Another World. Another Time (Akira.S & Gracielle Grace)

[Gracielle Grace]

As the Abbadon continued chasing the four companions, Glaren began doubting that they would make it out of the forest in time. The creatures were gaining on them and the horses were tiring fast. It wouldn't take long for the Abbadon to catch them and make a meal out of them. Every tree in the forest looked the same to Glaren, and he had no idea of knowing if Isley knew where he was going. Suspiciously, Glaren even considered the possibility that the mysterious elf might be planning to leave him behind. Trying to keep up with the other members of his party, he urged his weary horse on and wondered how long he could continue.

Finally, when Glaren thought that his horse would collapse from exhaustion, Isley slowed to a stop. At first, Glaren couldn't figure out why their leader of the journey had stopped, but he soon noticed that no pounding footsteps were following them. None of the tall, wild creatures could be seen anymore, yet their battle-like cries could be heard far off in the woods. Soon, the woods were so quiet that it was hard to believe that the danger the four had just been in was real. Glaren almost asked the others why the Abbadon had left the chase, but the looks on his friends' faces told him that they were wondering the same thing.

Bren suddenly gasped as she noticed how weak Thea looked. "Thea,"asked Bren, "are you feeling alright? Your face is pale and you look dazed. Perhaps you should lay down for a moment and rest." The girl took a step towards her weak and worn out friend and prepared to help in any way she could. However, Thea was not well enough to dismount her horse properly, but instead fell off and landed on the ground, unconscious. Shocked and concerned for her friend, Bren hurried over to Thea and attempted to revive her.

When Glaren saw Thea fall, he ran over to her. He hadn't noticed how sick she had looked, but now he worried when he saw how her hands were twitching slightly. Her skin felt cool when he touched it, and she looked unnaturally pale. Not having much experience with caring for an unconscious girl, Glaren panicked and cried out, "What should I do? How can I help her?"

"Leave her to me," Bren replied firmly. "I will try my best to help her. Many times I have seen a woman faint, and I have watched how Thea has treated sick people in our village. Somehow, I doubt you would be able to assist me very well. You should help Isley set up the camp. If Thea shows any signs of change, I will let you two know."

Glaren wanted to stay with Thea and help, but he obeyed Bren anyway and made his way over to Isley. He knew nothing about how to treat a sick person like Thea, and although he wasn't the greatest at setting up camp, he could manage putting up a tent. Better to ruin the camp and make Isley upset than to heap guilt on himself by hindering Thea's recovery. If Bren couldn't use an ignorant person like him, then Glaren would be better off trying to be of use somewhere else. Feeling very useless, he started to set up a tent.  

[Akira.S]

Isley wouldn't admit to being exhausted by the time camp was set up. The horses were just as tired and just as hungry as they were, already lying down to rest after that hard gallop across the forest. For the time being it seemed like they were safe. He did his best to keep his golden eyes open and his ears alert, waiting to hear the sound of danger. At least Glaren wasn't being a pest and staying out of trouble. The good it did him.

He found himself and the human looking over to where Thea and Bren were seated, Thea passed out on a fur cloak, breathing very slowly but easily. When he looked closely, he saw the odd red flower mark on her forehead while Bren was brushing her with a very lightly damp cloth. He had seen the mark when he was younger, used to make fun of her for it, until he decided to be a good brother and protect her from the people who would make fun of it. It made her different, it set her apart from the rest, not that she wasn't different already... She wasn't elf, she wasn't human, she was something more and everyone knew it.

"We better get some sleep," he looked around and smelled the night air. "It'll be light in a few hours and we'll have to keep going." Isley didn't care for the patrol, not now, not when they were all about to pass out from pure exhaustion.

Before he lay down he went over to Bren and sat beside her on Thea's other side, "How is she?"

Even in sleep or unconscious Thea looked so unearthly, something unnatural, something, or someone different from everyone else. "Let's hope she wakes up by morning, we've got to keep moving. The Mountain shouldn't be too far from here and there should be a town at the base." he took his sister's hand and held it gently in his own, feeling how soft and smooth her hands were even though she was just as fierce of a warrior as he was.
He held onto it a moment before releasing it and standing, "Don't stay up too late, either of you."


((Also you can write ahead of me and I can follow your lead, you can have conversations and I can add to them, don't be shy to lead the story or write more than what I've written))  

[Gracielle Grace]

"Whew!" thought Glaren to himself as he sat down on the grass right outside of tent he had helped set up. He had no idea setting up a tent was so difficult. One minute he would be setting up one part and the other side would fall down, forcing him to start back at the beginning. Finally, Isley had given him some instructions on how to set it up. Even so, by the time he was finished setting it up, Glaren could hardly keep his eyes open. He lay back on the grass and fell asleep right then and there, without bothering to perform any ceremony to sleep or even getting a blanket out.

Meanwhile, Bren was concerned for her friend's health. Thea was still unconscious and her face was a frightening color of white. Nothing was waking her, and the only thing Bren could think to do was cool her forehead. Her forehead felt quite warm, and it would complicate matters if Thea had a fever. For a second, Bren felt cold fear run through her whole body as she thought of a sickness she knew. She tried to dismiss that thought and came up with excuses for why her friend wouldn't have it, but she couldn't help fretting about the possibility. When Isley came over and asked about Thea's condition, all she could do was shrug and continue applying a damp cloth to her patient's forehead.

Her fear for her friend was strong enough for her to stay awake all night to watch over Thea. Memories of spending time with the beautiful maiden floated back to her as she sat next to her friend in the dark. She remembered a time when she herself had suffered from a horrible fever. Thea had taken care of her that whole time, placing fresh and clean cloths on her forehead when necessary. It was a bit fuzzy in her mind, but she still remembered feeling Thea's soft touch a her soothing voice telling her everything was alright. Unfortunately, their roles were reversed now; but Bren was determined to be as caring as Thea had been. She picked up the now warm cloth that had been covering the flower shape and prepared another cool, damp cloth to apply to the girl's hot forehead.

Crack! Bren whirled at a sound of a branch breaking off. Immediately, she stood up and faced the direction the noise had come from. Taking her sword Shevi in her hand, she prepared for an attack. For a split second, she considered calling Isley and Glaren to help, but she decided to handle it on her own. Soft crunching sounds came closer and closer to where she stood. "Come to me and reveal yourself!" she severely whispered out to the darkness not loud enough to wake anyone, but loud enough for whatever was approaching to hear her words. "Prepare for battle!"

The next moment, Bren had to blink twice to make sure the night wasn't playing tricks on her. Out of the dark, a short dog came lopping up to her. Its pink tongue hung out of his mouth, and his eyes were hidden from view by his white and fluffy fur. As it came up to her, its short fluffy tail began to wag so fast that it looked like it would flip off. The dog let out a short bark, and jumped up at her. "How did you get here?" Bren whispered to it.

She could not believe how a dog came to be out in the wilderness. So far, the only living beings other than herself and her companions were the Abbadon. She had no idea that any animals were living out in the wild, since she had heard about all the horrible things the Great Darkness had done to the forests around. True, she had seen dogs in her village. But wild dogs were usually very ferocious and would not take kindly to humans. "Could this dog come from a village somewhere?" she wondered.

"More importantly, what should I do with this dog?" Bren wondered. She wasn't afraid of it, but what would the others say? Isley would definitely think it just as another mouth to feed and not let them bring it with them. The dog might be more appealing to Glaren, but she could never be sure about him since she had only met him awhile ago. Perhaps Thea would have compassion on the dog, but she was not in the condition to be asked any questions whatsoever. She looked down at the dog and couldn't help petting its fluffy head.

She tried weighing out the benefits and losses and dog might bring. It would mean sharing some of their food provisions, but it would be good at warning them about people approaching them. Days would be a little more interesting with a dog coming along with them, and it could help a little bit of something probably. Maybe it wouldn't be able to keep up with their horses, but Bren wouldn't be opposed to letting it ride with her. The more spirits they had in their party, the more higher they would be, wouldn't they? Bren decided she wouldn't wake up anyone with the news; it would be a surprise for the others when they woke up.

While Bren went back to work with Thea, the dog was a comfort to her. It laid down next to her and kept her company while she worked. Many times, she couldn't help smiling at it and petting it. Finally, the dog dozed off on the grass, looking like a ball of fluff on the ground. Even though it was asleep, she knew the dog would sense if something dangerous was near. With a little smile, she whispered to the fluff ball at her feet, "Your name will be Sense, the protector of all in our company."  

[Akira.S]

Thea finally woke at first light, the rays of sunlight seeming to rejuvenate the soft glow in her skin. Her violet eyes twinkled in it, as her long blonde platinum haired shined effortlessly. Her body was a bit sore, wracked with odd pangs and ills, her head was quite woozy too, but she wouldn't let that bother her. This part of the forest didn't seem as dark as they were last night. Where exactly were they, and how far were the mountains from here?

Quietly standing from her makeshift bed, Thea crept around the camping site and walked a few faces through the trees, to see what was out there beyond the horizon. She followed the scent of fresh air and sunlight until the forest trees began to end and up ahead lay the tall mountains where the Seer had sent them. The place where they would find part of their destiny and hopefully some help as to where they had to go to dispel the Great Darkness.

The mountains were probably only a few hours ride away and the town at the base had to have people! How long had it been since they'd seen...other living beings, be it humans or other elves or other mystical creatures that dwelled on their plain. Thea could hardly contain her excitement!

She turned and weaved through the trees, racing back to where their group had made camp. Everyone seemed to be sound asleep. Isley was asleep in his tree, no doubt keeping some sort of guard on them, Glaren without any sort of blanket or makeshift space to sleep in, and...Bren with a strange white fluff lying close by. It moved, it breathed, how could it be possible another living creature survived the Great Darkness...she only had to wonder. But before her wonder took hold of her she had to tell her brother the good news.

Thea climbed the nearby tree her brother leaned against and nudged him awake, "Isley, Isley, wake up. Look where we are!" it seemed like the first time in a long time she'd sounded excited.

Isley woke with a start, eyes slowly focusing until he grasped his sister's presence before him.
"Thea!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright? How do you feel? Are you hurt?" he frantically checked her over, putting his hand to her forehead to check for a fever and felt over her body to see if she'd been hiding any injuries. His father would never have forgiven him if something had happened to her. "I'm fine Isley... No harm done. But look where we are. Almost at the base of the mountain. We should hope to reach it just before sundown and then we'll be safe. We wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you."

Isley gathered his sister into his arms and wrapped his eagle feathered cloak around her. He'd been so afraid something had happened to her the previous night, he was so afraid of losing her, he could honestly careless where they were as long as she was safe. "You have Bren to thank for your health, she watched over you last night... Come we should wake them." When he finally released her, he let her climbed down before he joined her on the ground.

"Glaren. Bren. Get up. We have a lot of ground to cover today if we want to make it to the town by nightfall."  

[Gracielle Grace]

Sunlight shined down on the fluffy white back of the dog recently named Sense. His fur shown brightly in the morning light, looking like a ball of white light. Being warmed by the sun, his eyes began to flicker open. After a big yawn and a good stretch, he started to search for his morning meal. Since his new owner seemed to be sleeping quite peacefully, he decided not to yip, yap, and awaken her. He quietly trotted off a short distance, sniffing for scents of food.

Sense was well off when Isley woke Bren and Glaren. Bren stretched, looked around, and soon realized that the dog wasn't where she had last seen him. He didn't seem to be close by, either. "Where could he have gone?" Bren wondered to herself. Acting as casually as she could, she went off looking for the little dog. "Surely he isn't too far away," she reassured herself, though not as
convinced as she would liked to have been. Who knew how far Sense could have gone?

As she continued searching for the dog, Bren began to wonder if she shouldn't just let the dog go. After all, the dog had just wandered into the camp last night and probably was used to wandering around a lot. One night was not enough time for any animal to suddenly become loyal to a human. After all, what had she expected or even wanted when she had seen the white fuzz ball last night? She didn't exactly need a pet at the moment, and she could easily see Isley scolding her for considering bringing a dog along with them on the journey. Bren could just imagine Isley complaining, “Glaren is bad enough! We don't need another mouth to feed!” Even as she pondered these things, she kept up her search for Sense.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Glaren had woken up and was relieved to see Thea in a much better condition than in the night. She hardly showed signs of having been ill. The special glow in her eyes had returned, and her face wasn't so deathly pale. Seeing Thea smile was like watching a blooming flower. Even Isley's curt command to help with preparing for the morning didn't dampen Glaren's joy at seeing a healthy Thea.

While breakfast was being made, Glaren suddenly realized that someone was missing. Where was Bren? Had she been in camp when he had woken up? Glaren seemed to remember seeing her walking away in the direction of a denser part of the woods earlier. “Maybe Isley or Thea told her to look for food or something like that,” he tried to reassure himself, but he didn't feel certain at all that he was right. Seeing the Abbadon had shown him what sorts of things could be in the woods, and he definitely couldn't bear to think of what might happen if a monster got Bren. Trying to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible, Glaren headed in the direction that he believed Bren had gone.

In Bren's mind, finding Sense had been much easier than it actually was turning out to be. The deeper she went, the denser the forest became, and she was having a hard time telling what direction she was going. As she weaved her way through the trees, it became harder and harder for her to remember which way she had come from. Each tree looked like the one next to it. Less and less light trickled down from the gaps between the branches of the tall trees, and Bren had to watch her step more and more. No fluffy white ball of fur could be seen, and Bren could only hear her own footfalls.

Crack! A small twig fell from above and landed on the ground next to a tree that Bren had just past. Whirling around, she tried to see what the sound was. Not a living thing could be seen. Seeing the twig laying on the ground, she pondered what could have broken off a twig from a tree. She looked up at the branches far above her. Nothing was up in the trees as far as she could tell. After a moment, Bren decided that the incident was nothing to worry about and began going on her way.

Without warning, she was suddenly yanked by the shoulders, and a gag was tied around her mouth before she could cry out. A cloth was roughly tied around her eyes as well, pinching her eyes. She tried to think of what she could do to escape her unknown enemies, but she barely realized what was happening before something hard hit her on the head and she was completely blacked out.  

[Akira.S]

While Thea prepared a small breakfast for them with what little supplies they had, Isley was making sure the path was cleared and the rest of their camp packed up. They didn't want anything following them. The abbadon in the forest were servants of the Great Darkness, but they wouldn't venture out of the forest into the open even if there was a strength in numbers. Once they were out of the forest it was a straight ride to the town at the base of the mountain.

Cutting up some bread and cheese, Thea laid the food out on several leaves for her companions to eat. She wasn't all that hungry yet but knew Isley would make a fuss if she didn't eat anything; he always did fuss over her. Turning towards where her companions should have been she found their spots empty. That was odd, she saw Glaren a minute ago... Where could he have gone off to?

"What's wrong?" Isley asked as he came back from leading his horse to a nearby stream.
Thea tried not to look too alarmed as to scare the leader of their company but he had to be told...
"Bren and Glaren are missing. They were here just a second ago... I'm sure they were."

Isley was immediately alarmed. There were abaddon in the forest, even if they wouldn't go out of their way to attack at night those two were still vulnerable if ambushed. He cursed in elvish, something he rarely did before grabbing his sheathed sword from his horse and attaching it around his belt.

"Pack up quickly, we better go find them."
"I'm sure they'll be back..."
"I'm not taking any chances, not with abaddon and who knows what else is out there..."

Doing as she was told Thea gathered her things, their breakfast and strung her bow and quiver across her back. Once on her horse she grabbed the reigns of Glaren's horse while Isley did the same for Bren's and trotted off through the forest.

"Bren! Glaren!" He called out but not too loudly to startle the creatures in the forest.  

[Gracielle Grace]

"Bren! Bren? Bren!" Glaren shouted his friend's name repeatedly, but no answering call could be heard from the threatening forest. It had been hours since he had begun searching for Bren. Though he had scanned the trees, he hadn't caught even a glimpse of her. Nothing at all seemed to stir in the forest. Even the grey clouds above the tree tops appeared to be frozen in the sky, almost as if the clouds were waiting for some disaster to occur. Regretting that he hadn't asked for Isley's and Thea's help before chasing after Bren, Glaren began trudging back the way he had come.

At least, Glaren tried to retrace his steps. Turning his head first one way and then the other, he couldn't tell which way was back to the camp. The tree to either side of him looked like an exact reflection of the other. To further complicate matters, he was feeling quite weak upon missing his breakfast, and he wasn't exactly in the mood for trekking through a forest maze. Finally, Glaren decided he'd had enough and plonked himself down on a rock beside a tree to rest.

As he sat on his rock and waited for help to come, Glaren tried to figure out how he would be able to explain the situation to Isley and Thea when they saw that Bren was still missing. But how could he? He could almost see the furious look on Isley's face. The elf would shout at and blame Glaren for being so stupid and useless. If Glaren had alerted the other two about Bren's disappearance, would Isley still blame him? Surely Thea wouldn't speak to him so harshly, but she would still be ashamed of Glaren for ever coming along with them on the journey. With his head in his hands, Glaren gave up hope of ever pleasing his friends.

Miles far beneath the surface of the earth, however, a hunched figure grinned at his good fortune. He had finally accomplished the mission Queen Warakorella (or just "The Queen" as he had grown accustomed to calling her) had given him. After watching the human for days and days, he had become certain that he had found the right one. Catching the human had been easier than he had hoped. Abbadon were certainly easy to bribe, and who was better at bargaining than Harawk the goblin? Imagining all of the gold that would soon be added to his horde, Harawk hurried off to inform the Queen the good news.

Getting onto his boat, Harawk paddled through the lava. Though he had rowed through the lava several times before, the Queen's magic never ceased to intrigue him. Enchanting a boat to pass through lava undamaged wasn't even half of what she could do, but Harawk hadn't the faintest idea of how she worked her magic. He envied how she could make a person fully believe every word she uttered. If he had such magic, he would be the happiest goblin in the whole world! Continuing on his way, Harawk headed towards his destination.  

[Akira.S]

"Any sign of him?" Isley asked from atop his horse. He'd gone one direction and asked Thea to stay nearby where it would be easy to find her again.
Thea shook her head while steering her horse slightly, "Where could they have gone to, I'm getting worried. It may be daytime but that doesn't mean the forest is still dangerous." Bren could take care of herself, she wasn't a baby, it was Glaren she was worried about most.

Isley could see the worry grow in his sister's eyes as he reached out and took her hand. It was counterproductive to go back into the forest and look for them after they were only a day's ride away from the town, but he knew Thea wouldn't want to leave them behind. "We'll keep looking," he said sternly, "We'll find them."

He road back off into the forest as she kicked the horse into a slight trot to follow him. She begged that they would be alright and begged that nothing bad would happen.

Isley was privately cursing in his mind. Bren knew better, he trained her to know better than to disappear without telling him. Stupid silly girl. If anything happened to her he'd never forgive himself. Bren was too important...to the village not to return home safely. He knew she knew how to protect herself and the Abbadon were nightly creatures who couldn't walk in the sun, but there were still others that swept the forest during the day.

"Bren!" he called out, ready to move his sword at moment's notice.

Whenever either of them heard something he signaled Thea to stop as she drew her bow and arrow, very few things, if anything were even alive in this forest thanks to the Great Darkness. That it'd reached so far and so close to their home was certainly a feat. The Great Darkness spawned from far in the east, at least that's what the stories were. Their village had always been protected somehow, but the Elder child knew that their time was coming. Still, sometimes he wondered if four champions, consisting of an elf, a halfling, a human, and an orphan child were what was going to save the village and the rest of the world from destruction.

"BREN! GLAREN!"

Turning to his sister he growled slightly and made an exasperated sound, "When I find them I'm going to kill them..."
"No, you will not." Thea remarked. "You're just saying because you're angry. These aren't your soldiers they're our friends. Stop acting like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, it's our burden to bear." she protested as she directed her horse forward looking out for any sign of her young companion and her human friend. "Oh, where are you..."  

[Gracielle Grace]

As the sky began to darken with the approaching night, Glaren began looking around for something to eat. He hadn't eaten anything at all that day, so he was ravenously hungry. Finding a few small red berries on the grass nearby, he picked them up and gobbled them up within seconds. They were far from filling, though, and only seemed to intensify his hunger. After searching around the forest for a little while but not finding anything else edible, Glaren slowly made his way back to his rock.

Night fell, chilling Glaren in more ways than one. Where was Bren? He hadn't caught even a glimpse of her in the forest, but he was certain that she had come this way. Was she alright? And where were Thea and Isley? Were they still looking for him? had they decided to give up searching for him and instead look for Bren? Or was this Isley's plan of getting rid of him? Glaren wondered to himself, "Are they happy that I am stuck in the middle of nowhere?" As a chilling breeze blew towards him, Glaren shivered and wished that he had a blazing fire to warm himself.

Before long, the night sky prevented Glaren from seeing anything. The woods were eerily silent, as if they were holding their breathe before a great calamity occurred. No creature made a sound; not even an owl's hooting could be heard through the night air. Even though the wind blew through the trees, the branches barely made a sound. Glaren had never known such a dark night as this one.

Lying down on the ground to try to sleep, Glaren greatly doubted that he would get even a wink of sleep that night. The grass was hardly the softest surface he had slept on. Now, Glaren could only regret that he had taken the comfort of his bed for granted. Rocks poking into his skin prevented his from resting comfortably as well. Finally, exhaustion forced his eyes to close in a troubled sleep.

A hard stone wall blankly stared back at Bren. She felt cold stone against her face as well, and she realized that she was surrounded by stone walls. The room was very dark, lit only by a single torch somewhere on the wall above her. Beside her on the floor lay a white ball of fuzz. Occasionally, a part of it would twitch, sometimes shifting its position. Groggily looking around the room through half closed eyes, she found that there was no door in the room. As her mind slowly woke up, Bren suddenly realized that she had no idea where she was.

With a jolt, she sat up from where she had been laying on the floor. Where was this place? The last thing she could recall to her memory was being knocked on the head. Who had hit her? For what purpose did her kidnapper capture her? She hurriedly stood up, more scared than she had been for a very long time. What could she do?

Bren's abrupt movement brought the white fluff to attention. With his short tail wagging furiously to find his master awake, Sense yipped a little bark of pleasure. Despite her rapidly-growing fear, she smiled at her little companion who looked so delighted to see her. She bent down, picked the dog up, and softly patted his fur. "Well, at least not all hope is quite lost; I have you," she admitted to Sense, daring to smile a little. "We just need to find our escape route."  

[Akira.S]

"Well, have you found anything?"
Isley kept his ear to the ground and stilled, listening to the vibrations in the forest to see if he could hear anything moving.

"No, not really. Nothing big enough to be a horse, and no sign of any abbadon either." He stood up and dusted his cloak off. It was getting dark and the sun was going down, it wasn't safe for anything of them to be in the forest after dark, especially alone. "Come, we have to make it back to camp near the edge of the forest before we can't find our way back." Isley insisted while taking a hold of his sister's reins.

Thea pulled back.
"No, we have to keep looking for them. They could be lost or-"
"Or worse." Isley said sternly as he looked into her violet eyes. "If they're dead we've failed, if we're dead then it was all for nothing and we should go back home and think of a new plan... But we can't keep searching when the abbadon, goblins and trolls come out. They're just as hungry as we are since the Great Darkness killed off their food supply as well." Isley was logical as always, and that's what made him a good warrior, but Thea was passionate, and kind almost to a fault, which made her vulnerable. She'd never leave them to the forest.

"You go then, I'm going to keep looking..." turning her horse who practically refused to continue on deeper into the dark, she slipped off the saddle and left him to Isley. "I'll look for them, you go back to the camping spot."
The snow-white haired male looked at her as if she said the most foul thing in their tongue, "And leave you? What would mother and father think if I came back and the three of you were dead? I'd be exiled. No, I can't let you."
Thea looked at him with a determined eye, putting her hand on her brother's, "Walking back to the camping grounds now would be pointless, and you need to watch the horses...I'll go, I promise I'll be careful."
Isley didn't trust his sister, or the forest, or himself...it was a mistake to let her go but he wouldn't hear the end of it if she didn't go. "You promise you'll be careful...any sign of movement and you run."
She nodded in agreement.

Isley took both horses by the reins and walked back the way they came, leaving cloaked Thea to search for their friends. "Where are you..." she quietly asked herself as she looked into the darkness and took a step forward.

Not three steps later she heard something in the bushes. Immediately she pulled out her pole arm and held it out in front of her in a defensive position. She didn't say anything...just listened. Nothing happened, nothing but the wound of the wind and the rustling of the trees. The sound seemed to beckon her in a direction, one tree after another shook it's leaves, leading her into the darkness. She was afraid, but part of her told her that this was the right thing to do... Still holding her staff in more of a walking stick position she let the trees lead her into the dark.

After a while the wind picked up and it became cold, Thea wrapped her cloak around her tightly and stepped lightly in attempts to not awaken whatever was in the forest. It was then she saw something....large move slightly in her path. She froze and pointed her staff at it and studied it. It was so dark she could hardly see, but after several moments of watching and listening she realized the thing in front of her was not of darkness...but human.
"Glaren!" she shouted out loud, realizing her tone she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth and bent down to his level. "Where have you been? Isley and I have been searching for you all day." she said in a hushed tone as to not attract more attention.  

[Gracielle Grace]

Glaren sat up with a jolt, gasping for breath. He made a grab for his sword, yanked it out of its sheath, and thrust it out in front of him in a desperate attempt to protect himself from the approaching Abbadon. Any moment now, they would be upon him! Glaren remained in the same position for a moment before he realized that no Abbadon were in front of him. Suddenly the realization came to him that he had only been dreaming of Abbadon attacking him. Breathing a sigh of relief, Glaren relaxed his boa constrictor grip on his sword and returned his sword to its sheath.

"Glaren!" Hardly daring to believe his ears, Glaren turned in the direction of the voice. Even though it was so dark in the forest that Glaren could hardly see his hands in front of him, he could see a figure in the darkness. The figure was definitely a female, and something about the way she walked reminded Glaren of someone. With hope rising in his throat, he dared to call out, "Is that you, Thea?"

His assumption was soon proved correct. With delight and relief to have been found by his friend, he couldn't help giving Thea a hug and crying, "Boy, am I so glad to see you! I was afraid that you and Isley had given up looking for Bren and me!" As best as he could, he began explaining the reason for his disappearance.

Meanwhile, Bren was busily searching her prison cell for an escape. She began by first checking the stone walls to see if any of the stone were moveable. When she had inspected all of the stones and found that they were as stationary as could be, she peered up at the ceiling to see if there was a trap door. Unfortunately, the cell was so dark that there was no way of seeing anything up there. After several attempts at climbing the walls and failing, Bren plopped herself down on the cold floor with an irritated humph. This was going to be more difficult than she had first thought.

With nothing better to do, Bren started stroking Sense's fur. "At least we have each other," she remarked to the dog, scratching its ear. Comfortably sitting on her lap, the white ball of fluff soon fell asleep. Bren sighed and muttered, "I know I can't sleep, though. There simply must be a way out of this dungeon!"

"Heh heh! To be sure! To be sure, little maiden!" Bren gasped and turned in the direction of where the voice had come from. Though she couldn't see very well in the dim torch light, she could barely make out a small, crouching figure in a corner of the cell. A stench rose from the person, causing Bren to quickly pinch her nose tightly.

"Who are you?" she called out. "What do you want?"

Chuckling and moving into the light, the person replied, "The Queen will be seeing you now." And with that, he grabbed her arm, pulled out a clear ball, and said in a clear voice, "Take us to the Queen." In a flash, they disappeared, leaving the dog alone where it slept.  

[Akira.S]

Well that was one mystery solved. Although how Glaren ended up all the way out here in the forest she had no idea. They were a long way away from the camp site and needed to get back as soon as possible. But what about Bren. They hadn't found her yet. Thea wasn't as concerned that her younger companion was out there. She had a sword, she could take care of herself, but she knew Bren was mischievous and liked to explore, she often got into trouble, or discovered some new thing in the forest when she went out exploring, and it was always Thea who was there to help her dress her wounds or to try to get her to come back to town before she hurt herself. They had to find her...

"We would have never give up on you. The Elder promised to get you back home didn't she, so how can you go home if you're not in one piece?"

Whatever the reason for Glaren's disappearance was it still didn't make sense as to why Bren would run off... They were already behind scheduled and needed to get to town. But she knew Isley wouldn't leave. Not without Bren.

"We have to go back. To get Isley and regroup. He won't like going back into the forest but we have no choice. We have to find her, before she gets into trouble." Helping him up, Thea motioned him to his horse and put out the fire, covering it up so it didn't look like they were there.

Once he was settled she jumped back on her horse and pulled on the reins, "Come, we'd better regroup and figure out how we're going to find Bren. If she's been taken by the Abbadon we have a far way to go....if not...." she wondered, that some of the creatures the Great Darkness had spared and wondered if they were still around. "She can't have gone too far. The only way back is in the forest, and there's plenty of places for dark creatures to hide there..."  

[Gracielle Grace]

With her arms and hands, Bren shielded her eyes from the blinding flash that the mysterious ball had created. She felt her feet being swept off the stone floor of her prison, and the next thing she knew was that she was standing on a soft, carpeted floor. After the glaring light from the ball had faded, Bren dared to look around. She found herself in a vast marble chamber. On its walls hung countless tapestries showing battles of ancient civilizations, paintings of important-looking landscapes and buildings, busts of stern-faced men and women, and even a number of ancient-looking swords and shields. The whole floor was covered with a plush, deep red carpet, and not a speck of dust could be found on it. In the center of the room stood a wide table with chairs all along its sides. Bren couldn't help staring all about her in amazement at such splendor.

A glint suddenly caught Bren's eyes, and she turned to face it. Her eyes widened as she noticed four shining jewels arranged in a row on four marble pedestals. Each jewel was the same shape and size, and a person would be hard pressed to determine which one the most beautiful. Although one was blue, one was green, one was red, and one was orange, they all seemed to shine with a dazzling brilliance. Wondering what these gems were for, Bren cautiously took a step forward, as if even moving an inch from where she stood would shatter the spell that the precious jewels seemed to emanate with.

A steady, firm grip on her arm, however, prevented Bren from proceeding. "Don't even think about it, little missy, "hissed a fowl-smelling voice into her ear. "The Queen won't be too happy to find that her visitor is a thief, would she now? Now, keep your mouth closed unless the Queen permits you to speak, you understand, little missy?"

Turning her head to look at her captor, she scowled disgustedly at him. He was a goblin. Not only were goblins possibly the most vile-smelling creatures in the world, they were also infamous for their greed, trickery, and love for cruelty. She should have guessed that such a horrible, little creature was the one who had caught her. Who else would smell so strongly of decaying fish and spoiled cabbages, not to mention his garlic-scented breath? Trying as hard as she could to wrench a hand free to clamp onto her nose, she frustratingly huffed," What do you want of me? What Queen? Is she another stinking brute like you?"

The goblin just chuckled nastily and answered with a sneer,"Ooh, hoo! A feisty one you are, aren't you little missy? Well, we'll see how fiery you are after the Queen deals with you." With a wicked wink at Bren, the goblin yanked her towards the table in the center of the room and plunked her down onto one of the chairs encircling the table. Still holding onto her with surprising strength for someone who was only half the size of her, the goblin took a seat next to Bren and waited for the Queen to arrive.

Meanwhile, Glaren, Isley, and Thea continued their search for their missing companion. They led their horses through the winding forests, keeping their eyes peeled for even a glimpse of Bren. At first, Glaren had called out her name every so often, hoping that an answering call would find its way to his ear. Isley, however, just shook his head at him and informed him that it was likely useless. Bren was probably much to far from earshot, and it would do no good to tire their voices out by screaming her name. Also, making such loud noises would most likely attract some unwanted creature, such as the Abbadon. And they wouldn't want that, would they? Sighing, Glaren continued the rather silent search for Bren. Would he ever find her? wondered Glaren to himself.  

[Akira.S]

They seemed to be walking around for….god knows how long.
There was nothing. No sign of the girl anywhere.
Thea hated to admit it but she was starting to lose hope. Even Isley was becoming agitated. He promised her father he’d bring her home, hell he promised himself he’d take care of her. Bren was a skilled warrior, how could she have gotten captured so easily. He shouldn’t have taken his eyes off her. If he’d just watched over her more instead of worry about the human from another world and his sister….
They were weeks from home and were a day’s ride from the city under the mountain and Bren was gone. How did this happen.

“We can’t stay in the forest too long…it’ll get dark soon.” He announced while stopping his horse, signalling them to stop theirs. “We have to think about our options…”

“What options?” Thea spun her head in her brother’s direction, “We can’t leave her.”
“Thea-“
“No! I won’t let you abandon her. She’s our oldest friend, and she wouldn’t abandon you should the situation be reversed.” Thea was very adamant on the subject, she’d search the entire forest, abbadon or not if it meant finding Bren.

“I know how you feel…really I do, but we can’t waste any more time. We have to think about what the Elder said-“
“And she said the four of us are going to defeat the Great Darkness. How can we do that with just the three of us?”
He hated when she was right. When they were kids his sister could get anything she wanted out of him and his parents, not because she was cute about it, but because she could logic her way out of anything.

They couldn’t sleep out in the open road….they’d be out of the forest but left way out in the open.
“Glaren.” He turned to the human on the horse and looked at him seriously. “What do you think we should do?”  

[Gracielle Grace]

For a moment, Glaren could only stare at Isley, thinking that he had heard wrong. Isley wanted his advice? Why would such a proud and wise elf care what Glaren thought they should do? Glaren was sure that Isley had gone through many hardships and would have more wisdom about what to do in this situation than Glaren would. Besides, Isley had lived his whole life in this world and had his own identity, but Glaren had no idea what his identity was. As his two friends continued watching him intently, however, he realized that Isley was sincerely asking his opinion about what course to take.

"Umm...uhh...," Glaren began mumbling, trying to figure out what to suggest. Like Thea, he just couldn't bear to quit searching for Bren. She had treated him as if he was her brother or cousin instead of treating him like a stranger, and she always seemed to cheer him up when he was having a hard time. But where could they search? It seemed as if the three of them had covered the forest twice already, yet not even a single hair of Bren had been found. Somehow, Glaren was pretty sure that Bren was not even anywhere near the forest. But if she wasn't, where was she? Although he didn't really understand how, he had a feeling that she had been swept away by some kind of magic. Would Isley and Thea just laugh at that idea, though. His concern for Bren, however, finally overpowered his fear of embarrassment. Clearing his throat, Glaren announced, "I think Bren was taken and swept away by magic and that she is really far away from here. Whatever it takes, though, I believe we should find her. Do you know if there is a way to find out if any magic happened here kind of recently?"

Hearing faint steps approaching, Bren turned her head to see who or what was coming. When she saw a beautiful woman gracefully stepping towards the table, she stared in awe. The lady had a long, flowing white gown with jewels sewn onto it. Her long, silky, black hair that was tied into an elaborate braid fell down her back as gracefully as she had stepped into the room, and she wore a golden crown inlaid with colorful, dazzling gems. As this elegant woman calmly and gracefully slid into a seat on the opposite side of the table, Bren knew without a doubt that this was the Queen the goblin had spoken of.

The Queen smiled a ruby red smile at Bren and said in a polite manner, "Welcome, young one. I have been expecting you. Please, make yourself at home. All who come to my palace are my guests, and I intend to be the best hostess as I can." Softly, she snapped her fingers and a young maid hurried into the room, bringing a platter of food. Before Bren could blink, the maid set the platter down on the table, piled two plates high with food, pushed a plate in front of Bren and the other at the Queen, and then scurried out of the room. Bren blinked in surprise at how suddenly a plate had appeared in front of her, but the Queen just took a bite and nodded at Bren to do the same. A little reassured, Bren picked up her fork and lowered towards a huge slice of meatloaf.

Almost as if she had been bitten by a snake, however, she dropped her fork and tried to stand up. Finding that the goblin was still holding onto her wrist, she struggled to loosen his grip. The gobin, however, tightened his hold on her wrist and yanked her back down to her seat. With an offended look at her, the Queen asked Bren, "Now, dear, what's wrong? Do you not like the food that I've prepared for you? I've been waiting for you for ever so long. Please eat. We haven't even had desert yet."

"Don't toy with me!" Bren growled. "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to poison me! Why else would your dirty goblin slave capture me and take me to you? Let me go! I will do everything in my power to escape. Once I'm free, I will tell my father to arrest you for kidnapping!"

With a puzzled expression, the Queen exclaimed, "I have no idea what you are speaking of, my dear. I'm not trying to poison you, nor am I intending to kidnap you or harm you! My goblin, I am afraid, enjoys treating my guests in an ill manner." At this, the Queen turned a stern eye on the goblin and scolded him. "What have I told you about how we treat guests, Harawk?"

"Oh, sorry, madame," the goblin Harawk replied, not looking a bit repentant for how he had treated Bren. "I promise I won't do it again, madame."

Even though the Queen resumed her smile and started to eat again, Bren remained wary. She felt that something was just not right with the whole situation. Still, the Queen acted very friendly and nice. Taking a bite of the meatloaf, she found that it didn't kill her. As a matter of fact, it was the best she had ever tasted! Perhaps the Queen truly had just wanted to invite Bren. Relaxing a bit, Bren ate her meal.

Strangely, she found herself telling the Queen all about herself, Isley, Thea, and Glaren as she ate. She explained how she, Isley, and Thea had found Glaren. She mentioned how she helped teach Glaren how to ride a horse. She explained their quest to defeat the Great Darkness. She even shared with the Queen the story of how she had found Sense. When she had finally finished telling the Queen about her adventures and plans, she realized that all of her food was gone. She was quite surprised that she had eaten so much, and she suddenly realized how tired she felt. Before she could stop herself, her eyes slid closed and she toppled to the floor.