Trent and Damir's Adventure

Trent awoke. He was looking up at the Sun overhead. He slowly sat up, feeling sluggish. Damir was standing nearby. The elf looked ashen and weak. He shivered, turning to see the werewolf awakening.

Both felt cold, despite the sunlight. Cold like the hand of death was upon them. They seemed to be alone in the clearing.

Trent felt very weak. Trent stayed down and let the sun's rays beat down him for a while. After a while Trent stood up and looked at Damir absentmindedly. "Well, how do you feel? It looks like we are in this together. Whatever 'this' is..."

Damir's muddled mind barely comprehended what Trent was saying to him. Funny. I thought it was joining up with you that got me INTO this. The elf rolled over so that he didn't swallow his own tongue and sat panting on the ground for awhile. He finally spoke. "I feel as though my very being has been ripped from my body. As if my soul has been torn to shreds and scattered to the winds. As if my flesh has been picked clean off my bones. As if...." The thief ran out of energy and fell silent again. He looked up at the wolfman with tired eyes. He must be dead. There was no other explanation. His life force had been drained by that demon wolf and now he was sitting in the fabled Xua-Pthi, land of the Qiduissh dead. But if that was true, why did this filthy mongrel follow him? Xua-Pthi's gates opened only for Mother's chosen. "Am I dead?"

Trent laughed in a tired, hollow voice. "I hope not. Because if you are it means either I'm dead, or I see ghosts. Neither of which I want right now." Trent lay back down with an exhausted sigh. "I guess you must have a lot of questions right now. Unfortunately, I don't have many answers for you."

Damir slowly rose to a sitting position and shrugged as best he could. "The only important questions I think I already have the answers to; except one. Where are we?"

"[I would give lot to know...]" Trent muttered under his breath. "Well, we won't find out through sitting here. I take it you trust me enough to join me?" Trent looked at Damir expectantly. "Niehl's treacherous acts surprised me just as much as you, probably moreso." Trent stood up and gazed around him.

The clearing seemed unchanged from the previous day. However, as Trent looked around, his eyes landed on something laying on the ground. It was his spear, the one that Niehl had taken.

Damir growled deep in his throat. "Don't be so sure. I trusted you once, and though it was not you who turned, you are still guilty by former association. What exactly is your connection to that Niehl creature? I'm not taking a further step in your company until I know for sure that you are not some hell-spawned beast as well."

Trent went over and retrieved his spear, happy to have a trustworthy weapon again. "Fair enough." Where to start? Trent mused. "My name is Trent Aekdin, which you may have gathered. My city was destroyed by the werewolf Bernuka, he's the one that appeared last night. Every single person in the city except me was killed. I had been injured in the destruction when I met up with Niehl. I trusted him because I thought he would get me to Bernuka so I could kill him. That's why I am not in league with them. My goal is to kill Bernuka." Trent looked away toward where his village had been standing only weeks ago. Is that all it's been? A few days? It feels like years... Trent turned back to Damir. "I know you probably have many doubts, but there really isn't any way I can prove myself to you. However, because it is partially my fault that this happened to you, I want to make it up to you. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about you either, so I'm not too inclined to help you unless I know more about you. All I know is you were in Bernuka's prison, which means you can't be all bad." Trent finished with a smirk. He unconsciously put his old spear away, leaving Gasder's spear as his favored weapon.

Damir hmphed. "You're right, you don't know anything about me other than my name. And you'll have to continue that way. I can't tell you about myself, to do so would be to betray a sacred trust. You have no reason to trust me, but I suppose we'll have to find a way, hm?" The elf thought for a moment. "Let's just agree to kill this Bernuka for the time being. I think we can both trust each other long enough for that." Trent regarded Damir for a minute while he made up his mind. oO Kill Bernuka? I... guess that's my goal. But how to go about it?Oo Trent nodded to show his assent. "Alright. So I guess we are allied against a common enemy. I still can't understand why he left us alive. It doesn't make any sense." Trent looked away in the direction of his city. "I know these areas fairly well; enough to get around at least. I was thinking of going to my city. I haven't seen it since it was attacked. You can follow me if you want, I'll probably go after Bernuka after I figure out a way to do it. If that's your goal as well I recommend we work together." Trent finished with a semi-grunt. "Better odds." Trent turned to the Shrine. "Before we go, I want to try to enter the Shrine once more." Trent walked over to the Shrine and once again tried to enter, hoping the result would be different from last night.

Trent approached the entrance to the cave with a sense of dread. As he drew near, the Spear of Gasder started to quiver. He realized that he had drawn it and held it out before him. As he reached out with the weapon, he felt definite resistance at the entrance to the Shrine. He reached out with his other hand, encountering the barrier. He was still barred.

The Hunt

Damir's ears fell. "Killing Bernuka was never a goal of mine. In fact, I'd never even heard of him until he was standing right before me. But, I am an elf. We live very long lives and we neither forgive nor forget slights against us. He stands as an obstacle to my greater quest, and therefore must be dealt with. I'll follow you to your town, but I'll not wait long until my vengeance must be released." The Qiduinn stood back and watched the wolfman fail again at entering the cave. What is it that he finds so interesting in there? The thief felt a hint of curiousity, but more important matters lay before him and he turned to leave. He silently hoped that speaking in such a barbaric tongue would not be necessary for long.

Trent gave up trying to get into the Shrine with a sigh and turned back to Damir. "It shouldn't take long when I reach my city. If you're ready, let's go." As Trent started walking toward his city, he couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't enter the Shrine. This doesn't make any sense... Am I not worthy enough to enter? Did Bernuka bar it? Whatever the reason is, I can't bother about it now. I'll have to worry about it later, after I kill Bernuka.

In their weakened states, Trent and Damir needed more than a full day to reach Falkonis. The forest seemed quiet and subdued, as if mindful of the tragedy that had occurred there. They arrived at the middle of the second day.

The trees shrouded the city, giving it the appearance of ancient, overgrown ruins. Entering the outer border, they were met with scorched and damaged buildings interspersed with untouched ones. There was no sound, except the muted footfalls that desecrated the sepulchre.

Trent felt tears well up in his eyes at the sight of his destroyed city. Walking through the city as if in a dream, Trent felt a vague emotional numbness come over him. After he had walked through the city for a while Trent could not take anymore. Trent fell to his knees and cried in great ragged sobs amidst the ruins that held so much meaning to him.

Damir could only watch Trent's emotion, feeling nothing but indifference. As he watched Trent break down, he too felt a peculiar numbness. It had been a foreign feeling two days prior, but he recognized it now for what it was. His senses were warning him that the creature was nearby.

Damir looked around Falkonis with a raised eyebrow. "So this is your home, eh? It's very.....um, destroyed." The elf saw that Trent was ignoring him and busied himself by stalking around the perimeter of a scorched building, sniffing around for any interesting scents. He muttered to himself. [....[expletive deleted] blasted wolves.....almost get me killed for a bunch of scorched rubble....see if I ever listen to YOU again.....] Trent's emotional turmoil went largely unnoted by the elf. This was obviously something he had to handle on his own. Besides, Damir didn't know the first thing about consoling someone. If it were him, he'd be hunting down the party responsible to exact the price in blood. In fact, that was what he was doing now! Why was he wasting his time with this? There weren't any humans anywhere near here! The thief's large ears suddenly perked up as a familiar tingling sensation rose up his spine before quickly turning into a sort of numbness. In his mind he saw an image of Nox swiftly flash. "Trent! Snap out of it, you cursed flea-bag! Your demon friend is coming and I'm NOT about to have my soul ripped out again because of you! Come on!" Damir took hold of Trent's arm and attempted to pull him to his feet. The elf's eyes scanned the area carefully for signs of movement: magical or otherwise.

Trent didn't respond for a second to Damir's warning. After Trent was able to control himself he looked up at Damir. "Demon-friend? You mean Nox?" Trent got up with a groan. "I think we should hide then. We couldn't hurt Nox before, so how could we now?" Trent looked around for any undestroyed buildings.

Damir grimaced. "Agreed. And I'm in no condition to fight at the moment anyhow. But I don't think hiding is going to stop him for very long. Did you see the way he used his dark magic to turn into air? We couldn't hide anywhere around here that he wouldn't find us easily. I say we.....run!" The elf stealthily crawled back for a moment, still sensing around for Nox's exact direction, before going into a full sprint away from the blackened town.

Damir ran away, hopefully escaping from the creature causing this sensation. He was unsure if Trent followed or not. He stopped short, half a minute later, realizing that he was still being watched. He turned all around, not seeing anything. The trees rustled around him, and he thought he sensed a movement to his left.

"Wait! Hold on!" Trent sighed as his cries went unheeded. After a second Trent ran after Damir, figuring they had a better chance of survival if they stayed together. As Trent ran he pulled out the Spear even though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

At Trent's arrival, the rustle to the left stopped. Damir's sensation that the creature was following intensified, however.

"Fan dantam kwe!" Damir spun around quickly, leaping away from the bushes to his left while noticing Trent's fast approach. The thief reached into a hidden pouch on the inside of his vest and pulled forth his blowgun. It was now evident that running would do no good. Loading a small dart into his weapon, Damir turned an eye to the wolfman. "Prepare yourself. The demon is almost upon us." As much as he didn't want to fight the monster, the elf couldn't think of any way they could escape it. Failure was certain, but at least he would die battling the forces of evil.

Damir and Trent sat and waited for Nox's arrival. Nothing happened. Trent looked around them, not really sure why Damir was so certain they'd been followed. He himself had an uncanny sense of when threats loomed, and he felt nothing. But the elf stood at alert, muscles tensed.

Damir smelled nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. Still, he knew this cold meant something. Time passed, but the sensation did not lessen. He could almost see the thing through his mind's eye. Its refusal to attack began to wear on his nerves.

Trent began to get impatient. "Damir? Are you sure we were being chased? I can sense when I'm threatened as well, but I didn't feel a thing. Maybe it's just because we have been traveling and aren't in the best of health." Trent made himself look around for Nox yet again. "If we aren't going to be attacked, I suggest we go into the city. I know the city very well and I doubt it would be easy for Nox to find us in it. Plus, we will get some shelter." Trent took in a deep breath of the forest air he knew so well. "If you still think we are in danger however, than I'll trust you. My senses haven't been very trustworthy lately." Trent scowled, his thoughts turning to Niehl/Nox.

Damir's large ears stood straight up and strained to hear any slightest noise around him. After awhile he concluded that Nox had not yet found them. The thief nodded to Trent. "My danger sense is a bit more....special than yours, I'd imagine. I see things before they happen, not during. I get premonitions of things to come in the immediate future. THEREFORE, we can probably expect the demon to show up any time soon. If he hurry, we might still be able to take advantage of your home turf knowledge. Lead on." Damir stood ready to follow the wolfman, his weapon held at the ready.

They turned back towards Falkonis. Damir's sensation of being chased by Nox lessened after they had concluded their talk, but it began to strengthen once more as they drew nearer to Trent's abandoned city. The ground at the entrance to the city looked like it had been turned up after they left.

Trent cautiously approached the disturbed area. Scratched in the dirt were the words: "Leave Goranthor", in the human tongue. Damir had the feeling that the entity was in close proximity once again.

Trent stared at the words on the ground for a few minutes. Trent was starting to get scared. Wonderful. Nox is patrolling the city and wants us to leave. Why? Bemused by Nox's supposed behavior but not able to think of any theories Trent paused thinking about it until a later date. "So what now Damir? Do you still feel he is close by?"

Damir scanned the area yet again, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to find a visual trace of the creature, but feeling safer for the effort. He turned back to Trent and shrugged. "He's definitely here...somewhere. But I don't think he's interested in attacking us at the moment. That doesn't mean he won't, but he's giving us a choice first." The elf looked down at the message, thought for a moment, then shook his head. "To Mother with this! I came here to kill humans, not werewolves! I say we do what he says and leave. What good will it do to fight that thing? You can always return later if you like, but..." Damir looked around at the burned city. "I don't see why you would want to. What do you think? We might not have that much time left."

Trent gazed longingly at his city. He had really wished to be able to spend time in it, but now it looked like that wouldn't be possible. At least the damage to the city isn't as bad as I had previously thought... It looks like I'll have to give up the hunt for Bernuka for a while any way. Trent looked back to Damir. "Yeah. I think you're right. Neither of us can face Nox right now. I had wanted to go after Bernuka but it looks like that will have to wait. Since most of what happened to you here is my fault, I will help you as long as what you are doing is for a good cause. Plus there are a few people I need to look for outside of Goranther." Trent paused to think of Isianu and the others. Isianu would definately want to here some of the things I've found out. Trent started to walk back into the forest. "So, where do you want to go? I can show you the way in any direction for a while at least before my geographical knowledge ends."

Damir nodded his thanks. "Your help will be appreciated. Do you know where I may find the humans who pilot the large metal birds? I have some business with them."

Trent thought for a second. "Large metal birds? I don't know what those are..." Trent glanced at Damir quizzically for a second before continuing. "However, all of the humans live south of here on the main part of the continent. If we go south we will definately run into humans. I don't know if they will be the ones your looking for but..." Trent shrugged.

The thief paced back and forth for a moment, weighing his options and keeping a wary eye, and ear, out for Nox, before finally coming to a stop before Trent. His ears lay flat against his head. "Any human will do, I guess, for now. They breed like vermin, infesting Mother with their stinking presence! Where I find one, I'll likely find many others. Sooner or later, I'm bound to find the ones I'm looking for." Damir thought he heard a noise approaching from the left and quickly turned in that direction. When nothing emerged to greet him, the elf fingered his weapon and called to Trent. "Let's go."

Trent and Damir made their way slowly southward... unknowingly retracing Brand's path as he carried the sorely wounded Trent away from Falkonis just one week before. The sensation of Nox's presence never left Damir, and he began to grow accustomed to it. They reached the edge of the forest and Trent decided they should stay within the shelter of the trees... they would have to cross open terrain to continue and he deemed it unwise to continue and have to camp in the open.

They took turns on watch. The night was peaceful. Damir had the second watch, mindful that he could not really hear or see the creature in the night. As he stood watch, he found a himself grabbed and lifted without warning. A hand covered his mouth, preventing him from saying anything. A raspy voice sounded in his ear. "Keep the warlock away from me. I will do the rest, but you must stop the warlock. Do not tell the wolf." Trent stirred and Damir felt the presence retreat. He whirled, thinking he saw something meld into the shadows.

Trent sat up, panting... he'd had a nightmare. He rubbed his face with his paws. It seemed so real... Like always. Except this one was different. It had started out the same: the city was on fire, Trent was trying to escape, he saw everybody die, one by one. Now there was one more image. Trent saw Bernuka, standing in the midst of it all and laughing. Trent was trying to reach him but couldn't move. The last thing Trent remembered before he woke up was himself screaming 'why?'. How long will this last? I can't even sleep anymore... Trent stood up and went to Damir. "You might as well get some sleep. I can't sleep myself. I'll finish the watch for you."

Damir slowly turned from the shadows to look at Trent. Careful not to betray even the slightest hint that something was amiss, the elf nodded slightly and moved away. Whoever or whatever the speaker had been, he doubted it meant them harm. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had much time to think before being attacked from behind and Trent would possibly have woken up with a slit throat. No, it had said something about saving it from the warlock. The only warlock he knew of was Bernuka, so he had to assume the speaker was a friend, or at least in the same boat as them. Regardless, no more good would come from telling Trent about it until the time was right. The Qiduinn padded away from the wolfman. He found a soft patch of grass and, after circling the spot three times, lay down. Sleep was the furthest thing from the thief's mind, but somehow it managed to find him.

With the earliest light, Damir and Trent set off. Both of them felt a newfound sense of urgency. They needed to put as much distance between Goranthor and themselves as possible. They hastily crossed the open expanse, constantly feeling as though they were being chased. With relief, Trent saw the forest in the distance.

Inside the forest canopy, they stopped to rest for a moment. No sooner had they stopped then a howl echoed through the trees. Sensing danger, both came to full alert.

Trent perked up his furry ears as he heard a howl. Fearing the worst, Trent quickly scanned the forest and the area behind them. "Did you feel that Damir?" Trent continued to look for a second before he thought of something. He walked a few steps away from Damir and closed his eyes. Concentrate... on Nox... Trent brought forth Nox's image from the depths of his mind and focused all his willpower onto that image. He then whispered some Lupine. "[Falkonis.... bring me news of this being... show me where this traitor hides himself...]"

The werewolf image of Nox swam before Trent's eyes. For a moment, he felt dizzy and confused. He fell to his knees, his mind unable to focus. Then, in an instant, he saw the werewolf again and sensed its presence... very, very close. Even as he recovered, the large werewolf emerged from the forest.

"[We meet again,]" growled the werewolf. "[This time there's no door for you to cower behind.]" He drew his large broadsword. "[Now you're mine.]" From all around them came the sounds of movement between the trees.

Damir growled and his ears stood straight out behind his head. So the demon had finally made his move! Seeing that Nox was concentrating on Trent, the thief began to step back. He whispered encouraging words as he retreated. "Go on, Trent. Send him back to Mother! I'll be right behind you." WAY behind you! The elf suddenly heard the trees call out a warning of others on the way. The Qiduinn thanked the sentries and moved out into the forest to sneak up around Nox's back-up.

Leaving Trent behind, Damir attempted to flank their assailants. The maneuver was futile, though, as the ambush was already set. Just out of sight, an attacker was waiting. The waiting werewolf with a spear slapped him to the ground and raised the weapon for a killing blow. Then he stopped. The spear fell from his hand and a second later the wolf slumped to the ground as a black rift materialized. It shifted and shook, slowly dissolving, leaving a lean, tanned elf in its place. Damir was looking up at a perfect duplicate of himself. "Find the warlock," said the new Qiduinn, immediately disappearing back into the forest.

Damir leapt to his feet, muttering a Qidiish charm against evil spirits, and watched as his double disappeared into the forest. His soul had been stolen! The elf quickly moved his hands over his face to make sure he still had his own features and was only slightly relieved to find them intact. Oh Mother, what will I do now? A demon sorcerer has taken my skin for his own! Am I powerless to stop him, lest I slay myself? Gentle Nurturer, what should I do? When his goddess offered no answer to his prayers, the Qiduinn decided to take matters into his own hands. The thing had said 'find the warlock', and was exactly what he was going to do. It was merely choosing the greater of two evils to combat. He would come back later and take his soul back by force, if need be! Picking up the wolfman's dropped spear, Damir began crawling through the forest in search of Bernuka.

Following his instincts, Damir isolated the location of wolves by their stamping and howling. For being creatures of the night, they certainly announced their presence. He listened intently, moving slowly, leaving no sign or stir. Shouts of alarm and the noise of battle came to him from over his shoulder. His thoughts went to Trent. But he snapped back to his own predicament when more wolves came stumbling toward him from deeper in the forest. One wearing robes suddenly popped up in front of him. It gasped in surprise and stood frozen.

...

Trent stood, spear drawn, before the great werewolf he had met in Bernuka's Palace. To either side, he was flanked by more of Bernuka's brutes. "[Stand back,]" growled the lead to his fellows. "[There is no escape,]" he said to Trent. "[Prepare yourself.]"

Suddenly Damir leapt from the forest, striking at the back of one of the flanking wolves, felling him. The rest turned, surprised.

Trent glanced around at the werewolves surrounding him. Growling, Trent turned to charge the large wolf who he had fought before before he was brought down but stopped when he saw Damir's savage attack on one of the guards. Trent bared his teeth in a smile. "[Me escaping is the least of your worries, scum!]" Calling forth his magical energy, Trent brought his hand up and pointed toward the wolf. "[Let's see how well you fight this off.]"

The sword swinging werewolf charged as the others dealt with Damir. His blade swept wide.

Trent summoned a windstorm, but the effect was much weaker than he had hoped due to his previous drain. The wolf laughed as the winds whipped around him. Trent groaned when he saw the weakness of his magic. He then took out the Spear and slowly backed away from the wolf, holding the Spear up in a defensive position.

The Massive werewolf struck first. His mighty swing nearly felled Trent before he could even react.

Trent summoned forth what magical energies he could, healing himself.

Trent's foe struck again, slashing the dragoon across the breast plate and succeeding in digging a small wound across his side.

Staggering, weak, Trent valiantly attempted a counter attack, but his spear found only air.

Laughing, the wolf struck in a wild, powerful maneuver, clearly intending to split Trent in two. The attack just grazed the lighter wolf's head but did not find its home.

Trent drove the Spear of Gasder into his enemies' now exposed side, ramming it deep. The werewolf gasped with shock, pulling himself off the shaft and clutching the wound. Magically, Trents own wounds began to knit themselves.

The werewolf recoiled from Trent. "Orion!" he shouted. "Orion!" He backed away, sword held at the defensive.

Emboldened, Trent advanced, slashing his spear downward to finish the job he had begun. The only partly distracted werewolf parried the jab.

The mighty swordmaster screamed "Orion" and retreated back into the woods.

Trent panted. That odd feeling since he'd been attacked by Nox notwithstanding, he'd never felt so invigorated. Damir had easily finished the rest of the werewolves. "Well, Trent, let's not let them get away... We should kill Captain Bale while we have the chance."