A serpent man hacked at me to my left, but I caught it on the sturdy wood of the odari staff. I hooked the haft under and around the halberd and shoved it wide, spinning with the movement and snapping my foot out. The creature went flying onto the floor. During my spin I saw a glimpse of the last approaching conquistador. He watched me with hate filled eyes, lurking closer with his hand out and sword leveled like he was a back-alley cutthroat. I pivoted, my footwork a blur as I snapped my staff in time to meet both his sword and the scimitar of a serpent-man who had thought to get a quick kill. Spinning my staff, I shoved aside both weapons and elbowed the merc in the face, sending blood and splittle flying out as I turned my full attention on the unnatural denizen of Tzecholitchi. In three strokes I got the better of him, striking it atop its serpentine head, its yellowed eyes going blank as it fell over, dazed.

"Beren get the symbol!" I heard to my right and turned. Somehow, Emmaline was pulling herself up across the other side of the abyss as a serpent-man's body disappeared into the endless stygian gloom. My jaw dropped, having just a minute ago seeing her block a bullet to now turning the tables on an impossible situation. I had just beaten three opponents in a handful of seconds and somehow she one upped me. Who the hell was this woman!? She could...do anything!

Her cry finally registered in my mind, and my eyes flitted to the dazed mercenary who now stood precariously above the pit and still back up none the wiser! My heart leaped into my throat, and dropping my staff I made a desperate leap for the precipice of the pit as the conquistador stepped on nothing but air, his predicament finally registering in his eyes as he did so. A scream emanated from his lips, and my boots skidded across the stone floor as my hand shot out to grab the symbol in his hands, halting his descent. I weighed more than him likely, but he was armored and my momentum worked against me.

"I deserve all the gold! All the glory!" He cried, an insane laughing bubbling up from deep inside as he clung to the symbol desperately. Half crazed from delirium or maybe from my elbow strike, I couldn't tell. I tried to yank the symbol away but his weight continued to drag me forward toward the edge. I switched my stance desperately, leaning back. "I can't die! I found the city of forbidden treasures! The gold is mine!"

"You want gold?" I told him, and made a desperate move. Instead of pulling back, I jumped. My weight was shoved forward, but I was in the perfect position for a drop kick. My booted feet hit him across his breastplate with the force of a knight's lance, and he screeched as he lost his hold on the eldtritch symbol, flying across the expanse to hit the wall Emmaline had just clambered over before sliding into the abyss, his screams echoing in the void of nothingness. I landed at the very edge, my breath caught in my throat and the symbol in my hands, teetering for a brief moment of horror before I could back pedal. I sighed in relief as I stepped away from the edge, and took a gold coin from my purse to blithely toss into the cavernous hole after him. "Have a refund. Hope you visit us again."

The serpent men, who had regained their composure, halted their advance and actually bowed before us, genuflecting and throwing their arms on the ground. It seemed I only needed to use my will? Emmaline approached from the otherside, giving a smile as she rubbed a bruise on her arm.

"Good line, but don't make it a habit of wasting gold." She said.

"I think there's some more where that came from." I said, and we both approached Fletcher and Callibel to help them up. Luckily the woman was a healer, and it looked like my contract was just about over...

Two days later...

The outpost near the river was small. A dozen huts of timber and a jetty where rafts and smaller craft lazily bobbed in the river. Sweat-laden locals and huntsmen gathered to trade and pass gossip and news as travelers and gold-hunters coalesced in the infamous inn known as 'The Maw,' its namesake a large, reptilian skull opened wide above the awning that covered the porch from the elements. A smattering of locals with raised voices swapped money and bet as they gathered around a small pit where a southland smooth-fured aquatic bear fought and began to devour a sort of man-lobster that clicked in panic as it lost its left pincer.

I had been here before, but not for months. There were always new faces, hardened mercs and grim-faced trappers turning to regard Emmaline and I as we stepped into the insulated common room. Callibel and Fletcher had thanked me profusely once we arrived, but they had business of their own to take care of and they disappeared into the crowd as I led Emmaline for one last meal, one we didn't have to prepare for our own for once. We found a nice corner in at the back where there were cushioned chairs, and my ass felt better for it for the extra copper it cost.

We had managed to procure a few gold relics that I could sell with passing traders if I ever came back here before the monsoon season. Emmaline had found a serpent armlet with ruby eyes that glittered whenever her slim arm moved, as well as a fistful of gold chunks and coins she eyed greedily. Now that we could sit down and actually think about it, we came out of the insanity more fortunate than we had come in, and I had not expected that once the raft had been destroyed.

"So, what are your plans for now?" I asked her as I downed my drink. I remembered the sexy conversation we were supposed to have, but here in a modicum of civilization I felt more than ever the fleetingness of our acquaintance and the fact she was ridiculously high birth. "On your way to the Enclave?"

The Enclave was the famous 'old town' high class grouping of exiled nobles in the great city of Darkwater. They flocked there and joined together to rule the city as their fathers and northern peers had not allowed them to up north. The barons and petty counts were not expressively oppressive, but they did spend the cities gold on parties and trading interests and building projects while the gangs could hold sway over the lower portions of the poorer sections of the city.

"I ... I suppose so," I agreed. It had been my plan to leave the Southlands now that I had got shot of my would be treasure hunting partners but there wasn't a lot to recommend the long sea voyage. The coin I had swindled from Gauln was not inconsiderable, but given there were a number of people back in Andred who were looking for me for various grievances, I wasn't in a rush to spend another few months queasy. Besides the monsoon would be here in a few weeks, a month at the outset, and it wasn't likely I would find a captain willing to sail in hurricane weather. I was certain that I had resources enough to set myself up in the Enclave however. Doubtless there were aristocrats there who had nice things and too much money, which were among my favorite things.

"I honestly hadn't much in mind beyond getting clear of Thornton with my skin intact," I admitted truthfully. The man lobster gave a final dying wail as the bear thing managed to rip aside a plate on its neck and bite deep into its flesh, shaking viciously enough that ichor pattered of the roof beams. The winners cheered and the losers booed as money began to change hands.

"What about you? There is nothing for you here now your raft is destroyed. I bet with a bit of luck and fast talking we can get you a new skiff in Darkwater. You should come with me," I blurted. It wasn't the smart move. I really should have been trying to distance myself from Beren and any possible links back to Thornton, but I had enjoyed his company and a week long hike to Darkwater Crossing wasn't going to be without its risks. Plus have you seen his abs?

I had started to eat the pulled pork I had ordered, finally filling my belly. Gods it was good. Mudcreek was a backwater nowhere but it had the picking of all the good food transported to and from the elven nations and the confederation along the coast to the south. Emmaline had ordered a plate of loaded potato skins with added pork from my recommendation. At her suggestion I almost had the food go down the wrong throat, and I felt like a boy because I felt myself flush.

"Yeah, I'd love to!" I said shamelessly, then pulled back. Could I? I did have a residence and a small business as a smith, but my clients weren't expecting me back for a long time and I didn't need to pay anything off. And truth be told, I was finally admitting I had a severe crush on this girl. I knew I would go with her just because it would eat at me if I didn't, but I also did not realize I would say it so quickly.

Truth be told, I always did want to just go. But I always felt guilty. My parents lived two weeks away from my place and loathed the idea of me risking my neck everyday. Yes, I was a grown man and lived alone, but I did feel bad about making them worry so I took up a job as a smith and just moonlighted as a river guide. It wasn't the safest side-job, but they didn't usually end up as disastrous as this one had.

"I would love to come with you," I told her more calmly. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I did not know what else to say. "Uh... hey uh, you don't have a boyfriend do you?"

I was the smoothest fucker alive.

I nearly snorted the sour wine out of my nose. One of the problems with spending your life coming up with clever scams is you are sometimes taken aback when people are straightforward. I really should have known better than to expect any kind of guile from Beren at this point, but old habits die hard. I managed to coral most of the wine into the right tube while considering a response. In the end I decided, like an idiot, to repay truth with truth.

"I don't have a boyfriend," I admitted, feeling a little uncomfortable to tell the bald faced truth. Fortunately I recovered some of my normal aplomb almost immediately. I am, afterall, a professional.

"I wouldn't have agreed to that discussion if I did," I assured him. The bald faced lie washed the unpleasantly sacrin taste of truth from my mouth. I gave him a wicked smile.

"Why, do you have someone you want to fix me up with?" I asked, batting my eyelashes outrageously to make it clear I was teasing.

I grinned. Admittedly I was a bit nervous, but she didn't seem put-off by my question and even encouraged the conversation. Her pedigree notwithstanding, it all seemed pretty natural. I slid a bit closer, my dark eyes locked on her blue-eyed gaze as she awaited my answer. Gods, she was pretty.

I shrugged my big shoulders. "I do know this one guy. He's alright." I said, wiggling my big hand as if it were a scale, speaking like the person in question had just reached the bare minimum requirement of being acceptable to know. I smiled back at her wickedly. "I think you'll find him to be a...good 'social acquaintance.' Girl's like that kind of thing, right?"

"It's tolerable," she said facetiously, wrinkling her diminutive nose as she continued the joke, and like magnets we leaned in for a kiss. I could almost feel it before we brushed li-

"Room?"

Emmaline's eyes popped open and I wheeled my head around to see one of the Maw's overworked attendees standing there, pen and paper in her hand and bags under her eyes. She sported a brown hair bun to keep any hair out of the well-cooked food. I had never seen her before, but then again they switched out employees almost as often as customers. "Were you two wanting a room with the order? One bedroom, two bedroom? If you're done eating we need to clear the tables unless you're going to order something."

"Well...?" I started to answer, but really felt it wasn't my place. I looked at Emmaline questioningly.

I blew out my breath in irritation at being interrupted. This place was a dive plain and simple but it was busy by virtue of being the only game in town. There were already hungry people waiting to be served and I realized they probably didn't want to lose coin because we were sitting here flirting. I considered ordering something small just to be facetious but I had other things on my mind besides petty vengeance.

"Fine, we will take a single bedroom," I said, standing up and heading for the rear where the rooms were.

"You don't know which one..." the waitress called after men.

"Not to worry, Ill pick," I called back.

A few moments later we were in a surprisingly large room on the upper floor. A window of decent glass opened up to give us a view of the lush forest and the low hills that climbed beyond them. Dusk was already falling with tropic rapidity, painting the sky a dazing array of colors in the few minutes it too to sink behind the horizon. Beren picked up one of the brass lamps and opened it, sniffing at the oil inside.

"Citronella," he approved before kindling the fire within.

I woke early in the morning, the blankets draped over our entwined forms as I heard a low rumble in the distance. My arm draped over her, I forgot for the very briefest of seconds where I was until I felt Emmaline snuggle into my chest. The rain hammered down above, drops sliding down the window where a faded light gleamed in.

For the first time in a long time, I was content. I did not have a deadline or a contract, and though I sort of had a boss, currently she was wrapped around me and was also my new girlfriend. Whether that made things more complicated or simpler, I didn't know. This was definitely new ground for me.

I felt the call of nature and regrettably I had to pull myself out of her embrace. She whined, but I kissed her forehead and whispered I would be back, before I put on a shirt and my spare trousers and walked out into the hallway to find the lavatory. Apparently it was still quite early in the morning, as I only heard a few small clinks of glasses and murmurs downstairs, the smell of breakfast barely making it to the stairway as I passed it.

Once I finished my business, I stepped out into the corridor, rubbing my eyes when I nearly ran straight into an old friend. The fat, jolly merchant Beaumont, with his scratchy beard and elaborate robes. He was fixing his tiny hat after having just stepped out of his room.

"My lord! Beren? My boy, what are you doing here!?"

I don't know why I was embarrassed, but I was. Beaumont made his rounds with luxury goods all across the frontier, bringing news and goods to the outposts. He looked like a typical merchant, but he was one of the few men with the stones to travel that far with little to no protection save a few guards, and I even did it twice before. I had always trusted him. I suppose having him see me with a strange woman would be like an uncle catching me.

"Just my usual guiding, you know..." I said, just trying to get past the small talk. "I have a client wanting to get to Darkwater. I'll be gone for a few good weeks."

"Darkwater? You're going that far down!?" He said, baffled and befuddled. "That's truly a far trip, but just so you know I've heard terrible things that way."

"At the city?"

"No, just in the region. Some leviathan is making a fuss. The hunters and trappers are afraid to go out. Just be careful, boy." He gave me a concerned look, all the while fixing his jerkin so he could be presentable to customers downstairs.

Once I gave him my goodbyes, I stepped back into the room. I knew he thought it curious I got a room to begin with. Usually I sleep in the common room and make way first thing in the morning, but I was tired after the last week, not to mention last night. I stepped back into the darkened room and glanced out the window, wondering just what lay ahead.

Behind me, an arm lifted up from the bed and grabbed my shoulder, before pulling me onto the bed with a 'I want to be warm.' There was a ruffling of the covers and another entanglement of limbs before we both fell fast asleep again. A late morning was fine by me, I told myself...

It was storming out anyway.

To say I was unenthusiastic about leaving a warm bed to walk through the jungle was an understatement. If I'd had my way I'd have curled up and gone back to sleep. Beren, however, was too much of a pain in the ass, and by that I mean woodsman, to allow such sensible actions. He pointed out that the monsoon would be on us within a few weeks, and possibly a few days, and that any ground we could make while the sun was out, would be worth its weight in gold. I reluctantly agreed, more for a lack of interest in arguing than because I truly conceded the point, and we set out laden down with what provisions we could carry. Characteristically, there were no horses. The dense jungle isn't a place horses or any hoofed animal tolerates well, the rot tending to cripple them even if there are roads for riding on. The path was no road as civilized people understood it, merely a way worn through the jungle by the passage of countless feet over the ages. In places the verdant growth crowded in and markers were set up, often nothing more sophisticated than a partially hacked tree or arrangement of rocks. Fortunately jungle soil dosen't run to the kind of mud one finds on dirt roads after rain. Rainforest actually has very little in the way of subsoil, most of its nutrients coming from a build up of leaf mould and decaying organic matter. What soil there was was thickly braided with roots which formed little puddles as they gathered in water. Several streams were running, although I assumed they were dry except during monsoon or after heavy rain, and the forest was alive with the calls of birds and other animals as we started the long trek down towards Darkwater Crossing. We met no other travelers, presumably they had the sense the Gods give to everyone except Beren, and they stayed dry. The mosquitos were ferocious, but I had long ago learned a charm to keep them at bay. I rather enjoyed what I imagined their little faces looked like when they ran into my invisible barrier.

We walked till well after sundown. There was a fine moon which provided enough light to see by and we eventually pitched camp in a rocky outcrop a hundred yards or so off the trail. Beren built a small fire, apparently viewing the wildlife as more of a danger than other travelers who might catch a glimpse of the reflected glow or smell smoke on the air and we settled down to a meal of fresh bread and cheese. I drank a little wine, and was asleep before I knew it. I had strange dreams of the city of gold and its serpentine Goddess. She appeared to me as a woman clad in emerald mail, which on closer inspection was scales. She seemed to be trying to tell me something but her hissing speech remained unintelligible. I woke with a start, feeling as though something were slithering over my wrist. I reached down to touch the bracelet I had recovered from the ruin and felt it writhe beneath my touch. WIth a squeal I leaped into the air and shook my wrist furiously, trying to dislodge whatever it was. To my astonishment I saw a small green snake wrapped around my wrist clinging on for dear life and hissing in what I somehow knew to be terror.

"What the..." Beren demanded, swinging around from where he had been keeping watch. He lunged towards the snake whose little eyes bugged out for a moment before he raced up my arm and under my blouse. I cursed and grabbed at the fabric, pulling it open. Beren's eyes were wide as he saw my skin. Where moments ago had been my bare midrif, now stood an intricate tattoo of a small and obviously terrified snake.

"Ummmm..." I temporized, to utterly astonished to be afraid. I brushed my hand over that tattoo and found it smooth. As I pulled my hand away the head of it moved, and then emerged from my skin as though from a pool of water. Beren grabbed for it and it flattened into ink before his fingers could touch it.

"Back off," I suggested. He did so and I coaxed the snake out by rubbing it with my finger. It slowly emerged from my skin and coiled around my arm. A moment later it was the bracelet again, as though the whole experience had been some kind of shared delusion.

"That," I observed, "is very weird."

I looked at the snake bracelet, that had used to be a snake armlet, and had also decided to be a tattoo, and truth be told I was a bit lost. I sat there, big arms crossed and one eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"So...that doesn't happen often, right?" I asked her.

"Not even once before, no." She said, though I could tell as she said it, she was questioning on whether it had ever occurred before without her knowledge or notice. At least she did not seem concerned, and that had to be good enough for me. While I knew some of my fair share of lore, magic was an enigma to my experiences. Then I had a thought, and I felt like she wouldn't like it, but I had to voice it anyway. "Do you think since you're up now, you can take watch and I can get a bit of sleep?"

She hid it well, but I could see the loathing in her eyes. Not at me, but at the fairness of the question, which I still felt somewhat guilty about even if I shouldn't. "Sure," she said. "It'll give me some time to see what exactly is going on with this snake talisman thingy anyway."

"Thanks," I told her, and settled in on my bit of cloth I had lain for a nap until sunrise. I felt Emmaline was a hero, even more experienced fighting monsters and trekking across untamed wilderness than I was. But at the time I guessed my homeland didn't suit her. She seemed off-put being out here now, after our first stay in civilization. I knew we couldn't reliably stay at the outpost when the rain and typhoons showed up. We would run out of money and food and likely lodging. That waystation was not meant to be used year-round. Even the innkeeper closed The Maw for two months out of the year, and often times boarded the place and left before the rains hit. Not to mention the reptilian beasts of the river grew more bold as the waters rose.

She would much prefer Darkwater, I knew for a fact. Good food, drink, music, and even art and culture. I was looking forward to going back, for sure. The last time I was there was a decade ago with my dad. I wondered if things were the same. As I drifted off to sleep, I decided I would see about getting Emmaline something notable when we got there. If we were together, I wanted to treat my girl. Just seemed natural to me. My world went dark as I wondered what it would be...

3 days later...

We had made good time. My arm got a good workout with having to hack through foliage and ferns, and Emmaline made sure to widen the path at my flanks as we moved. At one point, we found a clearing where a herd of reptilian behemoth's dwelled. They had three horns on their vast, shield-like heads. They were built like dwarven steam tanks, and one even looked our way. But none chased us off as we hugged the treeline and passed the impressively peaceful beasts.

Twice we had to traverse past waterways. The first time was a relatively clear stream Emmaline and I waded through, naught but fish and small mussels as company. We filled our canteens and restocked our supplies with a bit of fishing on my end. Well, I thought it was fishing. Emmaline was endlessly entertained when I stripped myself of my shirt and speared a few for dinner, watching me in a way that made me mess up in my attempt once or twice.

The other instance we had to cross was the problematic one. As we had hiked around a small cliff, climbing up an incline using a rope I had to fastened to a tree at the top of the slope with a well aimed swing, we found a river with what appeared to be large, darkly colored floating logs. I knew better as soon as I saw them, but my companion hadn't the experience I had in this area of the world.

Emmaline looked like she was ready to go across to just get it over with. "Well, at least we can use one of those logs as something to float across. Maybe there's a woodman's camp nearby? With beds and drinks..." but just as her foot touched the water I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.

"Hey! What are yo-"

"Those aren't logs, babe." I said simply.

She wriggled for a moment, insisting I was crazy under her breath, but her eyes fell on the large objects in the water, and she gaped when one of the 'fallen trees' opened its eyes and then sunk into the water on its own accord.

"Oh..." she breathed, feeling a bit guilty for her lack of trust. She smiled remorsefully and turned around to a kiss on my lips. "Thanks. Glad to have a boyfriend with good eyes."

Her approval made me smile. "We're almost there. Across this river we just have two more days of walking and we'll be on clean sheets and I'll take you out to dinner at a nice place." I promised. She stepped back and I grabbed my rope and hook, double checking to make sure it was fastened and its integrity wasn't compromised before I started eyeballing the potential trees I could fling it at to use as a swing across the river.

"Once I find a spot, you go first. Just hold on tight and then toss it back." I told her, the hook already twirling over my head.

I watched somewhat dubiously as Beren cocked back an arm and tossed his hook. Anti-climatically it fell to the ground and he hauled it back and tried again. The second cast succeed, catching in a branch. Beren hauled back twice, making the foliage shake and stiring up a flutter of brightly plumed birds. Beren handed me the rope and I stepped back, getting a grip, then I took a running leap. I sailed out over the water like a pendelum. For a moment I thought I would make it without difficulty, when suddenly there was a huge erruption of water as one of the log things, red jaws yawning open to display finger length teeth, launched itself up at me. Instinctively I kicked out, my boot connecting with its snout with a crack. The force of it struck up through my legs, knocking me off the rope and tumbling me into the shadows on the far side. I hit the water with a splash and rolled up onto the bank, scrambling up onto the bank while the water boiled behind me.

"I'm alright!" I called back, heart thundering in my chest. "I'm alright!"

Beren managed to recover his end of the rope and was pulling it back for his own swing.

"Try not to get eaten!" I encouraged. Beren made the swing without difficulty, the log thing apparently having been discouraged by my accidental kick to its face. He retrieved the rope by whipping it back and forth till the hook fell free.

"Well that was interesting," an accented voice called from the brush. We both turned to see a figure clad in mail of overlapping scales stepping out from behind a violently green bush. He wore a high nosed sphangelhem and faded red cloak. A powerful crossbow was held in one hand, cocked but not pointed. There was a long bladed cavalry sword at his hip.

"Do you make a habit of beating up crocodiles?"

Beren whipped the rope until it wrapped tightly around his thick arm, eyeing the newcomer warily but not with any hostility. The man wore red and gold colors, accentuated with a cloak of burgundy. Emmaline fixed her wide brimmed hat, as if being presentable to this man was the first order of business.

"When we must," Beren answered him, and stepped in front of Emmaline just in case. "You're not a native. Who are you?"

The shapely woman poked her head out past Beren's shoulder, whispering to him conspiratorially. "He's a Basilean. A protostate it looks like. You know, a legionary."

"She's well informed." The legionary stated, keeping his crossbow down. He looked relieved at their evident traveler's garb and attitude. He stepped to the side and indicated they follow. "I am afraid I have to ask you both to come with me. I'm sure you're going to Darkwater. This is too far out of the way for you to be hunters, even though your lady here looks dressed for it."

They saw little reason to argue or fight on it, and Emmaline looked overjoyed at the prospect of a bed and a roof a few days before they reached their destination. Beren had to admit it sounded nice, and so they followed him into the trees. Apparently it wasn't far, as they used this river for their water source. Thew man introduced himself as protostate legionary Drachus.

"And what are you doing all this way down in the dark continent?" Emmaline asked him as they rounded the bend. The road led past a jumble of stones and moss covered cypress trees, and before them was a large palisade wall of spiked logs. Before it was a well-dug gulley, spanning the breadth of the wall. A wooden bridge stretched over the short expanse. For a temporary dwelling, it looked efficiently made.

"Why, colonization of course. The Emperor wishes to take hold of the riches here and regain what the old praelian empire has lost."

A droplet hit Beren's bicep, and another plopped atop Emmaline's hand, and within seconds a light rain had begun to fall on them. Beren closed his eyes and raised his head to appreciate the coolness on his skin, but the rain became heavier, and Drachus called for the gate to open. Emmaline huddled under Beren's shoulder like it was a miniature cliff face to keep dry. He felt obligated to help her with that, keeping what rain he could off of her as the gate slowly opened for the three of them.

"The Emperor?" Emmaline asked with a slightly puzzled frown. Despite Beren's best efforts and the limited protection of her broad brimmed hat she was getting a soaking. The Protosate was dripping, but he seemed indifferent to the trouble. Emmaline wondered how well the crossbow string would hold up in the wet, even sealed with wax there were limits.

"Empress Casavara retired to Contemplate the Mysteries in the Spring. Her nephew ,Haradatus the Second, is now on the throne. With new leadership come new priorities," their guide, whose name they still hadn't learned, replied easily. Contemplate the Mysteries might mean anything from a genuine retirement to scholarly life, to taking a knife to the kidneys at her nephew's order. Such was the way with Basilean's. Their might be half a dozen coups and counter coups before they settled on a final sovereign, whose early elimination of rivals made for a long reign after the initial blood letting. If this Haradatus was already sending out colonies, he must be confident indeed, or else these troops were too undependable to be anywhere close to the Imperial City.

"Well Long and Strong to him," Emmaline replied, using a Basilean colloquialism to invoke good luck on the Emperors reign. It had a few different meanings depending on how it was used but it made their guide smile. They crossed a second ditch and entered the camp proper. As expected tents and more permanent structures were laid out on grids. Stumps of trees scattered around the stony expanse of ground, their trunks pilled up and stripped of branches at a makeshift lumber mill towards the rear of the camp. The center was an old stone structure that clearly predated the colonists, probably it had been little more than a tumble down pile of moss covered stones when they arrived, but the industrious Legionaries had already restored it as best they could, replacing fallen stonework with timber and an impressive roof of split shingle.

"Welcome to Fort Serpentus," the guide declared grandly.

The guide ushered the two into the stone structure at the center, the rain beginning the thicken and a light breeze whipped by them. The legionnaires ignored the rain, and only gave cursory glances to Beren, though a few eyed Emmaline with some interest.

For his part, Beren felt right at home here. Despite the fact he lived quite a loose life out at the very edge of civilization, he was used to ordered drill and mighty earthworks by the dwarves. This was just a younger race playing at what the ancients had already perfected, though they did it with the tenacity of men and the skill of many years of practice. He had a small urge to volunteer to help, but he knew if he asked he would by flat out refused or they would induct him into their ranks and he hadn't the time.

"This is but the first of many," the guide said proudly, noticing Beren studying the battlements and fortifications erected. "Soon we'll make a wall along the Black Delta, once the emperor buys out the confederation. We will upturn the fores-"

Beren almost burst out laughing, but he kept himself from interrupting the haughty guide as the man continued to present their future campaigns, eager to tell someone not of the army. Emmaline looked at him curiously, and he blinked, impressed she had noticed his change in demeanor. He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "I'll tell you later."

Before he pulled away, she grabbed his jerkin and kissed his cheek. "You look good just out of the rain." She whispered. His face flushed, but before he could be awkward, both they and the monologuing guide were interrupted by a huge crash, and a shake of the trees beyond the palisade wall. As soon, the protostates turned or looked up from their tasks, and the only sound that followed was the pouring rain.

"What was that?" Emmaline asked, placing her hand on her hips and wanting to appear as if she had the authority to demand an answer. As far as Beren was concerned, she was noble born and it was only natural.

"I don't know," Beren and the guide said as one. Idly, Beren wondered if they had named the fort Serpentus because of a local beast. He dearly hoped a Bagrada serpent was not near.

They caught sight of one of the hundreds of trees in the distance going down, pulled by something immensely strong.

"Stations!" A scarred centurion cried, placing his feathered helm atop his head and roaring for his men to move. Spears and shields were dolled out and hastily grabbed, as yet another tree was destroyed beyond the wall.

This one was far closer.

I normally found fortresses filled with handsome men to be a comfort. As I watched the prostates rush to their positions I wondered if this was going to be an exception. The rain was coming down in warm slashing sheets now. Covering the cleared ground with little muddy impacts and back splashes so that it looked like rice being bounced on a drumhead. Another tree went down, close enough that I was able to hear the animals and birds squealing in dissaproval.

"What in the stars?" I asked confused as to what could possibly be unleashing such destruction. Everything suddenly grew very quiet, no calls or animal screens. Only the steady rattling hiss of rain falling. Up on the wall I could see soldiers pointing their crossbows outwards, though they must have known the strings would be sodden to uselessness within a scant minutes.

"This is an actual question," I added for Beren's benefit. He was, afterall, supposed to be a local expert. He shook his head to silence me and peered out into the rain. Lighting lit the sky and I felt Beren tense.

"What?!" I demanded, trying to follow his eyeline.

"Something," he replied, "the rain.."

My eyes settled on where his view was focused. It looked just like any other part of the downpour until I began to realize that there was something wrong with the way it was falling, like the drops were twisted ever so slightly as though viewed through a glass. Armed with that knowledge my brain began to pick out the pattern of something vast out in the rain, no not just out in the rain, it was rain. Its shape picked out the way a pattern might appear when you scattered pebbles on a pond.

"Ware!" I shouted then snapped my fingers, sending a trail of sparks out towards the thing. They struck it and stuck, burning in mid air against no apparent object, the light casing the barest outline of something. There was a sudden hissing roar like a torrent in a canyon and then twenty feet of the eastern palisade exploded into splinters that rained down all around. A huge footprint splashed water and mud up from the encampment as the soldiers began firing their crossbows at the invisible enemy that stalked them.

Beren watched the...thing, burst through the wall and scatter men about like a child kicking over toys. Faintly, he felt his pendant brimming beneath his shirt. He pulled at the silver chain and saw the artifact glowing softly in the gloom, before sliding it back under his top.

"What was that?" Emmaline asked, the question sounding snippy, though the accompanying look of guilt showed she hadn't meant it as such. Beren had forget he had never shown it to her, other than when they were making out on the couch, and that was not the time he wanted to talk about heirlooms.

"I'll tell you later, but that means it's... well 'demon' might be a strong word-"

"DEMON!?" She balked.

Beren's blessed necklace had been handed down to him from his father, who had consecrated it personally. It had merely been meant as a kind gift from father to son, but it protected him from evil spirits and was very handy in warning when such entities were near. It did the same with demons or anything preternaturally malevolent, but it wasn't useful at categorizing something beyond that. Whatever this thing was, it was made of rain as well as whatever spiritual force that powered it.

"Just stay here," He told her, leaping out into the rain. It likely looked like foolhardy bravado, but Beren never backed down from a fight if he felt it necessary to engage in it, even if it was against what looked to be sentient water. Immediately the downpour drenched him, flattening his thick head of hair and running down the definition of his muscled arms. Beren reflexively ducked under a flying legionnaire, grabbing at a fallen pilum and tossing it in one, smooth motion at the roiling abomination.

The throw was perfect. If it had been a creature of flesh and blood, it would have skewered the thing dead center. Even as it flew through the bulk of it, it's iron head sinking into the palisade wall was satisfying to watch. Unfortunately, it was only nice to look at. Suddenly a large blob of water coalesced and swung at Beren, who tried to twist out of the way but was caught and swept into the air. The herculean form of the warrior was sent flying back at the central tower, rolling through the mud.

"Beren, get in here!" Emmaline cried, desperation in her voice.

Suddenly there was a keen wailing, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the encampment as men retreated, their shields and spears up, eyes wild with fear. The mad spirit convulsed as it was struck, and a battle-mage strode across the spattered ground in heavy war-boots and an imperial mage cloak over his armor. He whispered another incantation, and a concussive force billowed out like an explosive wave, sending the rain scattering. The men cheered as the monster seemingly disappeared into nothingness, the rain now harmless as it drenched the landscape.

Beren picked himself up, but he didn't see what happened next, like Emmaline, who had a good vantage point to watch. She observed in awe and horror as the seemingly harmless rain now gathered just above the mage, and as the fellow began another chant, with a mind of its own the water sinuously whipped about and flew straight within the man's moving lips. His words now gurgled and his eyes widened, and men cried out as their camp's magister began to drown from living water, desperately clawing at his face.

"I command you get in here now!" Emmaline cried to Beren, and while he wasn't entirely used to being told what to do, the need in her voice brought strength to his limbs and he clambered to his feet.

The mage fell dead to the mud, and the water sought its next prey, slinking around the air like a great serpent. Gradually it became apparent its next target was Beren, or perhaps Emmaline, and it dove towards their position just as Beren stepped back under the archway of the central keep.

"Beren!" Emmaline screamed, realizing distantly she was yelling his name too much but unable to really find fault in it at the moment. He turned and saw the water arcing towards him, and he moved to grab Emmaline, stepping defensively in front of her with his muscled form and steading himself from the blow that was to come. Fortunately for them, the water crashed against what looked like an invisible barrier just at the foot of the arch, scattering droplets across the floor.

Beren opened one eye, looking down at Emmaline, then at the spirit that seemed unable to enter. He looked down at his new girlfriend. "Did you do that?"

A day later...

The wet, broken landscape and thick jungle had grown thinner, at least to my eyes. Emmaline and the others still felt as if the ferns and trees were aberrations that concealed wild cats or worse. Mercifully, the rain had stopped, and the men were able to clean their wounds and sleep with some peace of mind. I kept stayed at the fore, clearing a path with a cutlass I had taken from the camp. Swords were not my forte, but I needed to clear vines and what undergrowth I could.

After the rain demon had dismantled their camp and slew their comrades, the survivors of the Basilean fort had scattered to the four winds. A handful had seen Emmaline and I slay the beast and decided to follow us, not for nothing, since we were going to the closest spot of civilization in twenty leagues. Out of the five legionnaires, three were injured, one with a head wound that seemed a miracle he was alive, and the two who had come out relatively unscathed still have vacant eyes, save for the random flashes of fear that passed into their gazes every now and again.

We had found a relatively dry clearing beneath the canopy, past a fallen tree the lot of us had to duck under to enter the area. We spent the evening eating what rations we had left. Titus had pulled out s loaf of bread from his pack and found it swarming with ants, and he had to throw it into the fire and clear out his bag. Cyrian had a few links of sausage and offered to share, and the rest of the troupe had bits to add to the collective pile. Emmaline and I still had a few apples and jerky left, and we made a small dinner out of the lot of it.

As the rain forest grew darker, and the birds began their incessant, endless chanting, we all drifted off to sleep. Emmaline had deigned to take the first watch, insisting she was a bit too on edge to really sleep so soon, and so I trusted her and fell into a fitful slumber. I would be told later, like I always was, that one of my biggest problems was how much I could sleep through. Emmaline told me, when we were alone within Darkwater days later, how she had tried to wake me up to change the watch, and it was the weird angle of her leaning over me that drew her attention to a slight glimmer in the dark, past the ferns that cloaked the endless jungle beyond the embers of the dying fire.

A glimmer that pulled at one's senses, inexorably and involuntarily drawing one closer to the source. A light that tickled the mind's curiosity, and captured the imagination of the one it had chosen to call to.

I was thoroughly sick of the jungle. It seemed the last time I had slept in a bed was lost from my mind and no matter what I did I was perpetually damp. I sat through my watch disconsolately, passing the time by randomly setting mosquitos on fire when they darted too close to me. It was more magical effort than I usually could be bothered putting forth, but apparently recent events had bought on another attack of the I-really-should-practices.

At first I thought the glimmer was simply the reflection of one of my little pyrotechnic displays, perhaps on a particularly shiny or wet leaf but as I peered closer I realised this was not the case. I leaned over and shook Beren, it was close enough to the time to change watch that even if it was a false alarm it wouldn't matter. Characteristically he didn't stir. I shook harder and he snorted but didn't wake. Rolling my eyes I stood up and kicked him hard in the ribs. Beren's eyes snapped upon and I knelt down as though I had been gently shaking him awake.

"Ow.... what.. what is it?" he asked as he registered my presence.

"I see something out there... or I think I do," I whispered, pointing in the direction of the glimmer.

The night was still full upon the land, the shattered remnants of the moon only bringing in scant light upon the jungle floor. I blinked away the sleep, rubbing my ribs. Emmaline leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, and I decided that whatever happened that woke me up, nothing was permanent so it was water under the bridge. I leaned in to hear her whisper, and I followed her finger as she pointed into the gloom.

I peered past her where she pointed, but I couldn't see a thing. For awhile, I thought my vision was obscured by the large fern leaves that surrounded our small campsite, and so I slowly got up. Most thought my muscled bulk meant I was loud, but I had lived in these jungles for most of my life. I was almost cat-like in my movements, and I let Emmaline lead the way, barely brushing a leaf as we left our companions sleeping soundly just behind us.

I smelled the pungent, sweet smell of euchavest trees and the wet that accompanied the moistened leaves above, the ground soft beneath my feet. Something small scurried away in the undergrowth, Emmaline hopping away to bump into me. I smiled and steadied her, endeared by her manner as usual. Another few minutes passed as we searched, but there was nothing we found. I didn't have dwarf eyes, but my vision was good, and we simply could not see anything that glimmered in the darkness. Just blackness and the scattered moonlight.

"I tell you, I am almost sure there was something here," Emmaline remarked, though she wrung her hands, embarrassed she might have just been seeing things, I imagine. She should have known I wouldn't blame her. I wasn't bothered by most things that couldn't be immediately fixed, particularly from a friend, and apparently lover. Only having one lover before, I wasn't an expert, but it seemed I was patient, which made me happy.

"I believe you," I told her, peering past some brush to check if I missed anything. "How about this, we haven't checked south of our position. Let me go back to the camp real quick and see if everyone's good, and I'll be back here in less than a minute. You ok?"

She nodded, seeing the sense in me giving a quick look without making a sound whereas she might wake them up if she tripped. Emmaline waved me away and bade me to hurry up.

As I went to check on the Basileans, Emmaline stood under a tall jungle tree and kept hidden, her hat hiding her golden hair. The sounds of insects chirping in the boughs above drowned out her breathing, and clouds passed over the moonlight, obscuring the shine. And yet, almost as quickly as it had disappeared, the glimmer appeared once more. But not as it had before, faint and distant. It returned, almost just under her nose. The shade from the clouds above dispersed, and before her, just past the brush, was a small shrine that gleamed from a mystifying treasure.

Two, small statues stood, facing one another. They were roughly hewn, and yet intricately designed. The statue on the left was beautiful. It was wrought in the shape of a regal griffon, standing on its hindlegs, it's beak opened wide as if in a warcry, and on its head was a diadem. Its wings folded as if to ward prying eyes from what it held in its taloned paws. Within its clutches was a precious stone, a diamond as clear as springwater, yet it glowed like a distant star. A thread of silver wound around it, steel clutching its body, connecting it to the silver as a necklace piece.

To the right was a monstrous opposite. A cobra, or something with the head of one, reared up, maw open in sinister aggression. Its serpentine neck flowed down into a body not unlike a scorpion, and yet its tail was unhooked and serrated, curling around its limbs to provide the base of the statue. The enigmatic serpent had two hands, almost human, just above its great claws. Within their fingers was another stone. Where the first was clear, this multifaceted jewel swirled with darkness, indigo and what seemed like the crimson of blood sliding in and out of view within the ensconced shadows. A golden chain was attached, held by a brass crown around its form.

Behind her, leaves rustled as I made my way back. But I was not there yet, and she had a choice. Whichever she grasped, the other statue would melt before her eyes, swallowing up the gem it held and leaving the jungle floor unmarked as if it had never been...

I stood frozen between the two treasures, mezmerised by each for their own aspects. It was something like a trace because I couldn't pull my eyes away. I was dimly aware of a squirming sensation from the snake tattoo I had aquired back in the temple but it seemed distant and unimportant at the present moment. That I have a weakness for jewels I will not deny and to find two in such an odd arangment in the middle of a jungle was positively thrilling.

I reached out my hand, hearing the jungle go quiet all around me as though holding its breath. I leaned forward and lifted the glowing diamond from the statue. It was heavier than I thought and the sound of the silver chain on the stone idol was as loud as a violin bow in the dark. There was a sudden hissing sound as the second idol began to disolve, folding in on itself and sinking down into the forest floor. I stood amazed as it faded away, like a stain being rinsed from fine linen. The last thing to go was the red and black stone glaring malevolently at me like an eye benath the ground before finally vanishing beneath the leaf mould.

"Emmaline?" Beren called behind me and I turned suddenly to face him, the glittering jewel hanging from the chain in my fist.

"Uhhh..." I replied uncertainly.

I looked around us, my senses honed as much as man's could be in the dense jungle. Birds chirped and small critters scuttled or stares with bright eyes amongst the trees and foliage, but otherwise there seemed to be no danger. My eyes then fell on Emmaline, her blonde hair like a beacon in the scant moonlight of the dark.

"Um," I said, pointing at the glorious jewel in her hand. "What is that, babe?"

"I don't know, I just found it." She said. We had only been together for perhaps close to a month, but we had also spent almost every waking hour together save for small trips to relieve ourselves, seeing as we had been in constant danger (or dates) since we met. And I felt I knew her fairly well, and for all my knowledge, even knowing she was a pretty capable actress, she wasn't lying.

"Oh... that is weird," I said, looking around to see if there was any trace or reason for her find. "Ok, just don't show anybody else at the campsite you found that ok? Did you find the source of the light, by the way?"

"Nope, but it looks like it's gone. Let's head back to camp!" She said, enthused. I laughed and shrugged.

"Sure, let's head back. We'll be in Darkwater tomorrow, I think. You'll like the city, I know. Plenty of places to take a bath." I turned to lead the way back, and she slipped the silver chained gem over her head to rest against her slim neck and bosom.