"I knew this would happen," Boog said through clenched teeth. His fists were up and he was glancing from one werewolf to the other, aware that there was one behind him as well. "I knew that kid couldn't be trusted. I should have gone with my gut all along."

Aragol ordered the non-combatants to get in the middle of the narrow path as he, Ivory, Boog and Elmar stood in a circle around them, facing off against each werewolf. For the moment the shapeshifters stood and watched, their mouths slightly open and their claws twitching.

There was a howl in the distance.

"They're bringing more," Aragol called out. "We have to stop them now."

"Fine by me!" Boog snarled as he took off running toward the werewolf he watched. It growled at him and swatted with a clawed hand. Boog rolled underneath it, got up to one knee and swung an uppercut at the beast's gut. It slammed into it with immense force and sent it stumbling back. He stood up and swung another fist. The brass knuckles crashed into the werewolf's face and made it to stumble back once more. Boog kept up the attack, pummelling his fists into its face and body, not giving it a chance to strike back. He had it backed against a tree and pulled back his right arm for a punch he hoped would shatter its skull. The werewolf recovered quicker than he anticipated and grabbed him with its claws, digging them into his chest and back. He cried out in pain but swung anyway, his fist striking so strongly he could feel bones cracking. The werewolf backed off to the side, dazed and injured.

Boog had hoped that punch would have killed it. He could feel warm blood flowing down his chest and back but he did not relent. He marched toward his enemy and swung a fist down on its skull with as much force as he could muster. It grunted and dropped lower to the ground. Boog caught his breath and pulled his arm back again. This enemy was tough and it would take many hits to bring it down.

Before he had a chance to strike it again another werewolf leapt out of the mist and tackled him to the ground, claws digging into his skin and jaws reaching for his neck.

Aragol was faring better, having cleaved off the arms of his opponent and advancing on it as it backed away, its ears flattened out of fear and pain. It growled at him and then turned tail and ran off into the mist. He didn't pursue it. His priority was to safeguard the others that couldn't fight.

Elmar thought he might have trembled with fear and been unable to act upon being attacked by the increasing number of werewolves but was pleased to know that that was not the case. He had already tapped his staff on three werewolves and had increased their weight to such unbearable levels that they were stuck to the ground. He had also lightened the weight of the werewolf on top of Boog, allowing the muscled man to push it off of him and beat it to a pulp. He danced over the three he had pinned down, humming a tune, as he waited for another one to attack him while those below him growled and struggled uselessly.

Ivory, however, was faring the best. Her silver axe frightened her enemies and few engaged her. Those that foolishly did were cut down and killed quickly. She had already slain two and injured three more. Their numbers were great but so long as she had her axe at the ready they would not harm anyone she protected. She noticed Elmar's incapacitated werewolves and with a nod from him rushed up to them and decapitated them as he looked away. She relished the sight of a severed head and found herself smiling wickedly.

The attack lasted only a few minutes and in that time a dozen werewolves lay dead with an equal number running away due to injuries or fear. The fighters caught their breath and regained their strength but remained wary, their eyes on the swirling mists of the deep forest.

Boog wiped the blood and chunks of brain matter off of his brass knuckles. "Did any of you kill that Zerek bastard? I can't say I had the great pleasure of doing it myself."

"I killed so many I couldn't tell," Ivory said, giving the haft of her axe a kiss. "They all looked the same to me."

"It does pose a problem, however," Aragol said. "With him gone we are now stranded and lost in this forest. He may have led us to a trap the entire time and we have no idea if we are any closer to the mansion or not."

"That no good bastard," Boog cursed as he punched a tree. "I knew all along. Didn't I tell you all?" He turned to Casandra and pointed a finger her way. "You were wrong, Casandra! I had a feeling he was going to trick us but you said he was trustworthy. Look at us now! We're lost and we don't know if we're any closer to the damned mansion than we were before!"

"He did not spring a trap!" Casandra countered strongly. "It may look that way but he did not lead those werewolves here."

"Well he sure ran off pretty quick! Some guide he was!"

A figure stepped out of the mist, not far from where Boog stood, its head hung low. He recognized it as Zerek immediately and rushed to him, an eager grin on his face. The young man looked at him approaching and offered no resistance. Boog didn't care and swung a huge brass-enforced fist into his jaw. Zerek flew back several feet and landed on the ground hard. Boog grabbed him by his neck with one hand and raised him up high, squeezing his fingers into the young man's soft flesh.

"I will enjoy this," he promised. "I've been waiting to do this since we first met."

Zerek had his hands around Boog's wrist and tried to loosen the iron grip around his neck but was failing miserably. His face was turning blue and his legs kicked the air in vain. Victoria, Karmen and Celestia pleaded for Boog to let him go but he ignored them. He'd let the boy go as soon as he died. His smile widened when he noticed the legs stop kicking. Zerek looked down at Boog with pleading eyes full of tears, his face a deep purple and his hands gripping Boog's weakly. Any moment now, Boog thought. Any moment and he would begin to feel cold under his grip.

Oddly, Boog felt his hand losing grip. He felt his vision begin to blur and his energy begin to escape him. His knees felt weak and his arm dropped, his hand letting go of Zerek as it no longer held any strength. He fell to his knees but his eyes were still on Zerek, who lay on the ground, breathing and alive. He tried to lift his hand to grab him and choke the life out of him but couldn't gather enough strength. He looked to his left and saw Casandra standing beside him, a hand on his shoulder.

"You," he managed to say before his eyes rolled at the back of his head and he dropped to the ground in a heap.

Casandra let him go and put a hand to her heart, her chest heaving as her breathing deepened. She wiped sweat from her head and took a few steps back, overcome by the act. Celestia approached her and helped her stand steady.

"You sucked his energy?" she asked her.

Casandra nodded. "I weakened his wari. He would have killed Zerek otherwise. Don't worry, though, he'll be fine in a few minutes as his wari recovers."

Karmen approached her, overhearing the conversation. "You still believe Zerek is on our side?"

Casandra nodded and walked up to the injured young man. His neck was blue with Boog's choke marks but his face had regained some colour. She put a hand on him and closed her eyes as she willed the wari she had stolen from Boog to enter Zerek. When she opened her eyes again he was breathing steadily and was looking up at her. He sat up and rubbed his head.

"You have some explaining to do," Karmen said to him, her heavy-lidded eyes narrowed even more. "Where were you during the battle?"

Zerek averted her gaze, looking down at the grass and dirt. "I couldn't fight them..."

"Why?" Celestia asked curiously. The other members of the group were gathering at the scene and Aragol and Ivory still had their weapons drawn. The latter moved close enough to make Zerek sneeze, reassuring him that a werewolf killer was nearby. Celestia frowned at her. "You don't have to be mean, Ivory!"

Ivory just shrugged.

Zerek took a deep breath and rubbed his irritating nose. "I was raised to never kill a fellow werewolf. It is against pack rules. We follow our alpha to the death and every alpha follows this rule. It has been so for millennia. The only exceptions to it are border disputes, even though most of those are settled without any loss of life."

"These werewolves are a part of your pack?" Karmen asked him.

"No... I don't know them."

"Then why can't you kill them?"

"I...I just...It was instinctual. It is difficult to go against a rule I was taught since I was born. It is like trying to make a cat like water. It can happen but you need constant training. It is in my blood. I can't just go from never killing werewolves to slaughtering them all." He glanced at Boog, who was beginning to rise, groaning wearily. "Besides, if I hadn't fled Boog would have killed me and I wouldn't be here to help you to the mansion." He watched Boog stand up and set his eyes on him, the fire of hatred igniting immediately within them.

"Why are you all standing around him?" he gestured angrily. "He betrayed us! He tried to get us killed! We should repay the favour!"

"He can't kill werewolves!" Victoria explained with a frown. "It's some natural rule or something. He just can't!"

"I don't buy it for a second." Boog began to step toward Zerek, his hands turning into fists already.

"Please, don't." It was Celestia. She stood in front of Boog with her hands held before her in a pleading gesture. "He couldn't help us and he ran away because he was afraid you were going to kill him. It's not his fault. It's just a part of who he is."

Boog stood motionless, breathing heavily for several minutes before his fists relaxed. He was still frowning and began chewing on his tongue, trying to calm himself. He looked down at Celestia and into her blue eyes, scintillating like the stars in the night sky, and took a deeper breath than the others. He pointed a finger at Zerek and said menacingly, "You've seen what we can do to werewolves. Try anything and you know what will happen."

Zerek nodded solemnly. "I never intended for any of this to happen. I am sorry for being a coward..."

"You're not a coward for trying to save yourself," Victoria said gently, kneeling down beside him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. She glared at Boog. "If a certain someone hadn't been chasing you I'm sure you would have stayed and helped us. Just because you can't kill werewolves doesn't mean you can't attack them, right?"

He smiled lightly. "Right." He looked up at Boog with sincerity in his eyes. "I would have fought alongside you. I truly would have."

Boog waved his hand at him in dismissal. "Whatever, wolf boy. Just get up and take us to the mansion so we can be rid of you."

He nodded and stood up with Victoria's aid. She held his hand for a few moments and he looked down at it. "I am fine now. You can...let go."

Victoria snapped her hand back and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry...I...um, yeah..."

Zerek smiled at her and walked through the group toward the trail. He sneezed several times as he passed Ivory and she grinned proudly. He hurried to gain distance from her and set his feet on the trail again, avoiding the bodies of the slain werewolves. "I am ready if you all are."

Aragol sheathed his sword and Ivory slipped her axe in its loop at her waist before joining the group as they formed a line. Their weapons were put away for now but their hands stayed close to them, just in case. Ivory stood near the front of the line, ready to throw her axe at the guide if he steered them astray. Aragol stood at the back, glancing behind him at the stream and the dead werewolves before moving on. The attack had been brief but costly for the enemy.

He seriously doubted that it was the last time they would see of their werewolf attackers.

****

Durn stood at the edge of an expansive swamp that stretched for miles ahead of him. To his left and right the forest he stood before surrounded it like a wall. Only the mist broke through, covering the swamp in a blanket of white. In the distance he could see a small speck of black. It was the mansion he had been sent to protect but first he'd need to traverse the swamp. Why the grey witch had not sent him up to the mansion was anyone's guess but he had no intention of going there anyway. To his right, the children known as Athena and Seth stood quietly. The girl was tapping her foot impatiently and it annoyed him. He felt like ripping it off. Maybe he would. Bloodshed always pleased him.

He decided not to. He might need her yet, if nothing more than to kill her later when she was a little more deserving of it.

"So that's the anchor over there?" Seth asked, squinting his eyes to try and make out the mansion. "Why did we get dropped off here?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Because that bitch is, well, a bitch. She complains about us not being able to complete her mission but she makes it harder for us than it already is. We're still only three people against nine. How are we supposed to succeed?"

"Your lack of faith in your abilities is why you fail," Durn's rough and hollow voice spoke, sounding like gravel running down a long pipe. "It is no matter for soon you will both be dead and be serving me, where your unlives will matter more than your lives ever did."

"You know what, freakazoid?" Athena asked angrily. "You go ahead and attack them by yourself." She rose into the air several feet and hovered. "I'm going to the mansion to wait for them there. You coming, Seth?" There was no answer. "Seth?" She turned around to look at him.

Seth shrugged. "I'd...I'd rather stay with Durn, to be honest. He looks like he can take them all on by himself and win."

"What? Are you kidding me? He can't even see with that stupid bowl over his face!"

"I see perfectly well, child," Durn said. "I see better than you can. And do not call it a bowl ever again or I will have to use it as one as I feast on your tender flesh."

"Yeah, you don't scare me, Derp!"

"Such insolence. It is no wonder you fail."

That infuriated Athena more than she already was. "Stop saying stuff like that! I was outnumbered and overpowered! They have a healer that brings back to life the people I kill! It's useless to attack them anyway. We don't stand a chance."

"Then kill the healer, foolish whelp. It is simple logic."

Seth shrugged and nodded. "He has a point, Athena. Why didn't you attack the healer?"

She squeezed her fists tightly, her arms shaking from the strain. "Why didn't you?! Oh yeah! I remember! Because you couldn't even take care of one guy!"

"I did defeat that muscled guy," Seth said with pride. "It was the silver-haired one I couldn't win against because his sword kept absorbing my fire."

Durn turned his mask toward Seth. "Absorbed?"

Seth nodded to him, trying to ignore the chill going down his spine every time he looked at Durn. "His sword swallowed my fire. I sent him everything I had left but it didn't do anything to him."

Durn nodded. "Interesting. I look forward to claiming such a weapon." Without another word he walked into the misty forest, leaving Seth and Athena behind.

Athena watched him go. "You aren't really following him, are you?"

"I sure am," he replied as he did just that.

Athena sighed and watched him leave as she hovered in the air. She glanced back at the distant mansion and then into the woods where Durn and Seth were already disappearing into the mist. With a grumble she lowered herself to the ground and hurried to catch up.

"You don't even know where to go!" she said when she reached them.

"One of them left a mark on the realm of death," Durn explained. "I can sense her presence. It is most likely the one you nearly killed. She had one foot into the realm before the healer brought her back. That is enough, though. I will find her and with her the others."

Seth climbed over a huge tree root that blocked his path. "Are you an agent of death?"

Durn chuckled, giving Seth and Athena shivers. "You can say that we are well acquainted. I am the king of the undead, boy. All dead serve me, including The Headsman, the ones who stole my mortal life."

"You lead your own murderers?"

"I do."

"You're full of shit, Derp," Athena said before she spat on the ground. "If you lead them then where are they?"

"They are poor travelling companions and I do not need them at the moment. When I do, however, you will meet them."

"Wouldn't they be back on your world?" Seth asked him.

Durn was silent for a moment. "There are dead on every world. All will serve me."

"How are you so sure?" Athena asked with a smirk. "What if the dead people on this world don't give a crap who you are and don't listen to you? Maybe there's a king of the dead here already."

"It is possible."

"Then what will you do?"

"I suppose I would start by killing you and then claiming your lifeless corpse as my first soldier. My ears would certainly be thrilled."

Athena fought back her retort and put a few extra steps between her and the other two, just in case. She was fairly sure Durn couldn't fly and made sure to have a chance to escape if he tried anything.

Seth, however, had more questions he wanted to ask but was smart enough to understand when Durn wanted peace and decided to say nothing. He felt that he was slowly getting on his good side and didn't want to endanger that. Durn was not someone he ever wanted to face in combat. He was glad he was an ally. With him they stood a chance. With him he might be able to go back home and forget this all ever happened.

Before they stopped and rested, which would be hours later, the rest of the hike was silent, which appeared to suit Durn perfectly.

****

The sky above darkened it was only then that the group discovered they actually had a sky that made natural sense. They had not seen it before due to the thick foliage but they were now in a clearing beside a small waterfall and they could see stars blinking high above on a pall of dark blue, like diamonds on a silk blanket. This world had three moons and they were all quite large. The light they reflected was not very intense however, only just enough to allow the companions to see well enough to move about without stumbling or tripping.

"You'd think with three huge moons it would be as bright as day," Victoria said as she lay her back against a boulder and looked up at the sky. "They aren't much brighter than the single moon back home."

"They must be made of something different than the moon you know," Karmen said as she sat near the stream winding from the base of the waterfall. She soaked her feet in the water and eyed her reflection on its mirror-like surface. "Depending on what mineral the moons are made from they might not reflect light as well as yours. Or the rules of physics might be different here, though so far they haven't really proven to be."

"Well, at least it'll be dark enough to sleep."

Karmen eyed the waterfall, noticing how it was mostly hidden behind thick bushes and saplings. She glanced back at the others, seeing them mostly preoccupied, and got up, walking toward the waterfall.

Aragol eyed the large moons and thought of home, wondering what was happening in his absence. His greatest friend, Elario, would be worried and his king, Aldus Raveneye, would never admit it but he would be too. The Draconans might see his absence as a blessing and attack, hoping to reclaim the city that was taken from them. Aragol sighed and hoped he returned home in time to set things right. He decided to busy his mind by patrolling the area for danger.

Boog and Elmar gazed across the clearing, watching blinking lights float just above the ground. They had emerged from the forest and were now beginning to cover the whole clearing, some of them venturing towards them. When one did, Elmar extended a hand and let the light touch him and then land on his fingers. He brought it up to his face and saw that it resembled a moth with glowing wings. He let it crawl over his hand for a while before it fluttered off again.

"Look over there!" Boog whispered, pointing at the far end of the clearing. A glowing figure was emerging from the forest and appeared to be skipping or dancing across the tall grasses of the clearing. It looked like a naked woman that glowed pale blue with long and bright white hair that extended down to the backs of her knees. A second glowing woman appeared and the two began dancing together, grabbing hands and twirling around before letting go to dance on their own for a while before joining together again.

"They're so pretty," Celestia said, noticing the glowing women as well. Graham sat beside her and he nodded too. She glanced at him, entranced and paying close attention to the naked figures and giggled. "Yeah, I can tell you like the look of them too."

He blushed and looked down at the ground. "I...I..."

Celestia nudged him with her elbow. "Do you find them attractive?"

He grabbed a blade of grass in his hand and began twisting it around his fingers. He took a deep breath, gathering courage, and then looked Celestia in the eye. "They won't ever compare to your beauty. The light of these moons and all these stars combined would be as dull as a withering flame compared to the brightness coming from your eyes." He began to tremble as he realized that he had just said what he had been thinking and not what he had planned to say, which had been far less eloquent and much shorter in length.

Celesita was the one blushing this time and her eyes began sparkling with passion. Graham kept his eyes locked on hers and she could tell he was fighting the urge to look away. Before he did, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. He let go of the grass he had been twisting and held her in his arms, holding the kiss. In the distance, the glowing women kept dancing.

Casandra saw the two kissing and smiled. She glanced at Boog, wondering how he would react, but he was entranced by the dancing women and did not see them. She remembered when her nights had been filled with passion and love and the memories ached her heart. The divorce she had recently gone through had been rough and painful and she wondered if she'd ever be able to love or trust someone fully again. This inevitably made her think of her children and she tried with great difficulty to calm herself before she went in a panic of worry.

"Cute, aren't they?" Zerek said.

He was seated not far to her right and she nodded to him. He sighed and looked sad. She could easily tell that his heart was aching too and she decided to ask him about it, hoping it would take her mind off of her children.

He glanced at Celestia and Graham, who were done kissing and were holding hands, the girl's head leaning on the boy's shoulder. "There is someone back home..."

"Oh?" Casandra asked. "What is her name?"

"Maikoa."

"That is a lovely name! Is she a werewolf like you are?"

Zerek smiled for a moment. "Heh, that's the thing. She isn't. She's just human. She saved me from a trap that had my paw when I was in wolf form and chasing a certain rabbit that had evaded me far too many times. I was not paying attention and got my paw stuck in the trap and worried I would be found by the hunter. She rescued me, tended my wound, fed me, and hid me from the hunter when he came inspecting the trap. I discovered later that the hunter had been her own father."

"How troubling," Casandra said, absorbed in the story. "Did you see her again?"

Zerek nodded, his shaggy hair bouncing about. "Of course I did. There was something about her that I couldn't stop thinking about. She had been fearless with me, even when I tried to bite her. She still saved me and I wanted to see her again so I met her once more and even managed to go inside her house, in wolf form of course. Her father arrived and she hid me again but I could hear her getting beaten for whatever reason and I wanted to run out and save her but she begged me not to. I...I didn't do anything, at least not then. She did find out what I really was but still wanted to be with me, which was exactly what I wanted. I had feared she would want nothing to do with me once she found out. My alpha and mother know about her and though I can tell they aren't very pleased they allowed her to meet the pack. I was asleep with her in my arms when I woke up here in this dark forest and my task was given. She'll be alone against my whole pack and I don't know how they'll react. I hope I get in time to explain everything to her before she decides to never speak with me again or move away somewhere else."

"If she truly loves you, Zerek," Casandra started, placing a hand on his shoulder, "she will wait for you. She will be worried about you and will want to know if you are well and she will wait for you to return. She may even go looking for you."

"She'll think her father killed me and that will just start another fight. He beats her enough as it is! I don't want any more pain to come to her..."

"Then ensure that we get to the mansion as quickly as possible. I will keep Boog and Aragol off your back if they try anything. Do not worry about anyone else."

"What about the girl with the axe?"

"Ivory? If I ask her to leave you be she will not object." Casandra glanced at the young dark-haired woman sleeping against a nearby boulder, snoring loudly. "It's Victoria you need to watch out for."

Zerek laughed and smiled genuinely, most of his worry and fear leaving him. "Thank you. I feel much better than I did before. I am glad you trust me."

"Of course, Zerek. I knew from the start that you were not an enemy."

The two then decided it was best to get some sleep and lay down on the soft grass, closing their eyes and finding that soundless slumber came quickly.

Aragol wandered the edge of the clearing, glancing in the woods and keeping a sharp eye and ear out for any signs of danger. Dragon's End was in his hand and was warm to the touch. He found himself capable of hearing things he had never heard before. A glowing moth flew more than fifty feet away and he could hear the flutter of its wings as if it was against his ear. He saw through the dark forest with ease, almost like the trunks were emitting their own light. The splash of the waterfall was deafening and his ears were in pain. His patrol lead him right to it, however, and he did not dare leave it uninspected lest a danger lurked near it. He heard a different kind of splashing, one that was not in cadence with the steady rumble of the falling water, and he lowered his body slightly. He walked slowly to the edge of the water and the pool at its base, cautious and ready to attack. It could just be an animal but it could be something else as well, something dangerous. It was making a great amount of noise, however, and he began to wonder if it knew that he and his companions were there. Curious, he walked up to a thick bush and with one hand slowly pushed it aside to have a clear view of the pool. He saw the smooth and shiny skin of a bare back and brown hair plastered to the shoulders, wet and dripping. Hands ran across the head and down the length of hair, wringing it to squeeze the water out of it. The body suddenly turned around and he found himself staring eye to eye with Karmen. He turned around, letting go of the bush, as she lowered her hands to cover her chest. To his surprise and relief she did not scream.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she hissed at him from behind the bush. "How long have you been watching me?!"

Aragol sheathed his sword and moved to the edge of the pool, where he could see her clearly but so she could see him as well. He noticed how much quieter the waterfall was all of a sudden. "I was patrolling the perimeter of our camp. I believe those werewolves will attack again and I was ensuring that we were safe before everyone went off to sleep. You should not be here alone, Karmen. I heard you splashing quite easily and if werewolves had been nearby they would have heard you as well. You should be more careful."

Karmen, her hands still pressed to her chest even though her back was turned to Aragol, nodded. "Ok, fine, I get it. I'll dry myself, get dressed, and go back to the others. I just wanted to clean myself a bit... I didn't think it would be a problem." She heard commotion behind her like the clanking of armour and the thud of soft objects. She then heard a light splash and glanced back in horror as she saw Aragol in the pool as well, at the far end of it and staying there but in it nonetheless. He wore his leggings, thankfully, but his presence made her incredibly uncomfortable.

"Why are you in here? You're beginning to scare me..."

Aragol laughed lightly. "The moons are shining, the stars are bright, the water is comfortably cool and I am beginning to understand what Zerek said about our stenches. We are indeed filthy and in need of a bath so I decided to take one. Is that a problem or have you claimed this pool only for yourself?"

"No...You...you can clean yourself I guess..."

Aragol walked underneath the waterfall and let the water cascade over his body, brushing off dirt and grime and chilling his body. A few moments later he moved back to his spot across from Karmen and wrung his hair. He caught Karmen staring and smiled. "You don't need to fear anything, Karmen. We are all adults here, for the most part. Our bodies are all the same, even if we are from different worlds. I find it rather fascinating, do you not?"

Karmen watched Aragol stretch his arms and back while he stood and blinked when her eyes began to dry. She could not deny his handsomeness, even if she would never admit it. "I suppose so... I mean, we are all human."

"Why do you think that?" he asked as he raised one leg to stretch it and release all tension in his muscles. Karmen was eternally grateful he had leggings on. "We are from different worlds and yet we are all human. I believe the gods of all our worlds found a form that was so perfect in their eyes that they shared it amongst all our worlds. We all have hair on our heads, two arms, two legs, two hands, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears, two breasts, one—"

"I know what you mean!" Karmen blurted, interrupting him before he could make her even more uncomfortable. "I don't know why there are humans everywhere but there just is. Let's just leave it at that."

Aragol shrugged. "Very well." He looked up at the moons and then the waterfall and settled his eyes on Karmen once more. "Is your world similar to Victoria's?"

Victoria? Karmen could see her scratch marks and bruises more clearly due to her cleaner skin and it angered her at how ugly they all looked on her. She did not feel like thinking about Victoria right now, even if it seemed that their rivalry was over for the moment. "I don't know. I don't know her world."

"Your attire and speech is similar and I was just curious. I have always been curious and I love to explore so learning about other worlds interests me very much. Do you also not wonder how we can all understand each other even though our languages must be very different?"

She shrugged. "I have wondered and I think the man in black probably did something so we could all understand one another." She watched Aragol nod and agree. "Um, you like to learn?"

"Of course I do. What do you take me for? I am not some mindless brute out for blood whenever I can get some."

Karmen was aware how cold her exposed skin was getting. She either needed to submerge herself or put some clothes on. She opted for the latter option and moved to get out of the pool. "I did not think of you like that. I just did not think you would strive for knowledge when your skills seem more suited for combat and military matters."

"Are you saying war and battle are for the less knowledgeable?"

"Well they are rather stupid... I mean, what other skills do you have other than using that sword of yours?"

Aragol gave her question some thought and felt pained inside as he could not think of an answer for it. His eyes lowered and he went quiet. Was there really more to his life than war?

Karmen felt she had hit a nerve and perhaps hurt him but she didn't know what to say. She saw him looking away and used the chance to get out of the pool, hiding behind the bush to put her clothes back on. When she was done she peered through the bush and saw him getting out, his shoulders lowered and his back slightly slumped. He would get over it, she thought. All he needed was something to swing his sword at. It had just been a question, anyhow. As he replaced his leather armour and steel breastplate she walked toward the rest of the group and found a place to sleep.

The glowing dancers were gone and the clearing was quiet when Aragol rejoined his companions, finding a boulder to lean his back against. He, Boog, Ivory and Elmar had set up a watch system for the night and he was first watch. He glanced to the side, where he saw Karmen sleeping, and sighed. Her question drilled into his mind and bothered him greatly. Was his only contribution to the world his ability with a sword? Was there nothing else to him? Was he truly so one-dimensional? It was a great challenge not to think about the plague of questions infesting his mind as he sat in silence while the others slept soundly.

When Elmar came to relieve him a few hours later, Aragol was more than grateful to shut his mind down and hope for a good sleep.

It never came.