sleep, willing herself to wake, but as if trapped in some enchantment, she found that she could not. A slow smile tinged the Winterkings lips as faces of all she cared about were soon revealed to him. So this is what moves you, young traveler-having all that you love destroyed before your eyes, he thought with glee, plotting already how to tame her wild soul.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

*And... There. He had him, Sen thought, as his mind suddenly awoke. He drew the Winterking's mind to him, a gravitational pull that it could not escape. Sen had prepared a place for him. A deep abyss, filled with flames, and nothing else to asuage the darkness. In those flames was a memory of his that would scare anyone that he knew. With the creaking of old bones, and the strange metallic zing of a blade through the air, Death appeared in front of the Winterking, and smiled, in a way only skulls can do... Yet it was all an illusion, which faded away quickly. The last, lingering image in the Winterking's mind was Sen's face, smiling in a creepily similar manner...
Yet that vision was not shared by Anira or Deawen; no, Sen sent comforting thoughts to them, of warm days and better times.*

_________________
"True Evil cannot be reckoned with. Only Defeated." - Sen L I Starfire

(Banner thanks to Imlosiel the Lost! )

The winterking withdrew from Sen's mind not intrested in his tricks and illusions. Deawen's memories flooded her mind and yet she was not afraid of her memories, they were part of who she was and why she was the way she was. Her inner mind took it's own form and strength seeking out morwen. Deawen's mind linked with Morwen, " Morwen" she whispered testing to see if it was clear.
" Morwen you have to find The winterking and distract him, I'll come to your aid as soon as I can but for now it's up to you!"
Deawen cut off the link between them and waited, comforting images from Sen were lost int he flood of memories. Deawen watched each memory idly and then one flashed and sparked an idea.
IT was when she was little her and Morwen played out in the horse pastures, Deawen had just discovered her gift and showed Morwen, at first Morwen was afraid but then thought Deawen learned a trick from a jester or preformer. Deawen did nothing to stop the idea because she was confused but then Morwen ran off and then returned with wine and a torch. She took a sip and then held the torch to her face and spat out the wine in a firey flame. WHat if morwen seemed to have our gift?" thougth Deawen returning back to the present.

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Lips, ripe as the berries in June
Red the rose, red the rose
Skin, pale as the light of the moon
Gently as she goes

as always a hero comes home

Morwen caught Deawen's thoughts and held on to them. She stopped running through the halls. Hesitantly, she unshouldered the bundle of weapons and drew out her weapons (sword, bow, quiver, knife, and hatchet) and stashed the others in an over-sized urn. Feeling much lighter, she dashed to where she thought the hall where they had dined was. Her instincts were correct, and she was grateful to see that most of the food was still there. She grabbed a flaggon of wine, poured some into a wineskin from her pack, drank some, then returned it to the table. She started away from the table, but turned back and grabbed some food and stuffed it into the back as well, wrapping it in oil cloth. She grabbed a torch from the wall and began to search for the terrible Winterking.

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Reasons I love England #217:
I saw "whilst" on a traffic sign

Anira felt comforted by the images Sen sent her as her mind began to rebuild some of her defenses in her sleep. Try as she might, she wanted to awaken but still found herself trapped under the Winterking's enchantment. Nevertheless, she felt the Winterking's presence exit her mind, giving her a brief respite for the moment. Yet, in her heart, she knew that much of the damage had already been done, and when she woke she knew that the Winterking had to be stopped before it was too late.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

It became evident, after around a quarter of an hour, that Morwen had taken a wrong turn out of the dining hall. She was back amongst guest rooms and stairwells again. Cursing herself, she burst into a room to find a sleeping Anira. Surprised to see a familiar face, she approached the bed cautiously. With the handle of her hatchet, she prodded Anira's shoulder and said in a low whisper, "Anira! Wake up!" No response. She tried again, louder and in different languages, "Awake, áwreccan, echuiv-tye!" She had to guess on the Elvish. All she knew about that phrase was that it had been yelled at her by elven guards trying to wake her up and get her moving. She prodded again with the handle of the axe.

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Reasons I love England #217:
I saw "whilst" on a traffic sign

Sensing that someone was trying to wake Anira, the Winterking reinforced his power upon her, intent on keeping her trapped in her slumber. Throwing her darkest dreams upon her, he sought to paralyze her mind with fright so that she could not awaken. Anira trembled slightly at the visions she witnessed, endless torments that she could not seem to shake. Suddenly she heard someone call out to her in elvish, and if by some magic, she could feel the darkness upon her loosening its grip upon her mind. She then became dimly aware of someone prodding her with the handle of an axe. Groaning slightly, her eyes slowly fluttered open and the blurred image of a woman slowly came into view. "Morwen?" she asked groggily. "What is going on?" she asked still not fully awake.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"I need help!" she said. "Wake up and come with me. I know where our weapons are, and other besides, but I don't know where Deawen and Sen are. We need to find them, because Deawen understands the plan better than I do." She offered her hand to help Anira out of the bed. "We must hurry!"

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Reasons I love England #217:
I saw "whilst" on a traffic sign

Anira took Morwen's offered hand as she sat up and got out of the bed, still not completely roused from the enchanted slumber. It was if she could still voices beckoning her to rest and a part of her wanted to wrap herself in the tendrils of sleep. Yet, there was something in the other woman's tone that drew her attention away. "Deawen, is down the other hall," Anira replied as she mentally fought the enchantment that she could feel lurking in the room.

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AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Morwen tugged at her arm. "Then come! We must hurry!" She set off at a jog back to where she had hidden the other paraphenalia of the group. She loaded half on her back and motioned for Anira to grab the other. "Show me where to go," she said urgently.

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Reasons I love England #217:
I saw "whilst" on a traffic sign