Darovel's POV

He knew exactly where he was being taken to; and he knew that the best thing would be for him to remain silent and comply. Though Darovel hated knowing what was coming, he couldn't stop the excitement that was brought on by the adrenaline rushing through his body. This was his chance to escape! He knew how to get back to Oroth's throne from the place where the shadows had brought him the first time, all that was left to do was wait for the opportune moment to sneak away.

It would have to be after the shadows had gone into a frenzy; things would be so chaotic Darovel would have no problem with escaping.

At least, I hope so...

They rounded a bend when they suddenly came to a stop. Darovel knew exactly where they were now; if they kept going straight they would end up at Oroth's throne, but for some reason the two shadows holding him didn't seem interested in continuing on. They began to converse with each other; their voices were thick and raspy, full of excitement as they spoke.

"Why should we share him with the others? We hardly got a chance to use him last time. I say we keep him for ourselves."

This sent a wave of panic throughout Darovel's body. If he wasn't taken to the others he wouldn't be able to escape!
"Are you sure?" The second shadow asked, "If the others found out we got to use the human but didn't share-"
"Who cares about how they'll react? The Master said that we could have our fun with him and I intend to. If you don't want in on it then I suggest that you leave."

Darovel nearly went limp, the grips on his arms the only thing keeping from falling. The hesitant shadow was still trying to decide whether or not it was going to go along with the plan when a cold, wet voice hissed, "What are you doing with the human?"

Darovel stifled a groan as one of the creatures from their cell appeared; crawling along the floor like a cat stalking its prey. He'd seen plenty of this kind during his first time with the shadows; where there was one there were always more nearby.
"It's none of your business scum!" The first shadow growled shoving Darovel into his cohort's arms. The shadow clamped a cold hand over Darovel's mouth which caused him to shudder involuntarily. He hated having these creatures' hands on him. The smaller creature did not seem intimidated by the larger shadow at all; its thick, fork tongue darted out of its mouth as if it were tasting the air.

It blinked once and two more of its kind emerged from the shadows. Darovel felt his heart sink as more appeared behind them, crawling out from unseen places hidden in the darkness. His captor tightened its grip on him, snarling at the small creatures.
"The big onesss don't want to share the human." The creature who had been the first to appear informed the others of its kind. His words were met with enraged hisses that made Darovel's skin crawl.

"The human is ours!" The large shadow bellowed. The creatures (who far outnumbered the two big shadows) smiled and continued to slowly advance. Suddenly Darovel was thrown onto the ground, the shadow who had been holding him fled down the hall. Several creatures chased after it, no sounds were heard as they ended the shadow's life. The other one was not going down as easy. That was when Darovel realized; no one was watching him.

The smaller creatures were too busy with the large shadows to pay him any mind, but he knew that would quickly change. Trying not to draw attention to himself; Darovel slipped unseen into the shadows, thankful that he had spent so many years perfecting the art of stealth. As he crept along the wall he saw the creatures swarming over the dead shadow's body; this was his last obstacle and he would be free.

The creatures did not notice him slip by and once Darovel believed himself to be out of hearing distance, he ran. His heart was beating rapidly and his body screamed in protest; but if he went any slower there was a chance that the creatures would catch up with him. Darovel could see the incline that led down to Oroth's throne, he was almost there! Stopping just at the entrance Darovel looked around for any sign of the shadows, it was empty.

Taking a cautious step forward, then another, Darovel gradually quickened his pace as he neared Oroth's empty throne. If Morwen's dream was true, then there would be a tunnel behind the throne. He was more than halfway down when something crashed into Darovel's back; unprepared for the sudden impact he crashed onto the floor, the incline causing both him and his assailant to roll the rest of the way down.

Once they ceased moving Darovel immediately went to throw the creature off when his air supply was abruptly cut off. His eyes widened and his legs bucked; looking down at him with a malicious smile was the leader of the creatures.

/\\//\\/

Ramben's POV

The elfling sat with his face buried in his hands; unsure of what to do. When Oroth had come to reveal more memories Ramben hadn't fought back, he'd just wanted to get it over with. The amulet had been placed in his hands and again he had screamed as the memory was brought forth. But this one was much different from the last one; in fact it was the most puzzling one of them all...

He stood looking down at the drop below him. At the bottom his sharp eyes could make out the jagged rocks that littered the ground. He wouldn't feel a thing if he were to jump; chances were that he would be dead long before he reached the ground.

"There you are! I've been looking all everywhere for you!"
The voice caused him to turn around, the figure who approached him was hazy and he could not focus on it clearly. The figure came to stand beside him; he turned away.
"You really shouldn't be this close to the edge, you could fall." The voice said. He only nodded in response.
"Shall we move away from here then?" The voice asked grabbing his arm and giving it a gentle tug; but still he did not move.

The voice sighed and released him.
"About what happened last night, it wasn't your fault. You know that right?"
"How could it not? I was the one who missed their shot, an innocent man is dead because I couldn't control my arrow." His tone was dry and bitter, tears began to form in his eyes. Looking down again, the jagged rocks seemed to be beckoning him to jump down.

"We were ambushed," The voice argued, "we had no time to prepare a strong defense, and it was dark. It was an accident, you didn't know that he was there."
A cold, mocking laugh came from his lips.
"Oh, it was no accident, I saw him clearly and I knew exactly where he was." He ignored the sharp, intake of breath from the figure beside him and continued.
"He didn't see me however, and was running straight towards me with his sword drawn. So what did I do? I panicked and fired my arrow at him. It wasn't an accident I was trying to protect myself, from an enemy that wasn't even there."

He let his words sink in, letting each one of them sting the figure next to him. After a period of silence the figure asked, "Why didn't you move out of his way? Why kill him when he didn't intend to bring you harm?"

"Have you forgotten what has befallen me? I've been captured, tortured, used, humiliated, and it was all caused by men. Do you know how hard it is for me to adjust living among you? Or how often I look over my shoulder to make sure I'm not being trailed? I've been trained to fight to defend myself; I kill in order to keep myself alive. When I am in the middle of a battle there is no "good" or "bad" there is only "surive," to live see another day."

He lowered his head and glared angrily at the rocks. He wanted to jump; oh how he wanted to end this misery.
"I cannot die in battle, my instincts always take over and prevent me from being killed. But there is nothing stopping me from casting myself off this cliff."
A strong hand on his shoulder forced him to turn around. Though he could not see their face, he could imagine the being glaring at him.
"If you think that I am going to let you take your own life than you are mad! I know you've suffered and I know that you are still in pain, but you cannot let every mistake bring you down like this. Death is not the answer."

"You call killing an innocent man a mistake? Even after what I told you? If I go back with you and we are faced with another battle what will stop me from killing someone else just because they got too close? Soon they'd all want me dead and you know it. I should just do them all a favor and do it myself."

"No! I will not let you! Give up this foolish idea and come back with me! I promised that I would help you recover and I am not about to break that promise." The figure waited in silence for him to reply. After minutes of tense silence, he lowered his head and let out a shaking breath.
"What if I can not be helped?" His voice came out in a whisper as a single tear fell from his eye.

Strong arms wrapped around him; pulling him into a comforting embrace.
"You will never be beyond help, remember that. There will always be forgiveness for those who truly want it, you are no exception."
The figure pulled away slightly, allowing him to wipe the tears from his eyes. He could sense the being smiling, and he found himself grinning as well.
"Thank you."

"Come on, let's get back to the others. I don't know about you but I am starving." The figure led the way back to camp, and he followed, the two talking quietly the whole way back.

Ramben opened his eyes and lifted his head out of his hands.
"We have to get out of here." he announced suddenly.
Morwen (who had been inspecting the cell door) turned around and offered him a tired smile.
"I know Ramben, Darovel and I doing everything we can to get out of here."
"Not everything." Ramben stood to his feet, ignoring the confused look on Morwen's face. The elfling joined her at the door and studied it closely.

"Why have you not tried opening it yet?" he asked.
Confused and slightly startled by his sudden change in behavior Morwen replied, "Because there is no way to open it from in here, the door is completely smooth. It can probably only be opened on the outside."
Ramben continued to study the door; Morwen wasn't even sure if he had heard what she said. She was about to repeat herself when Ramben pressed against a certain area on the door; her eyes widened in shock as the door opened without as much as a sound.

"H-how did you do that?"
Ramben could feel her gaze on him, and he suddenly felt very small, his earlier calm rapidly slipping away.
"I-I don't know. There was something sticking out of the door so I pushed it and-"
"Ramben, there is nothing on the door."
"Yes there is! It's right here," Ramben grabbed what he assumed to be the handle and pulled on it, "see?"

Morwen stared at where his hand hovered and shook her head.
"No Ramben, I don't see anything."
The elfling's brow furrowed and he stared back at the handle. How could she not see it? Taking him by the hand Morwen began to lead him out of the cell.
"Come on Ramben, Darovel and Amarth may need us."
He nodded and followed her quietly, pushing the mystery of the door into the back of his mind. He would wonder about that once they were safe.

/\\//\\/

Darovel's POV

"He won't make a sssound, will he?" The creature tilted its head to the side, slightly loosening its grip on Darovel's neck.
"He won't want to bring any more ssshadowsss here, it would only lead to more pain for him."
The creature's threat rang loud and clear for Darovel. Should he utter a sound, it would all be over.
"Ssso he will be quiet, won't you?" The creature asked. Darovel gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. Black dots were dancing at the edge of his vision and he knew it wouldn't be long before he was dead.

To his immediate relief the creature released its hold on his neck, and he was able to bring air back into his starved lungs. His relief was short lived when the creature pinned his arms down; despite being smaller than the larger shadows it was still strong enough to keep an injured man from moving.

"I didn't get a chance to tassste you yet." The creature leaned down to where Darovel could feel its cold breath against his cheek. Everything inside of him was screaming for him to fight back, but he couldn't risk being caught again by all the shadows. If they heard any sort of commotion they'd be here in an instant. The creature's tongue flicked across his cheek, he cringed as it hovered against his skin.

"Jussst a tassste," the creature hissed, "jussst one little-"
The creature never had a chance to finish as two hands grabbed its head and gave it a strong twist. There was a crack, then a dull thump as the creature's limp body fell onto the ground.
"Are you alright?" Morwen asked quickly kneeling beside Darovel.
"I'm fine, but how did you escape?" Darovel let Morwen help him to his feet before noticing that something was amiss.
"Where is Ramben?"

Morwen looked in the direction they had come in and froze.
"He was right behind me! I was holding onto him ever since we left the cell!" Morwen's face was pale and her voice was rising. Darovel gripped her by the shoulders, doing his best to conceal his own growing panic.
"You have to find him Morwen, I'm going after Amarth. We'll find you both as soon as we can."

His left no room for argument and she nodded. Without a word she ran back the way she had entered, her feet making no sound on the stone floor. Turning towards Oroth's throne Darovel walked around to the back, there was a tunnel just like in Morwen's dream. Taking a deep breath he entered, failing to notice that the body of the creature was slowly beginning to move.

Darovel immediately felt the urge to vomit upon entering the tunnel. The evil that the tunnel emanated nearly knocked him off his feet; but still he pressed onward. There was no longer any doubt in Darovel's mind that this was where Amarth was being held. He had to get him out of here, he would not leave without him.

Gradually the tunnel began to widen; and Darovel soon found himself surrounded by suffocating darkness. He blinked several times, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark, but it was useless. He took a step forward; half expecting himself to fall into a never ending abyss. Yet he walked as if on solid ground, he searched for any sign of Amarth, praying that he was still alive. Then his eyes landed on a figure laying motionless on the ground; their skin pale and body covered in shadows.

Amarth...

/\\//\\/

Amarth's POV

I can hardly move...
What's happened to me...

I hear footsteps...
I look up and see someone...

Not just someone...
Darovel...

Good...
That's good...
Now he can die with me...