Morwen's POV

She let out a quiet sigh of relief as two shadows passed without taking notice of her. Morwen had crept all the way back to their cell; quietly calling Ramben's name but there had been no answer. Her immediate thought was that he had been captured, but if he had wouldn't Oroth had let them known by now?

She shuddered at the thought of Ramben being found with Oroth. Every time Oroth came near him all he caused was pain. Checking to see that no more shadows were approaching Morwen left her hiding place and continued her search, her heart beating faster with every passing second. Where was Ramben? How had he gotten away from her? Would Darovel be alright? She didn't allow her thoughts to stray towards Amarth; she knew that she'd only end up panicking.

Darovel will find him, she assured herself, Darovel will find him and we'll all escape. Everything will be alright.
But first she had to find Ramben. Morwen stiffened as the sound of footsteps filled her ears. She immediately pressed herself against the wall and tried to keep herself in the shadows. The footsteps were quick and rapid; as if the person they belonged to was struggling to stay on their feet while they ran. Morwen braced herself for a shadow to appear; but when the figure suddenly emerged she almost fell over in relief.

"Ramben!" She whispered and he froze in his tracks. It didn't take long for her to realize that something was wrong with him; his eyes were wide and his breathing rapid. His hands were clasped tightly around a small object, Morwen knew what it was.
"Where did you get that?" She demanded grabbing Ramben by the arm.
"We have to go." he said starting forward and ignoring her question.
"Ramben how did you get the amulet from Oroth? Please answer me." Morwen allowed herself to be led forward, but at the same time she desperately wished that Ramben would talk.

But the elfling remained silent; and Morwen had no choice but to walk with him through the dark twists and turns of Oroth's lair.

/\\//\\/

Darovel's POV

What have they done to you?
Darovel thought racing over to where Amarth laid. He was staring up at him with tired, dull eyes. Could the Elf even see him?
"Amarth it's alright, I'm going to get you out of here." Darovel said quietly as he knelt down beside him. Amarth blinked once before rolling onto his side, turning away from him.
"Get away, please..." Amarth whispered.

Darovel's eyes softened as he looked down at Amarth; though he looked calm on the outside his mind was in an uproar. How could they have done this to him? What did they do to him? He shook his head and bent down to gather the Elf in his arms. There would be time for questions late; right now their main focus was getting out of this cursed place. The moment he laid his hands on Amarth however, he hissed in pain and curled in on himself.

"Too bright."
Darovel's face went from grief to terror as the broken, distorted voice came out of Amarth's mouth. What was wrong with him?
You are hurting him human, your touch is painful.
His blood turned cold as the familiar voice entered his head; the voice that belonged to the being who had come to the cell.
"What have you done to him?" Darovel demanded, searching the darkness for any sign of the being.

Me? I have only done what he has allowed me to do, other than that I have not touched him.
"Stop," Amarth moaned catching Darovel's attention, "no more..."
"I'm getting you out of here Amarth." He whispered kneeling down beside him again.
"No!" Amarth shouted; nearly causing Darovel to fall onto his back.
See human? He does not want to leave, Duvain has chosen me.
"Darovel..."

Blocking out the shadow being's voice Darovel got as close to Amarth as he dared, not wanting to inflict further pain on him.
"I'm here, tell me what to do Amarth and I'll do it." He whispered keeping an eye out for anyone approaching.
"Get me... out... she's... killing me..."
That was all Darovel needed to hear. In one quick motion he had one arm under Amarth's knees and the other behind his back. Almost immediately the Elf began to shriek in pain; but the voice was not his own.

Darovel turned around and darted towards the way he had come. He'd walked in a straight line so he shouldn't have trouble finding the entrance he'd come through. Yet it seemed that no matter how much he walked he never went anywhere.
Foolish human! Do you truly believe that you can escape me?
Darovel ignored her and kept running; tightening his grip on Amarth who had started to thrash in his arms.
"Let me go!"
"No, no please."

Darovel pushed all of the voices from his mind; focusing all of his energy on getting Amarth and himself out of that place. He didn't slow down until a new, unfamiliar voice entered his mind.
Keep running straight, you're almost there.
He wanted to freeze in his tracks and demand that this new voice revealed themself; but Amarth was growing worse by the second, Darovel couldn't let him stay here any longer. Knowing that he had no other choice he decided to trust the new voice and kept running.

An enraged shriek sounded in the distance and at the same time Amarth screamed in agony, his pale face twisting in pain. Light slowly began to fill Darovel's vision and his heart leaped in his chest. They'd made it out!
"It's alright Amarth, you're not in there anymore." he searched the Elf's face for any response but there was nothing. Darovel quickly brought him out of the tunnel and didn't stop until he reached Oroth's throne room which was, thankfully, still empty.

"You found him!" Morwen's voice sounded from up ahead and Darovel's shoulders sagged in relief when he saw that Ramben was with her. The joy drained from Morwen's face when she took in Amarth's still form. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow, his body was limp in Darovel's arms.
"What have they done?" Her voice hardly rose above a whisper and Darovel could see the pain in her eyes.

"I don't know, but if we want to save him we have to get out of here." That was when he realized; none of them had been conscious when they'd been brought here, none of them knew how to get out.

Or so he thought.

"Come on," Ramben said heading down a path that led to the left.
"Where are you going?" Morwen demanded grabbing him by the arm.
"I know the way out! Come on we have to hurry." Ramben tried to start forward again but Morwen refused to move.
"How do you know? Were you awake when we were brought here or did Oroth give you directions after you stole the amulet back?"
"You did what?" Darovel gaped at the child in surprise, finally noticing that he held the amulet loosely in one hand.

Ramben quickly averted his gaze from the two of them, but did not cease trying to move forward.
"Please, trust me. Amarth will die if he stays here."
His words sent a chill down Darovel's spine and he looked down at Amarth's ashen skin. Ramben was right; he was dying.
"Darovel?" Morwen asked waiting for him to make a decision.
"Ramben is right, we can't stay here for a minute longer."

Sighing Morwen released her hold on Ramben who immediately darted along the path, Darovel and Morwen following close behind.

/\\//\\/

Daeris' POV

He was getting away!

She felt her connection with him sever the moment that accursed human stole him from her. She'd been so close to having him!

"When will you give up Daeris? You know that in the end you will fall. Surrender now and you will not feel any pain during your passing."
She hissed and lashed out with her arm, even though there was nothing for her to attack.
"You are wrong Faervel! He is mine and once I've taken him there will be no stopping us!"

"You know that what I say is true Daeris; light will always prevail over darkness. You and your "master" will both die ere the end."
"And if we don't? What if this time it is darkness who prevails over light?"
"Then it will be but one battle darkness had won, however the war between light and darkness is far from over. In the end good will vanquish evil forever, you know this is true."

Daeris hissed again but said no more. She felt Faervel's presence leave and smiled wickedly. He was gone, and soon his earlier commands would have no hold on her. She closed her eyes and imagined Duvain: his cold eyes, his fair face, but what she loved most was the darkness that still dwelt inside of him. That was what had drawn her to him in the first place; there was no other being alive that had the true darkness in his heart. It was she desired to have him by her side; if she could only take him then she would be complete.

For now she could do nothing as he escaped with those wretches who foolishly believed that she would stop hunting him. The moment she was free of Faervel's will Daeris would get Duvain back.

Nothing would keep her from her beautiful darkness; nothing.

/\\//\\/

Amarth's POV

Pain...

So much pain...

Why does everything hurt?

I just want this all to end...

I hear voices all around me, but I can't tell who they belong to. Are they trying to hurt me or help me? I don't know, everything is a mess.

Why did this have to happen?
Why?

Maybe I should just fall asleep again, that always kept her out.
Yes...
I'll just go back to sleep, and maybe this time I won't wake up...