The moon fey tried to ignore the grinding, cracking sounds of Svarak's battle with the stony golem creature. It was difficult enough to stay on Kona's back without any kind of saddle to help secure her. Gripping his fur with her thighs was growing tiring, and doubley so with her head pounding from her brief bout with unconsciousness. She couldn't even lean forward to clutch Kona's feathered neck because it took two hands to keep the crystalline sword from accidentally killing them both.

For his part, Kona flew beautifully, though the injury to his ribs caused a sharp ache when he turned a certain way. At least it had stopped bleeding freely, the blood crusting and blackening against his monochromatic hide.

"Well done you two!"

It was a compliment. A recognition. And not only did it make Rilana's heart swell, it served to galvanize her and stave off her flagging determination. How silly to be excited about so simple a comment. Kona's back arched, the beaked face of the gryphon turning to follow the path the huge stalactite had taken as it barely missed crushing them, and together the druid and her familiar watched the mighty charr charge towards the golem.

There was a blue flash and a deep sound like ice cracking heard from within a glacier. A painful icy light swept through the bottom of the cavern and Rilana screamed, feeling the dangerous cold of the deadly rimefire even from a distance. "No!"

The concussion shivered the immense cavern, and Kona watched as cracks jerked their way up the walls, chunks beginning to fall in slow motion but gaining speed even as the devastation spread. Fear lanced through him, his instincts urging him out of this deadly underground trap. The need to have open sky over his head was almost maddeningly overpowering.

We must go. Now.

Rilana could barely see Svarak lying far below, his shape fractured and obscured through the transparent but deadly shards of ice. The full comprehension of what had just happened dawning slowly.

...no. "No! Kona, we have to do something..."

Her eyes flicked back and forth over the opening to the pit, looking desperately for a way down, but every inch seemed as ice-locked as the last. Fear and...something else...began to fill the moon fey's chest and she nearly dropped the sword.

There is nothing to do. There is no way down, only a way out. We must go or we will die too.

"Don't say that!"

He can't be dead. He can't. She would have clenched her fists if her hands weren't busy.

They both knew that Svarak had a task to do. A task that, by all reasoning, seemed to be something only he could accomplish on behalf of everything else in the world. Rilana could barely begin to comprehend what would happen if the un-named God with crimson eyes managed to break free of his prison before Svarak could kill her, but the moon fey knew it would be Bad. Her own life meant nothing compared to that.

But more than that, Rilana couldn't bear to see Svarak dead. There was so much more she wanted to...

Not yet. It's to soon!

Too soon for who? For him? Or for you?

Kona ignored Rilana's wish to dive desperately towards the pit to save the Lord Knight, his majestic form circling only once before powering madly towards the opening that promised safety from the deadly falling stone that rumbled deafeningly as they began to strike the floor below.

Her Familiar's chastisement sileneced Rilana, shamed so strongly that it nearly made her sick. Of course, the gryphon was right, as he usually was. Three hundred years was a long time, and the yearning for something to bloom new between her and the charr was just her selfishness and naievette showing. He could see Kona's wisdom, and if only because of the others, she let self-preservation reign.

That still left her with the puzzle of what to do about Juloya, and as Rilana glanced down at the sword in her hand she felt a sick sort of dread. Her despair was roiling so strongly that she almost missed the strange voice of the tired dragon and it made her breath catch in her throat amid the jarring thumps of Kona's wings. She clung to the distant voice, clutching at it as ineffectually as trying to grab at smoke.

Please! Save him, if you can! He...he means much to me. The dragon's mind was strong and Rilana was not used to protecting her thoughts from others, having no need or desire to do so from her Familiars. So the unfortunate dragon would be subject to everything Rilana felt about Svarak, as confused and convoluted as it might be.

There was no way to know if the beautiful creature had heard her, and she doubted she would ever see it again, though she would certainly never forget the sensation of its thoughts in her head. Gritting her teeth against the confused and distraught tears on her face, Rilana leaned as close to Kona as she could as the gryphon folded his wings to blast through the opening to the tower.

Trying to tear her thoughts from handsome charr and crystal swords and saving the world, Rilana focused on her other Familiar and protecting her friends. She was supposed to be an Envoy, curse it, and this journey had been nothing more than one disaster after another! She'd lost Lyle, she'd lost the other drow, she'd possibly lost Tricia. And now Svarak which felt worse than the terrible cold of the magical cold that had been plaguing her for days.

Apart from the distant subterranean rumble, the tower seemed fine, though the statues had in the main floor had been moved around. Rilana cast out her thoughts for Ortha, sorting through the disjointed impressions from the two-headed beast.

"Upstairs. Something has happened to Alya." She didn't know what, and Ortha's general apathetic attitude towards just about everything didn't help assuage her concern.

Oh Alya, where are you? She thought, her mindvoice pained in more ways than one.

Kona was already moving, claws scraping the cold stairs as he prowled, wings folded along his sides.

"Wait a minute. I have to do something with this sword. It's heavy and I can't just keep holding it up like this." That was an understatement. It was nearly as tall as she was and trying to resist the urge to let it touch Kona's back to keep it steady was overwhelming.

The gryphon stood still, watching Rilana and eyeing the statues suspiciously as the druid threw the sword on the ground and slid off of his back. Digging through her bag, the moon fey found a length of extra fur and wrapped it around the blade. She had no scabbard, no rope, so she wedged the weapon between her back and her backpack and climbed gingerly back onto Kona's back. It was uncomfortable and started to slip. Reaching back to adjust it, she accidentally curled her fingers around the sharp edge and made a soft noise of surprise.

--

Ortha made a bunch of noise, scraping her armoured body around where she was wedged under the boarded up ceiling, her plates bumping hollowly against the cheap blockade. She could smell the old blood and both her mouths salivated as the balauradon leaped somewhat clumsily back down the stairs.

The creature essentially ignored Chartrose. Being no smarter than the average predator, the only words she knew were the commands Rilana had taught her, and she was even less likely to obey the other Druid than the Moon Fey. Her tail lashed back and forth as she watched Becker appear and then take off down the stairs, but ultimately she loped purposefully towards the bloody book and scooped it up, now carrying two of them. Her tongue scraped all over it, relishing the crispy, gory remains, one set of eyes on Drisceya as if daring her to challenge her possession.

Ortha could sense that Rilana was on her way, and could hear her voice in her heads.

Despite being trapped within a shield, Alya still felt the tremor that shook through the tower. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed that something had happened and it made the Moon Fey witch quite angry. The song that the half elf could hear hadn't changed at all and she could still feel her energy, her magic, being drained. The feeling of her magic being drained was quite irritating for Alya, she didn't like the feeling of exhaustion that slowly crept up enveloped her body. Unfortunately, the fact that Lyle's behaviour had most likely rubbed off on her, was causing her to get more frustrated with her situation. It wasn't helpful that her mind was already littered with frustrations and uncertainties behind her Purpose.

Frustration was building within the half elf's little body. She wanted answers and she wasn't getting any. As Lyle had once told her, she should be more firm about what she wants or else she will be stepped on. Well, she interpreted it that way through the Hunter's drunken babbling. Alya slowly inhaled and then exhaled. Let's try Lyle's way. As she exhaled she focused her mind on the Witch, forcing more power into her telepathy. "ARE YOU DEAF?! TELL ME WHY YOU'RE DOING THIS YOU STUPID BITCH!" Her telepathic voice would boom and echo in the Witch's mind, should it get through to her. The voice sounding like it came from a giant woman rather than a diminutive half elf.

She let out a brief sigh. She was getting a little more tired now. Perhaps doing that while getting one's energy drained isn't the smartest idea.

Up above, the entire tower shook as the cavern had collapsed, but it held firm. As Becker was searching through the tower, the sudden shaking startled her, for her training was not near as complete as it should've been. Her mind was filled with fear, and Chartrose could hear it, as the dog darted out of the tower, dashing past the scared rams, into the cold.

Chartose, still just barely getting back to his feet, stood mortified to see Becker run through the still-open door for the relative safety of outside as he tried to follow.

Outside there was still the raging blizzard, swirling around the tower. His only hope was to find her before the eye of the hurricane of snow passed the tower, cutting them off from the rest of the group... however, there would be hope in unsummoning her, and trying to find shelter back inside the caves if things went that way.

Much like the last time Rilana touched the Null Shard blade, she felt her mind flooded with images she'd never seen, sounds she'd never heard. She was looking out through a crystalline view. It would take a few long moments before she recognized the cavern she was looking into. She was seeing through Juloya's eyes, and somehow, she knew it was not a memory, but the current view the woman had.

Then there was a voice, "Why hello there Rilana. It is nice to finally be able to speak with you, directly. I don't know how long we have, for He is so very strong." Rilana could feel the burning pain within the woman, the flinching as she contained the massive power of the man. Rilana could feel that power, it was even stronger than when he'd first appeared three hundred years ago. It was so strong that it seemed endless, a bottomless ocean to the druid. With his power, nothing was impossible. "You need to hurry, my own power is fading fast. There is nothing more important than me being killed. You just need to make sure you do.." She was cut off with another fit of blinding pain, before the connection was severed, leaving Rilana to only feel the burning that Juloya had felt. Any attempt to touch the sword again would just find it cold to the touch, but not triggering anymore connections.

Ortha's movements had ripped away even more of the ceiling exposing a rather noticeable hole between the levels. The muttering witch looked up at the songweaver with pure fury in her eyes, shouting at the mute through the same mind speak she'd used. It was loud enough that Rilana could hear it several floors below, "Little girl! You dare speak to me this way? You should be begging for what is left of your pitiful life. Any moment now, the last of your magic will be gone and you'll die."

She turned away from the girl in a huff, not paying attention to her footing. She stepped right into the hole that Ortha had accidentally made, fell at an awkward angle, and a loud snap was heard. The woman screamed in pain, and Alya could see that her leg had snapped above the ankle. The spell that was sucking the magic from her had ceased now that the concentration was broken. The woman gingerly pulled her leg out of the hole, muttering again, "I can use shields to reset and forcibly hold it in place... but that could use too much magic... I need another mage... to find one more... just need more power..."

Chartrose would be the first to see the change in events. The very first was rather obvious, the surrounding blizzard was instantly gone, the unnatural cold abated to just the normal cold to be expected here. It was all quiet. Becker stopped, sensing something. Then the blue dragon flew by, so very fast, dropping a barely conscious Svarak next to the dog. The feline man patted the dog tiredly, before looking up at the majestic blue dragon flying toward the upper floor of the tower. Rilana would be able to see a flash of stunning blue through one of the windows, before everyone felt the tower shudder as the creature collided with it.

Its massive silvery claws dug deep in the stone, and with a single bite, it ripped a massive hole in the top room, giving Alya a perfect view of its terrifying maw. Then its deep voice boomed out to all that could hear mindspeak, "You've failed Leandra. But I will give you what you always wanted." The woman cast a feeble shield in front of her as the dragon opened his maw. A flash of blue shot forth, encasing the entire room. Alya would be protected within her shield, the hole in the floor quickly sealed by ice. Leandra's instant shield broke instantly, and she was frozen just as completely as the statues that were in her control previously.

The dragon peered through the ice, "Worry not little one, I didn't forget about you." The ice had frozen the floor beneath her and the shield, and the dragon's control was perfect. A circle of the floor was detached and safely lowered Alya to the room below, much to the awe of those there. Alya could now hear a much more beautiful song, one singing of freedom, of the beauty in ice, of its majesty. And it wasn't sung by a single source, but as if all the magic in the mountains, in the snow, in everything that had just occurred was singing. And they were all singing for the dragon. The various windows shown with a bright blue light, as the dragon floated out away from the tower. He flapped there, suspended, glowing completely as the singing crescendoed.

Then suddenly it ended on a singular, high note, a note that Alya as a song weaver simply knew as Ice. All of the mages would somehow know, they'd just witnessed the birth of a god. Not any god, but the God of Ice. When the mindspeak was heard this time, everyone could hear it, not just the mages in the group, "Thank you all for freeing me. I am Shadaraliax." Anyone near the statues that weren't Leandra would find them suddenly alive once more, and listening to the new god as well. "Those of you that slept, the people there are your allies, they rescued you and myself. They are among my revered and are under my protection. Do not harm them or face me."

All of the members of the expedition, would feel a cold tickling upon their person. It was in a differently location for each of them. They would find upon their skin, what at first looked to be a tattoo, of an icy crystal. It looked so real that all of them would question if it was actually a mark or not. "This Blessing I give you will provide you protection from my element. You will also find cold worlds working more in your favor. You can use it once each to call me for aid, but after that, it is gone. Use this wisely, and again, thank you."

Rilana would see the white raven landing upon the dragon's nose, and they would all hear him speak to her, "Hello old friend, I see you played a part in this as well. Thank you and fly true." The bird nipped at his nose a bit before flying off to the north. Then Rilana would hear a voice directed solely into her mind, "You should look down, not up." If she followed that advice, she'd see Svarak there sitting up, petting Becker.

Many of the former statues had worked their way outside, while Ortha had found her mother, grunting with the head that wasn't sucking on the bloodstained book. Rilana would get feelings of warmth and familial happiness from Ortha, being back in each other's presence. If Rilana saved the book before it was eaten and made too soggy by saliva, she'd find that the front of it said, Diary of Leandra Sealta, Vol. 4 They were gathering around Svarak, all looking up at the dragon, who floated there for a bit. If anyone paid attention, they could see the storms in the direction of Frigmount moving to other lands. "The way is clear, you will find travel to your destination much improved and expedited. For now, I have other business to attend." With several powerful flaps of his wings, he flew to the southwest, soon nothing more than a speck, then nothing.

Aside from the immunity to the cold air, all of the newly blessed would find themselves unable to sink into the snow unless they so wished, leaving no tracks of any sort. Svarak seemed to be completely fine, though a bit fatigued. If Rilana approached him, he would smile, one that wasn't smug, but one that was genuinely happy to see her again, with just a hint of something else behind his eyes, something... nice. "Well Rilana, it seems our expedition has actually increased in size. Quite impressive." He then stood up, and pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering in her ear, "Thank god you're alive." With just a bit of an extra squeeze, he let her go.

Drisceya and the other knights were quick to load up the extra rams with the books they'd recovered from the library. Svarak looked around, before speaking to Rilana again, "Perhaps it is best we rest for the night, maybe a little bit of wine and smoked meat? It seems we have clear skies for a while." She could now see his blessing, on his right bicep, stunning blue that shifted in such a way each time his fur moved that it never disturbed the pristine image. The people that were frozen were milling about, clearly needing some leadership, to be told what to do. If asked, all but a handful would agree to join them on the expedition to Frigmount.

If camp was set, it would be quite the celebration. Stories between those that traveled would be swapped with those that had been frozen. Some had been frozen for years, whereas one unlucky Chillborn was frozen for about a tenday. They'd all been driven here by the magical blizzard. Rilana would always find Svarak close by, occasionally catching his gaze on her with the corner of her eye.

Chartrose would be able to sense that Shadaraliax had somehow removed the magical ice that had injured Tricia. It would still be unsafe to let her out in the cold, but he would at least know that she was safe within him.

If Alya returned to the top floor, and touched the ice that encased Leandra, she could hear the Note of Ice. It was a difficult sound to recreate, but she was confident that with practice, she would be able to produce it herself.

Once the festivities died down, everyone would find the night quite calm, the wind not chilling them in the slightest. It would be the most peaceful night on their journey, having finally found success, gaining confidence toward the next and final leg of their journey.

The Moon Fey Druid clenched the null shard sword unfeelingly, the razor edge parting pale skin of her fingers to allow a trickle of blood to stain its smooth surface. She slumped forward on Kona's back, and the tired gryphon chirruped concernedly. The images that flooded Rilana's mind did not pass through their Bond to him. Her thoughts went dark, blocked by the power of the null shard, darker than they ever were even when she was asleep. It was what Kona would expect to feel if Rilana died, and it terrified him.

Rilana? Rilana!

But she did not answer him.

It was like being in a dream. A dream where she knew things that she couldn't possible know. Where she was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar thoughts in her head, but somehow they made sense. Of course she couldn't be seeing out of Juloya's eyes. That was absurd. But yet, she was.

Juloya? It was difficult to think of someone she was less enthusiastic about having inside her head. The woman Svarak loved so much and who, according to him, never returned the feeling. The woman who needed to die so that everything else would be safe from the cruel red-eyed God.

And yet, Rilana couldn't help but feel a note of sympathy for the woman, of respect, because she could feel the truth of Juloya's sacrifice. The truth of the pain she was enduring and had endured all this time. Killing her wouldn't be a murder, it would be a mercy.

Make sure what?

Fiery pain jolted through Rilana, a burning so hot that her eyes saw searing white behind her lids. The Moon Fey cried out and nearly slipped from Kona's back, throwing her hands out to clutch at his feathers and keeping herself mostly upright only by sheer luck. She left a smear of crimson across his feathers and stared at it blankly.

You saw the woman?

"Yes." Her voice was breathless.

We are committed then.

"Of course." As if Rilana hadn't already been willing to see this through to the end because of Svarak.

They managed to pass several floors of eerie statues before the shrieking mindspeak rang in Rilana's ears. Somehow she knew that the screaming woman was another Moon Fey, and that she was screaming at Alya, and those two facts together served to focus her mind on something other than the visions of the shard.

Hurry!

Kona pounced forwards, but before they could make it to the top level the glint of blue scales flashed by the window and the tower rumbled joltingly at the impact of the massive ice mage. Rilana hesitated to join the the confrontation above, and Kona fled from it completely, scrambling across the shuddering snowy floor and bursting out of one of the windows into the open sky.

By the time he circled back, the presence of the hovering, floating dragon seemed to fill their sight. The awesome power in its voice in her mind made it nearly impossible to think about anything else. The creature looked magnificent, proud, powerful. Nothing like the wasted, drained creature she had rescued from the pit. It occured to her that she should be terrified. It was only through Ortha's faint and random thoughts that Rilana knew Alya was safe.

"...what?" Rilana stammered to no one in particular upon seeing the white glint of the familiar raven alighting on the dragon's snout. "Drat that bird!" There had been plenty of times on the trek from Green Falls (it seemed a lifetime ago now) that she had been tempted to try Bonding with the white creature, but now...

The voice commanded her to look down, and Rilana's eyes fell on the dark shape of Svarak, apparently alive and well enough to be petting a random dog. "Oh." Relief, on many levels, flooded through her. Kona sank down towards the ground as the dragon disappeared, landing heavily in the snow and swishing his tail exhaustedly. Beaten and bloodied, Rilana and her Familiar just leaned against each silently for a moment.

Ortha scurried down the stairs like a horrible mutant cat and bounded out into the snow, her black plated skin stark against the white ground. By the time she reached Rilana, there was only one book left, and the Moon Fey had to brush it off carefully to avoid being affected by the balauradons dangerous saliva. "Well done, little girl," the Druid approved, patting the two heads while Ortha grawped and gurgled disgustingly.

The mutter of voices as the formerly frozen people began to emerge confusedly from the tower reached Rilana's ears and she moved towards Svarak, Kona limping slightly behind her and eyeing the Charr sternly. For a moment Rilana was distracted by the look on the Lord Knight's face and didn't know what to make of it. Finding herself in Svarak's arms was sudden but certainly not unwelcome. In spite of the snow, he felt warm, and in spite of his armour his fur was soft. She reached up to tuck her arms around his neck, pressing her face against Svarak's chest, and his breath in her ear brought a touch of pinkness to her cheekbones. It felt so good. Even so, when he the wonderful moment was over there was something sad in her pretty eyes.

Which God?

Turning back to the congregating people, Rilana took a deep breath and sighed. There was still so much to do. Many more people meant many more mouths to feed, and Rilana was infinitely glad that she had insisted on so many extra supplies. They would still be cutting it close, and they would likely need to send a few people out to hunt while the rest of the party continued towards Frigmount, but with the promise of good weather she was less worried.

Some of the statue people and creatures disappeared of their own accord, and while Rilana worried about them striking off into the wilderness, she had no right to stop them. The rest she divided into groups and assigned a knight to watch over them. At one point she stomped up to Drisecya and angrily demanded that she unload all the books from the rams, insisting that the valuable mounts be used to move people, not loot.

"You can't be serious. Put all that back in the tower and bar the door! If it's still here when we come back this way then we can pick it up then. Better to haul it back to Ebonfort from here rather than taking it to Frigmount and back this way again, and we can easily get a wagon from the city rather than overloading the poor rams."

She even conducted a brief funeral for the nameless statue people who had died while under Leandra's spells, entombing them in cairns of stones since the ground was too frozen to dig graves.

They celebrated as much as they were able. Rilana found Alya so that they could trade their sides of what had happened in the tower (and hopefully the songweaver would wrap her hand for her). The Moon Fey felt Svarak's eyes on her and wanted to talk to him alone, but what would she say? It felt like there was something more between them now, but she knew his heart belonged to someone else. She had felt it.

Once satisfied that Kona had been patched up and all the people had been settled down, Rilana passed out in her own tent with a lazy balauradon and a grumpy gryphon to watch over her.

Working title: Greatest dog in the world

Becker came to a stop upon finding the drifts of snow almost unmanageable, and believing herself a safe distance from the violence, sat upon her haunches and waited for things to settle-down. She didn't have to wait long when a big-blue-flying-beast erupted from the tower and deposited a charr right by her feet. She licked its face, inquiring by taste if it knew Chartose... or whether these two had fought each other... there was the faint taste of blood... Not Chartose's... so not enemy.

She remained friendly to Svarak until Rilana arrived on Kona, with that multi-headed nuisance following close behind; she had the urge to run from it, lest be considered food or prey, but the beast appeared to learn some resemblance to civility from the moon-fey.

Then finally Chartose could be seen, towering well above the mounds of snow as he briskly made his way to her, as Becker made some energetic but ineffectual leaps and bounds toward him only to succeed in making a burrow under his feet, stopping only when a clawed-hand shot through the drift to snatch her up and into his arms. She bit playfully in apology for making him worry so much.

Then attention had to shift to the question of the refugees. Although they had plenty of food on-hand for a meal, it would not be enough to last the entire trip with all these people as dead-weight.

As Rilana argued with the drow captain, Chartose let Becker entertain the crying ice-troll -with supervision- as he tried to regain mana by consuming whatever food and drink he'd managed to pick-off from Becker's small pack as he wrote a few short letters of instructions for Becker to deliver and carry-out with precise timing. Sharing only when necessary in order to have enough time to himself to finish writing and arranging all his note-cards.

He then whistled for Becker to return, at the far-side of the tower, where she was given her pack and papers and then blinked back into her cozy accommodations back in Green Falls; there was a fire roaring in the fireplace, and the door was kept slightly ajar. She krept back out to the barkeep and gave the old man the first note:

<I would like to withdraw all the food I have given you before it spoils.>

The inn-keeper looked at it, chuckled, and was given another letter.

<Are you sure it is wise to be caught losing an argument with a dog? An equal value in food is acceptable.>

As the inn-keeper was about to question exactly what sort of food and its quantities Becker was referring to, she pulled-out an inventory-manifest written by Chartose and nudged it forwards on his desk.

Some time later:
It was no easy feat blinking a dog and about 40 kg of food instantly across time and space, especially when the dog itself weighs only 12 kg, but the simple fact of blinking anything across such vast distances is not often considered easy by many.

Roughly half the food blinked-back was actually the food hoarded back at the caves, the rest were local foods in storage throughout Green Falls... likely raided from the less-desirable donations at a food-pantry. Still, it was 40kg more food than they had.

It was also at this time Chartose had overheard that the books would be left-behind. Meaning he may as-well load Becker down with books to ransom off to Ebonfort later for a profit, rather than unsummon her immediately.

Besides, the new arrivals and Becker could use some time enjoying themselves.

Alya winced as the Witch shouted back at her. Her head ached. The music was awfully loud and then the woman was even louder than that. Before she could even retort, the woman had already turned away..

SNAP

Alya watched in horror as she saw the woman's foot suddenly cracked through the floor, the bone snapping above the ankle. She could see how disfigured her leg was and it was brutal. It hurt to watch. It all happened so quickly, Alya couldn't really react properly, but what she did notice, was the draining spell lifting itself. The half elf fell to her knees in exhaustion, she couldn't really hear what the Witch was muttering, but she could almost tell what she was going on about.

Suddenly something huge smashed into the side of the tower, a terrible maw faced the half elf. She instinctively shrinked away from the jaws, trying to push her small body further into the shield that still surrounded her. She closed her eyes and shielded herself with her arms, like it would actually help her at all. A voice boomed.

"You've failed Leandra. But I will give you what you always wanted."

Alya slowly opened her eyes, lowering her arms as she witnessed the whole room was encased in ice. She flinched back, but realized that the ice didn't go through her shield. Her gaze snapped over to Leandra, only to see her frozen, much like the statues in the tower. Serves you right.. The half elf thought. It was an odd thought for her, but it felt nice to see that woman punished for what she did.

She looked around the ice covered room, wondering if she would be able to get out or not. Probably not. But then the voice spoke again.

"Worry not little one, I didn't forget about you."

Oh thank goodness. She sighed in relief as the ice below her detached and brought her to the lower floor safely. She hadn't noticed that the chorus of noise was gone, since it was still ringing in her head, but it wasn't long before she noticed another song. It was beautiful. It was free and flowing. The music came from all around, as far as the mountains. As far as she could tell, it was all for the flying being that had saved her. She didn't know what it was. Or rather, she did, but she couldn't remember what it was called... But now wasn't the time to think about that as the song crescendoed and the creature glowed brightly. The last high note. Ice.

She could feel it's overwhelming power as a presence. It was a god. A god was born, right in front of her. How she knew was beyond her, it was more like.. She just felt it.

"Thank you all for freeing me. I am Shadaraliax." The god said. Alya was a little puzzled at that. She hadn't done anything helpful at all. All she did was open a door and get trapped in a bubble.. The thoughts were dashed when she felt a cold sensation on her body, or rather more accurately, on her throat. She touched her neck for a moment, sliding her fingers on the front of her neck. She didn't feel anything there. Must've been a chill.

Alya didn't really know what to do now, but she was very curious about the ice that the being... What was it..? A dragon! She realized. A little late there. She was curious about the ice it had made. She felt compelled to touch it. Touch the ice that encased the Witch. She spotted some stairs that went upward, but it was blocked off by the floor, but the hole that Leandra had made was closed up by ice. Ice that can be touched.

The moment her hand made contact with the ice, she could hear a sound. A note... A song. One which she knew to be Ice. The Note of Ice as it were. She felt as thought she'd be able to recreate such a tune, but it was difficult as well. She needed to translate this sound into something she could play.. Perhaps now she had something to do on the way to Rilana's home...

Rilana! She realized she'd forgotten all about what they were here for. Everything was happening so quickly. Far beyond what she'd expected from a journey through the mountains.

She quickly made her way down the stairs, only to trip on something that leapt at her feet. She comically fell face first into the floor. The half elf looked up, her nose reddened from the tumble, she looked at her feet. Red fur. It was Echo.

He ran up to his mother, nuzzling her face as if she'd been gone for many years. She smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss on the top of his head before getting to her feet. She watched as Echo bounded off into the darkness for a brief moment, before returning with a stick..Or rather her flute. She gave him a pat as she took the flute from him. Better start practicing that Note. she thought, putting it to her lips.

As she walked down the tower, she experimented with different notes on her instrument, in an attempt to recreate the sound, but to no avail. However she could remember it vividly in her mind. Like an earworm.

It wasn't long before she'd found the main entrance to the tower, she noticed that there was a lot more people outside than before.. How odd. She thought, failing to notice that all the statues in the tower were gone and these guys were actually the statues. The more the merrier.

She found Rilana.. Or rather she found the half elf. Alya noticed that the Moon Fey's hand was injured and bleeding a little. Her hand immediately went into her pouch, pulling out some cloth wrap. She carefully bound the wounded hand before looking at Rilana, giving her a smile. Perhaps they were due for a little bit of catch up. Definitely.. She saw Svarak a little ways away, which made her remember that she needed to discuss something with the big cat.

The journey from Leandra's Tower toward Frigmount was quite pleasant and expedited. The newly ascended god's blessing mad everything easier. The weather stayed clear, the air crisp, not unbearable for even the unblessed, predators brought them food. On the 59th, the massive city of ice and stone came into view, and while most of the group thought they were safe, a select few knew what really lie in wait.

On that day, the mages would feel the dying shield that had wrapped around the city and her surrounding lands, that kept her separate, isolated, from the rest of the world, all thanks to the former Handmaiden Juloya. It was sobering, knowing that their journey would have to end with her death, thus saving the world from an unknown, incredibly powerful enemy.

Svarak grew quiet in those last couple days, after a long evening spent in discussion and planning with Rilana, knowing it was his job to kill the woman he'd loved those three centuries before. He knew he could, he just wished it didn't have to come to this.

On the 61st, they came to the first manned outpost outside of the city, bustling with chillborn and moon fey guards. At least one of them was recognizable to Rilana, a man named Fahlzer who'd grown up near her. He approached the group, "Welcome home Lana. Though I wish it were under better circumstances."

He removed his helmet and she could see the uncharacteristic marks of stress and worry upon his face. "The city is closed. There's something, some sort of plague ravishing through it. People are going mad, filled with rage, mages have lost all control of their powers. We don't know what is causing it, we don't know how to stop it, but we know it is spreading. We cannot let you in, for your own safety. Your family managed to get out, they are on the northside with several of our finest mages and a few council members, and the royal family. If anyone can figure it out, it is them."

He then stepped forward pulling her into a tight hug, slipping a note into her pocket. He stepped away, "So please, do not attempt to enter the city by force, or that is what you will be met with."

He returned to the stone and wood structure, looking over his shoulder sadly at her. The note bore Lady Myra's seal on it, and it read,

"Rilana, I am passing this on through one of the only few I can trust. What he has said is true, but there are many that have been corrupted yet appear perfectly fine. Since you're reading this, you know of your mission now, of the Knights' mission. Go to where I taught you of ice bats, follow the clues, finish the mission. May your resolve be a glacier.

Myra

Rilana would only know of one such cave, a few hours away. The cave was home to the only known ice bat population, creatures that appeared like any other bat, with the exception that the males were glistening blue and females were white, but all were transparent. They did not feed upon insects though, but rather the seeds and sap of the many coniferous trees in the region.

The only problem with such a cave was that the entrance was right in the middle of an Ice Giant village. The Ice Giants had always behaved as much as was required of them because they couldn't compare to the armies of the moon fey and chillborn. But if the capital was on lockdown, and the armies were unavailable, the giants would be wholly unpredictable.

Their destination was the village of Jhrogramir. The population was several hundred giants, mostly herders and hunters. It was surrounded by wooden walls, always manned by sentries, to protect them from the dangers of the Frostfell. At the front gate, there were always four giants with massive clubs and swords and spears. Custom always dictated that only the leader of any group speak to the guards, and anyone else would result in an offense that usually ended with many pulverized bodies.

The guards would ask those who approached, "Who you? What you want?"

As soon as Rilana's home came into view, one look at her face made it clear that something was wrong. Not only were the roads into the city empty of traffic, but they were nearly covered over by snow. There were ledges and crevices in the steep mountains where sentries usually hid, but now they were empty.

Kona, who had been flying ahead, was waiting at the outpost with Falzhar. As the group approached, Lana glanced at Kona and then to the man she had known since childhood. She took in his stern appearance.

The moon fey slid down from the ram where she had been riding with Svarak, moving easily across the surface of the snow. "Falzhar? What's happened?" She slipped automatically into Feyspeech.

The explanation came as a shock, Rilana's mouth falling open as Falzhar described what had come over the dazzling, shining city. It seemed to Rilana that every time she dared hope for something to turn out for the best, it turned to naught but ashes and disappointment. She frowned, not seeming at all relieved to hear that her "family" had made it out.

"Madness?" The world was full of plague. The rabid froth that swept through warmblooded wild animals being the one she was most familiar with, but none she had encountered had ever affected a mage's powers. Plagues made one too sick to practice their craft, typically.

There was only one thing she knew as the source of such insanity. Him. But she said nothing to Falzhar about it. The time for explanations would come later. When he swept her into a hug, she returned it wholeheartedly, pressing her face into his neck and squeezing hard. "I missed you." If there had ever been a man from her youth that she might have ended up with, it was Falzhar. She felt his hand slide down her back and over her rear as he deftly hid something in her pocket. Even knowing what he was up to, there was brief colour to her face when she turned back to her group.

Kona moved to block the view from the outpost so that Rilana could read the note without any of her fellow Moon Fey or Frigmount citizens noting that Falzhar had slipped her a note.

Rilana looked up at the cloudless blue sky and took a deep breath before addressing the expectant faces of the group.

"We can not enter the city," She announced sadly. "The reason for the barrier that cut this region off all this time is also causing chaos in Frigmount. Part of the Ebon Knights mission, my mission, is to stop this. Those who wish to join us are welcome. Those who wish to stay may remain here at the outpost until, hopefully, we can put a stop to this and once again welcome you into Frigmount."

She stared at the note again, but wasn't actually reading it this time. The note was nothing more or less than confirmation. Proof that Svarak had told her the truth. Proof that she really was an Envoy by her own people's will. Proof that she was actually related to the royal line. Proof. She folded the note slowly and tucked it away, wondering if she'd ever see Lady Myra again, and wiped a tear away from her face.

Kona hunkered down as Rilana approached him and climbed on his back. She spoke again, but this time was looking at Svarak.

"Let's go talk to the ice giants."

---

Sometime later, the party arrived near the wooden walls of Jhrogramir, and Rilana was disappointed but not at all surprised by their unusually gruff attitude. After urging the rest of the group to keep well back and quiet, she approached on gryphon-back, watching the points of the spears glitter in the winter sun. She tried to remain straight-backed and proud, her eyes fierce with determination if not actual confidence.

We're inside their range, Kona warned, his eyes far keener than hers.

I know. I was planning to ask nicely but I don't think they will respond well.

No. They look glad for a chance to have power over the Fey for once.

"I am...Lady Rilana Aurorime' of Frigmount, Envoy to Ebonfort!" She felt a bit guilty giving herself a title she hadn't earned, but if she really was related to the royal line...

There are worse crimes than giving yourself airs.

"I want only safe passage for myself and my company to the batcave Cave of Sighs. We are looking for a way to stop the madness in Frigmount before it spreads to cities like Jhrogramir."

Good, make our mission benefit them as well. Let them chew on that. For once Kona didn't have anything snarky to say about her actions, and both of them waited for the guard's retort.

The rest of the journey toward Frigmount was a lot more pleasant compared to the beginning of their travels. Or rather, ridiculously more pleasant. The air was clear and crisp, the sky was very calm as well. She didn't even feel cold anymore. Some of the others who did not have the blessing casually commented on the mark that was on her throat, talking about how it looked so real. The fascination died down after a couple of days, which was nice. During the days of riding, the half elf had spent the majority of her time trying to replicate the Note of Ice with her flute, only to mess it up constantly, much to the annoyance of the travelers near her. After sufficiently annoying everyone around her, she decided to play a soft tune to calm the group, which seemed to work better on those in her immediate range, but it was effective nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Echo enjoyed jumping around in the somewhat deep snow, his fur covered in white specks of the soft ice. Echo enjoyed the attention of the new additions to their travelling group, who often gave him bits of their food during meals, much to his Mother's amusement.

As they approached the city of ice and stone, Alya could feel the shield that encased it. It was weak, but still there. She could feel it's energy slowly fading away. She had felt this before... It was just like in her vision. She glanced around at her surroundings, realizing that this was different from her vision. She was somehow on edge about it though.

Alya was a little confused as she listened in on Rilana's conversation with someone, she assumed it was one of Rilana's friends, but other than that she didn't really think of anything else. She wasn't sure what to make of the 'madness' that was spreading throughout the city, but she knew that it wasn't good.. But there was nothing she could do to help at all. It was becoming a very normal feeling for Alya. Helplessness and inadequacy. Somehow sensing his mother's melancholic state, Echo licked her hand, which rested at her side. Her gaze moved over to her 'pup', giving him a soft pat and a small smile. I'll be alright.. She thought as if she was trying to mindspeak to her furred companion.

Rilana's announcement wasn't really a surprise, but it made Alya's heart sink a little more, but she was determined to try her best to help her Rilana as much as she could, thus she joined the group that had chosen to help.

---

As they approached the home of the Ice Giants, all the small half elf could do was stare at the massive size of the giants. She couldn't help but feel scared of such massive...things. People? Maybe? They were very intimidating, but they way they spoke was quite comical to her. Good thing she couldn't speak, or else she would've let out a small giggle.

Echo was also quite on edge, but he was quickly instructed by his mother to stay docile. Alya knew that Echo would continue to stay on edge, but hopefully he didn't try to attack such hulking bodies. She didn't want to lose another companion. Especially one she cared about the most.

The presumed leader of the guards, a particularly large male with a vicious looking spiked club stepped forward. He stared menacingly down at Rilana, before twisting into self-satisfied scowl. "You. Tall woman. You fight me. You win, you pass. You lose, all die." He stepped forward, not allowing her to actually choose a course of action, raising his club high with a loud roar. Just before he could bring it down, a female giant's voice was heard. "Stop, Grogar." Rilana would feel Svarak's presence near her, his sword already drawn.

The massive wooden gates groaned open, and a woman adorned in the furs of a polar bear stepped through. She was small for an ice giant, but the way the males looked at her made it clear she held a very important position. She carried a large walking stick, adorned with various animal adornments and gemstones. "These people are blessed by Him. The one I heard in the winds." She was surprisingly articulate, approaching them all, but keeping her gaze on Rilana. "I am called Ihleen. We shall help you. But I ask you do something for us, after this is finished. My daughter is a shepherd in your city, Ihria. I have not heard from her in some time. I want you to find her, and ask her to come home." Rilana would then hear the woman in her head. "If you succeed, come to me, Druid."

The woman turned, and Rilana could see the moving visage of a mammoth upon her back. The guards moved away, allowing them safe passage. The village was humble, large stone and wooden structures, many smaller giants running around playing, several larger creatures that would normally be hunted or herded roaming around as pets. The village was built around the Cave of Sighs intentionally. The founding giant had discovered this cave many tenyears ago, and was fairly certain that this was the only shelter for ice bats. Seeing the importance of preserving these creatures, that helped spread the forest trees, Rheknar founded Jhrogramir. They'd always been peaceful so long as they were left alone.

The cave was set in a rocky outcrop, just above a stream that split the village east to west. It was massive, easily big enough for eight large giants to walk in shoulder to shoulder comfortably. It was covered in ice. At first, it seemed quite ordinary, cold, dark, as the knights began preparing torches for the journey.

But it was Echo that found the first clue.

It had been hidden in the snow, nestled amongst the rocks, wrapped in fur. He began chewing on it playfully. If anyone managed to stop him, they'd find a shard very similar to Svarak's sword. If it was touched, the person would feel a sense of doom and dread rush over them, stifling them, the feeling of a power so great nothing could stop it. But the real clue was in the fur that wrapped it. It was ramskin, and carved into the underside of the hide were several words in Fey.

"Follow thine heart, flames without start
Heart must give life to ice
When heart is lost, become hare
When hare dies, put heart in ice
Only when heart is frozen, will frozen heart appear"

Alya's sharpened ears would eventually be able to make out a deep, rhythmic beat from the cave. Whump whump, whump whump, whump whump. The knights and their torches smiled, thinking they were about done with this mission, and would soon be enjoying some well deserved vacation, began toward the cave entrance.

Panic took hold of her as the Giant challenged Rilana to a duel, one where she wasn't given any time to react. Everything was happening so quickly, Alya didn't really know what to do. But she felt relief wash over her as the giant was stopped by someone else. Another giant, a woman who strolled out from the large wooden gates. The half elf didn't expect the giantess to be so articulate, then again, Alya hadn't met a giant before, let alone 'spoke' to one.

As they walked through the village, Alya felt smaller than ever, but it was natural. She was shorter than the average person and these giant's were.. well, obviously much larger. She smiled in amusement as she noticed Echo trying to resist the urge to play with the smaller giants and animals. She was surprised to see those kinds of animals playing with them, usually they were wild. Then again, Alya couldn't really comment on it, since Echo was a Dire wolf.

She wondered if the village was built here just because of this massive cave. It sounded quite similar to the way people settled villages around rivers and lakes. Makes sense.

Her attention was diverted to Echo, who had rushed ahead, finding something buried in the snow. It was a piece of fur. Or so she thought before a small blue shard fell out of it, it looked similar to whatever Svarak's sword was made of. She walked over to Echo to see what he was playing with. She picked up the shard, as mistake she wished she never made. The feeling of dread and doom rushed into her body, it felt like it was trying to suffocate her. The power she felt was overwhelming, unstoppable it would seem. She dropped the shard, her body trembling a little.

Echo, as always, noticed his mother's reaction to picking up the shard, but there was nothing he could do other than put the hide on top of her small, trembling hands. Although still shaken, she picked up the piece of fur, only to find strange markings on it. She couldn't read any of it. Perhaps Rilana could read it?

She slowly got up, putting the shard into her pouch before jogging over to the Moon Fey. As she did, she heard a rhythmic beat coming from the cave. Not a dull moment when travelling through caves it seems. She handed the fur hide to Rilana, attempting to use her mindspeak on her again, "I'm not sure what this says, so I was wondering if you could read it.." She said, her voice resounding softly with a melodic voice that you'd expect from the small half elf. "..And I can hear a rhythm deep in the cave, like a drum. I think we should move with more care." She added, glancing at the rather pleased knights.

Listening to the giant's unfair and unjust challenge brought an icy glare to Rilana's face. That the people of Jhrogramir would deny them entrance in a time of need seemed to blow the druid's nutural compassion away with a cold wind. The last thing she wanted to do was fight a sneering, arrogant giant. But neither would she simply let herself be smashed with a crude club out here in front of the gates.

She glanced at Svarak for help, but he was too far away to reach them in time to fight the giant himself, so she slid from Kona's back, the image of a wooly rhino in her mind. Beside her, Kona postured defiantly, responding with a wordless falcon shriek. Even Ortha appeared, quickly swallowing something so that both heads could face the giant with stick jaws snarling noisily. With the two beasts on either side of her, Rilana herself looked rather stoic, though her blue gaze was defiantly stern.

"Screee!" I'll go for his eyes. Gut him with a rhino horn. He wont be so arrogant when he's bleeding in the snow! Kona was just about as fed up with this journey as Rilana was.

Kneecaps. Ortha volunteered, eyeing the giant's legs as he stomped towards them through the snow.

Fortunately for everyone, the giant was stopped not by Rilana and her Familiars, but by one of his own. A fellow Druid, Rilana suspected immediately. It wasn't until the moon fey relaxed that she realized how fast her heart was beating in anticipation of coming to blows. She barely had enough time to stop Ortha, dragging the balauradon back by her whippy tail as the dog-sized creature leaped forwards.

"Ihleen," she repeated the name, infinitely glad that the woman could speak Common so that she didn't have to struggle with giant. "Our mission is gravely important. But if we survive, I promise you I will look for Ihria myself and do whatever I can to see her safely home." The voice in her head was answered with a tired, I will.

A Druid indeed, Kona observed upon seeing the mammoth Mark.

Rilana felt as though she should have taken the time to observe Jhrogramir as they passed through. Wouldn't it be prudent to see what had changed since the last time she was here. But she was simply too tired, and let Kona be her eyes as he carried her along. She glanced back at Svarak once or twice, wondering if it would have comforted her any to feel his arms around her now.

I'll never know, will I?

Best let it go now. It will hurt less later.

The Cave of Sighs. Rilana had only been there once before. They'd spent the night under its eaves after delivering some trained mammoths to the giants. Lady Moira had introduced her to the soft-furred ice bats. Rilana recalled being fascinated by them and promising herself that she would be back one day to try Bonding with one. As they walked through the icy cave she reached up gently to stroke a blue one, barely disturbing it. Too bad there wasn't time.

Alya's voice in her head came as a shock. Not because Rilana wasn't used to hearing all sorts of craziness in her head these days, but because she hadn't realized how skilled Alya was with her songweaving. True, what she HAD heard was beautiful (mostly), but there hadn't been much time for music on this trip. So you can speak. I'm thrilled to hear your voice, even if it's only in my head, Alya. She managed a smile, genuine though it was small and tired.

Taking the piece of hide, Rilana had to literally snatch it out of Ortha's mouth as the ravenous two-headed creature decided to eat it.

"By the moon, let go! Do you have two stomachs as well as two heads?"

"Yes, this is Lady Moira, my friend's, handwriting." She repeated the riddle out loud for anyone to hear. "Was there anything with this?" If Alya told her about the shard it would only confirm for the moon fey that they were getting close to their goal.

"A drum?" She couldn't hear much beyond the flapping of the bats and the voices of the knights. "Kona, please tell them to stop."

Ruffling his wings, as a gentleman might roll up his sleeves, the large gryphon strode over towards the knights, fixing them with a glare. He could not speak out loud, but his tail swished and a hissing growl poured out of his mouth, interrupting their premature celebrations on behalf of his Druid.

Following Alya's lead deeper into the cavern, Rilana repeated the riddle to herself, trying to make sense of it. "Most of this is beyond me. Truly my heart can think of better places to be than here. 'Becoming a hare' seems more straight-forward, at least for me. I can become one if I wish."

But then the hare dies.

I'm going to ignore that part.

But if someone had to voluntarily die for Svarak to have a chance at doing the terrible thing he needed to do, Rilana knew who it was going to be.

"This may be the only way you'll hear it for a long time." She responded with a smile of her own. Alya was caught by surprise when Ortha decided to try eat the fur hide, but sighed in relief when Rilana was able to snatch it away from the maws.

When asked for whatever came with the fur, Alya hesitated for a moment before nodding, pulling the small shard out of her pouch and handing it to Rilana. She was afraid of the effect it would have on her tired friend. However, she was glad that the mindspeak was working with the Moon Fey. It was a little odd though, it didn't work before. Alya didn't dwell on the thought too much, being grateful that it was working now. Everything was so much easier now that she didn't have to keep writing on a piece of paper every time she wanted to speak with her friend. Perhaps it'll work on Trix too.

The half elf couldn't help but chuckle a little as Rilana tried to make sense of the poem. It was a strange message indeed. "I'm not sure if the riddle is that literal." Alya said in a light-hearted tone, over hearing what Rilana was saying. And I'd rather you didn't try to.. She thought to herself, a small feeling of sadness in her heart. If Rilana was the Hare... She didn't know if she'd be able to handle the death of a friend.

As the leaders of the group, Rilana, Alya, Svarak, Kona, Echo, and Ortha made their way into the cave, the recently scolded knights, with a scowling Drisceya were standing about right inside the mouth. The Warden Knight watched as a large female stomp over, "One you must stay with rams. We not caretakers." She looked them over, the two human knights Beran and Torrin, the Homunculus, Hinkley, Drisceya, and Chartrose. She reached down and grabbed Chartose roughly by an arm and flung him roughly over her shoulder, "You can have him back when return. I like him. He pretty."

She was much stronger than the man, keeping a tight grip on him, and carried him back to her cottage, with a large fenced in pasture next to it. The group's rams were in there, huddled in fear from the many mammoths and rhinos that were sniffing at them. She pushed her way into a shed, and with her free hand, pulled out the smallest chain and collar she had. She clamped and locked it around Chartrose's midsection tightly. It was too tight to go down over his hips, or up over his chest. She chained it to a fence post that was essentially a tree. It gave him access to most of the yard. She peered down at him, "You watch herds. When sunfall, I feed you, you stay in bed with me. Those caves big, friends could be gone long time." She winked seductively at him and stomped into her cottage.

After watching him get carted off, the rest of the group quickly caught up to the leaders, not wanting to be snatched up by any more horny giants. The thump-thumping that Alya could hear was growing stronger as they made their way deeper. They passed by many of the bats, most of whom ignored them, a few stared curiously. Rilana would be able to not that there was a lot of crowding toward the front of the cave, as if something deeper in was disturbing the bats.

As the cave grew darker and colder, with only the torch light guiding the way, the group came to their first decision. There was a large hole in the middle of the walkway. There was plenty of room to walk around it, and looking in made it obvious that there was another tunnel beneath them, running deeper. Ahead of them was also a fork in the road. The paths were seemingly identical. Alya would be able to hear the thump-thump coming from these two, but couldn't quite make out which one exactly. The edge of the hole was littered with tiny scratches. Rilana would notice there was plenty of guano on the lower tunnel, but none from the upper two. Svarak had only one thing to say, "Split up or stay together?"

Quite sure that while she didn't approve of the giantess' methods for acquiring help with the rams, Rilana decided that Chartrose hadn't exactly been helpful on this journey so far, and it made her feel better to have one less person to worry about.

The Moon Fey was quiet as they moved through the tunnels, coming to a stop with the opening to the bat tunnel at her booted feet. Ortha sniffed interestedly around the hole, drawn to the musty acrid stink of the guano and the evidence of the creatures' passage, but even as Rilana bent down to trace the small scratch-marks with her fingertips, she doubted that the bats' passageway would lead her down to Lady Moira.

"Splitting up will cover ground more quickly, but if one group finds the others it will take time to track the other group down. I don't want to split up. Alya, do you still hear that sound?"

Expecting the others to be confused, Rilana unrolled the hide and translated the riddle again aloud for all of them, finishing by explaining that it was written by someone she knew. "I can't make sense of it."

She tucked it away with the null shard inside and reached for Kona, fluffing his ear tufts with her hands. "I need you with me." With another glare all around, the gryphon's shape blurred and seemed to float towards Rilana before disappearing, leaving nothing but clear air where he had stood and Rilana rolling her shoulders at the sensation of his Mark spreading across her back.

Glancing down at Ortha, wishing she could Mark the balauradon as well, Rilana started down the left-hand tunnel, choosing it at random. Her blue eyes scanned the walls of the tunnel, looking for anything that put her in mind of hearts or fire. She thought briefly of the northern lights that her people knew as skyfire, but for now could only find ice and rock and what snow had blown in from the outside.

Ortha didn't follow, but slipped down the bat tunnel, following the smell of the furry creatures. Rilana almost turned back to fetch her, but of the rest of the group, at least she would always be able to find her Familiar again.

She looked back, only to see a Charr get taken away by a female giant. Alya didn't really think much of it since she didn't know the cat at all and figured they'd be able to take care of themselves.

As they progressed through the cave, she could hear the thumping grow stronger, she was glad that it wasn't a chorus of noise like it was in the tower, and she wondered what kind of magic was being used to create such a different beat and tune. Her thoughts were somewhat interrupted when everyone had stopped at a fork in the cave. She could still hear the thumping, but she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

Her gaze moved to Rilana when she was addressed, 'Yes, but I don't know which path it is coming from.'

She watched Rilana's actions for a moment before they had decided on a path to take. Alya didn't know what happened, but the Gryphon disappeared without a trace, it's shape leading toward the Moon Fey. She couldn't make any sense of it, but she figured it was magic. Of course it had to be. If Rilana wasn't a Mage, then mind speak wouldn't work at all.

Alya decided to follow everyone else, she's had enough of being separated from people in caves for a lifetime. The half elf saw the two-headed beast run off on it's own, which she thought was pretty normal, however, Echo had decided to follow the beast as well, having picked up a scent on some other creatures in the cave. Possibly bats.

Alya frowned slightly as she watched her canine companion run off, but she figured that Echo's hearing was sharp enough to hear her commands if she was to call him. Maybe she was being too lenient on how much of an adventure Echo could go on by himself, but she thought that it might be good for him to 'strike out' on his own once in awhile.

As Echo and Ortha followed the steep ramp into the lower tunnel, it got darker and darker, as expected. But that didn't deter the pair. Echo had better vision, though not true dark vision, but keen hearing. Ortha on the other hand, could see just fine in the dark, not even noticing the transition. As they trudged along, they ignored the deep guano muck they waded through. The ceiling was a moving carpet of blue and white bats, all watching or sleeping. The tunnel was winding and curvy, growing colder and colder as they plunged deeper and deeper. Nothing of note came about for a while until, Echo caught the scent of something. It was different from the smells in here.

It smelled similar to Rilana. Leathers and furs and other animals. The singular tunnel made it easy to follow the scent. Until it stopped at a wall. The scent told Echo that it continue on, but the wall prevented it. The wall was covered in a strange, purple moss, hanging heavy and thick. It appeared that the moss was a very thick drape, leading into a small cave. And inside was a Moon Fey woman, in dirty rags, torn and old. She looked up at the two creatures, not knowing whom they were with, but seeing they were alone, and clearly not wild. Weakly, Lady Moira's voice spoke, "...No... no..."

Drisceya was getting quite tired of following the orders of an outsider. She'd snuffed her attempt at wealth and renown, hadn't shown her true strength. And Drisceya was fairly certain she'd only gotten the position by sleeping with Svarak. Cursing herself for not having tried it herself, she hung back at the rear of the group, as Rilana picked the left tunnel. Once they were far enough along, she snuck back silently, and struck out on her own down the right tunnel. This was her world, her darkness, and here, she reigned supreme. Her daggers were already drawn, her eyes and ears on full alert as she slipped from darkest shade in darkest tunnel to another. Her tunnel kept leading deeper and deeper, showing no sign that anything had ever come this way in recent time. The only thing that seemed off, was the occasional wisps of heat whirling through the tunnel without explanation. They were far warmer than breath, seeming more akin to fire. But still, she kept on. Drisceya felt the slightest of vibrations, and immediately leapt back at the behest of her instincts. Before her was a giant maw snapped shut with massive slicing teeth, one of which was splashed with blood. She saw the creature slither back, revealing this tunnel opened up into a massive, seemingly bottomless cavern.

Then she felt the warmth on her legs, looked down, to see her left arm was missing up to the elbow, and was bleeding profusely onto her. The creature reared back, looking like some sort of massive worm. She watched it thin out, and immediately knew its intention. Instead of standing there, waiting to become food, she leapt into the abyss, other dagger out in front, ready to do something insane in order to survive.

The main group pressed onward, and Alya could hear the heartbeat growing stronger. It got deeper and louder, until the tunnel crested upward into a circular cave with no adornment. In the center was a single hole, and it was clear to the songweaver that the sound was coming from there. The walls were frigid, frozen, covered in ice. At the exact moment that Ortha and Echo had moved through the moss, the heart beat stopped. The ice on the walls fell away in shattered sheets, revealing three identical tunnels.

From the tunnel they'd come from, came a loud ruffling noise. It was heavy, and burst through the cavern. It was more of that purple moss, and was quickly filling and covering that side of the cavern. The two human knights were standing near the far right tunnel, Svarak near the central hole, and the humonculus by the far left tunnel. Svarak immediately drew his sword, but it was clear as the plant rampaged in and filled the space there was no fighting. It would simply smother or crush anything still in there in the very near future.

Echo looked at the woman for a moment, letting his two-headed 'friend' continue ahead of him. He didn't sense any hostility coming from her, rather he sensed her concern. but he didn't know what she was concerned about. He slowly approached the woman, tilting his head slightly in a puzzled manner. Perhaps he should inform his Mother of this. How? A howl, of course. And so, he howled toward the way he came. His call echoing through the cavern, hoping that his mother would hear him.

---

Alya listened intently at the thumping sound as it got louder and deeper. Although it had taken her awhile to realize it, she figured out that it was a heartbeat. Perhaps the cave was the heart itself? 'Rilana, I just realized that this sound... Is a heartbeat. And it's coming from the central..tunnel.' She mindspoke to her Fey companion. Of course, it was a little late. Because the sound had stopped entirely before the rustling of plant growth filled her ears, a purple moss flooded the path they came through. The half-elf turned to see the rampaging mass. She turned her gaze back to the tunnel path she pointed out, 'Hurry!' She echoed, pulling at Rilana's arm to make her follow.

Among the noise of plants, she heard a faint howl echoing out from somewhere in the cavern. She knew it was Echo, but there was no way she could get to him or vice-versa. 'Echo's found something..' She thought outwardly, but now was not the time to worry about that. They needed to keep moving or they'll get swallowed by a massive plant.

In her creepy way, Ortha watched Echo with one head while the other focused on the other Moon Fey, the nostrils in her boney skeletal face sniffing at the 'almost but not quite Rilana'. Both of the balauradon's jaws were grimy with guano from where she had snacked on the way in, hungrily able to eat just about anything and delighting on the occasional fallen bat corpse half-buried in the acrid refuse.

The extraplanar monster hunkered down on her legs, creeping through the moss, grumbling as it slid across her leathery hide. Once she was close enough to Moira she stood straight and turned back towards the entrance in that classic non-verbal posture that meant "Let's go!"

--

Deeper in the cave system, Rilana looked around curiously as the group spread out into the rounded cavern, watching the light of their torches glitter across the ice, looking for anything that might help them solve the riddle Lady Moira had left them.

Turning, she glanced down thoughtfully at the Songweaver, listening to Alya's voice that no one else could hear. "A heartbeat?"

Follow thine heart?

"Do you still hear it?" But apparently it had died.

Just then, several things happened at once. Ortha was reaching out for her, but the eerie and unnerving hiss of plantlife moving at speeds that were unnatural raced towards them, the sounds echoing and rushing along the tunnel. This sound was nearly lost completely, however, as the walls of ice fractured and burst, the pressure and noise battering at Rilana's senses. The Moon Fey had nothing to hide behind, but crouched quickly, throwing her arm up to protect her face from the shards of ice she expected to wash over her.

It was this arm that Alya grabbed, and Rilana followed her friend readily, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that the others were following, her gaze sweeping over the tidal wave of purple moss. She never even heard Echo's howl shivering up from the depths, but as soon as Alya told her that the direwolf had found something, Ortha's sight flashed across her mind.

"It's Lady Moira. They've found her. She looks..." She didn't have to finish, her worried expression would relay the troubling condition of the other Moon Fey. Rilana berated herself.

How could I have been wrong, again! My instincts are terrible. There was no way to reach Lady Moira right now, not by going back the way they'd come, anyways.

Apparently Kona didn't have time for his Druid's poor self-esteem, however, because the gryphon replied simply, Heart must give life to ice, When heart is lost, become hare.

Rilana glanced back at Svarak again, her face grey with uncertainty and fear, but she didn't want to tell him what she was planning to do. What they were to each other, she wasn't sure yet, but she didn't want to add to his burden, and she didn't want to be the kind of woman who needed coddling and comfort.

"Alya, I'm going to change. I won't be able to talk except to you." And Kona, but the gryphon was nearly as mute s the flute-player. Rilana pulled her arm free of the half-elf's grasp but didn't quite stop running, just slowed a little as she concentrated.

Kona, if I die I don't want you to die with me.

If you die, I won't want to live! He protested angrily, and for the first time ever Rilana had to force him to un-Mark, until he appeared again in the tunnel, incorporeal at first but suddenly solid and as large as life, his wings tucked tightly to his back as he hurried along, tufted tail swishing.

But Rilana wasn't done yet. She clambered up on the grypon's leopard-spotted back and began to change. Her already-white skin erupted with snowy fur, and her ears crawled up the sides of her head to poke out her hair, which slurped back into her head like so many noodles. Her whole body shrank rapidly, her clothes blending in to a hide of solid white (except for black at the tips of her long ears), until the tiny round shape of the most adorable snowshoe hair ever (pic) was struggling to keep a grip on the gryphon's mighty back.

That riddle better be speaking figuratively, Kona grumped.