[Hellonicus]

The shadows around him deepened as the sun finally set. The accursed sun. Hellonicus gathered the expanding shadows and molded them around him like a shroud, shielding himself from the remaining light. He stumbled suddenly, going down to one knee.

"Damn the elvish form and its inherent weakness!"

No. That wasn't exactly true. Most elvish bodies he had possessed in the past had given him no trouble. Most were powerless to resist his manipulations. Most gained strength from his presence, were enhanced by his shadow powers. Most, but not this one. This one was painfully different.

He could feel the body's soul stirring within, working to resist him. In a moment of weakness, Hellonicus had been able to free himself from his mind prison and seize command, but unlike in his previous hosts, command in this body remained a tenuous thing. This shaper, this Carriac, was too strong willed, too in touch with his body to truly relinquish control. Suppressing the shaper's mind had been easy at first, but as time went on, the elf began to discover ways to circumvent Hellonicus' guard. It had been the most difficult following the feeding at the farmhouse. The shaper had been so outraged at the slaughter he had been forced to watch through powerless eyes that he had almost succeeded in resting back command. Only the strength gained from the feeding and the onset of nightfall had allowed Hellonicus to maintain his possession.

This past day had been a constant struggle. While not able to control the body's motor functions, the shaper had managed to exert an influence on its other systems. Hellonicus was unable to keep down food or water. His breathing was ragged. The body rejected any kind of nourishment or strength from the shadows. The Shadowlord knew that Carriac was attempting to weaken his body physically to the point where he could regain command. Hellonicus refused to allow that to happen. He was too close to allow himself to fail now. Too close.

Hellonicus forced his borrowed body back to its feet and tried, again, to bolster his strength through the shadows. He felt the immediate resistence.

Damn the elf!

He was so tired, but he dare not sleep. He dare not relax his guard.

It wasn't much farther. He would succeed, if he had to destroy the elf's body in the process.

The Shadowlord tightened his mental hold and forced himself forward. It was a long night.

[Mara]

Darkness was falling quicker as the trio stepped away from the garden, the only thing that marked the passage after the house and barn was consumed by Mara's flames. They walked in silence for some time until the soft sound came out from under Travelers shirt. There the small kitten poked its tiny head out, looking to see if it was safe. Its small golden eyes blinked before looking up towards it savior, before letting out another mournful cry.

Mara sensed that the kitten was still frightened, but was slowly calming down inside of Travelers shirt. His body was warmth to the small cat, his heartbeat must have soothed the small beast, much like its mothers. Stepping over, Mara reached in and started scratching the kittens ear, laughing softly as the cat started to purr.

"She must be hungry. We've no milk do we?"

She already knew the answer to that, but she was hoping Traveler would open up to her again. He had been so quiet after leaving town, saying little. But his eyes said a lot as he glanced her way. She tried to look into his eyes, tried to take away the pain he must have been feeling with a soft smile, but he would only look away, his face was but a mask, showing little emotion.

Until he had found the kitten.

"Perhaps it would like something to chew on. Some meat..."

She had no idea what traveler found while searching for supplies. She had never thought to ask. With her stomach now full, her thoughts fell on the kitten.

"Are you ok," she asked at last, stopping him in his tracks by placing a hand to his arm. "Are you...upset with me?"

[Traveler]

He turned and looked away not answering. It was completely dark, now. There seemed to be a chill in the air.

"We need to find someplace to make camp."

He turned back to her and saw she was upset.

"No, I'm not mad at you. You had nothing to do with that."

The kitten meowed again, getting his attention back.

"I... I... We need to find a place for the night."

Rage burned within him, and a deep sense of loss.

[Moiran]

Moiran wanted none of it.

"Camp for the night? You must be joking! Surely you understand that a shadow creature will be slowed by the daylight, but strengthened by the darkness. If we stop now we'll lose the time we made up by his stop at the farm."

[Mara]

Mara frowned when Traveler looked away. She could feel his pain, but there was nothing she could do that would change it. Looking down as they followed Moiran, she stayed silent until the little ghost spoke.

"He's right you know. If we rest, we may lose him in the darkness. We must push on, to try and stop Carriac before he kills again. We are the only ones that can do it..."

Placing a hand on Travelers arm, she stepped around so that he had to look at her. "If you are tired I can give you some of my strength. It would be just a touch, nothing more than that to help you along. I'm tired too..."

She was lying, but she didn't want to tell Traveler the truth, that she was full of energy, that if she didn't have to use her powers she could walk for weeks without slowing down.

"I say we push on until dawn. If we are no closer to Carriac than we are now, we'll stop to rest. What do you think to that Moiran? If we can't get any closer on foot we will rest at dawn."

She said that in a way that sounded more like an order than a question as she waited to hear from both men. Meanwhile she was preparing a plan.

A plan that might get them to Carriac faster, but it would be dangerous for her and Traveler.

A chance I'll take," she thought as they walked on into the darkness.

[Traveler]

"Well, I at least need some time to sit and rest. We were nearly fried then we run upon a massacre. If you must go on then, go!"

He sat down next to a tall tree and began to pull out some food. The kitten became anxious in his arms till he fed it a morsel, then it started purring.

"What ever you do you should send your dwarf ghost friend ahead of us to find where Carriac has gone. He is after all a ghost, It's not like it'll kill him to keep going with out a rest."

[Morian]

"Dwarf? DWARF?!"

For the first time in what seemed like weeks, Moiran came back to himself.

"How dare he call me a dwarf! Of all the lame-brained, idiotic, stupid things...." He trailed off as he saw the glint of amusement in Mara's eyes. Traveler couldn't hear him, after all, so what good did it do to yell?

"He has a point, though. I can travel much faster without the two of you. I'll scout ahead."

Catching the trail firmly in his sight, the little ghost sped off into the night.

[Traveler]

Traveler sat there in silence for a while as Mara sat there watching him. She seemed pre-occupied. Something was bugging her and he knew it. At this time he just didn't want to be bugged by it. He leaned back against the tree he was sitting next to and folded his hands across his belly.

With closed eyes he said, "Mara, don't let me sleep more than an hour," and with the practice of years of mercenary work fell to sleep.

[Mara]

Mara watched as Moiran left to find Carriac, the grisly scene back at the farm was still burnt into the back of her mind. A part of her saw nothing wrong with the horrid scene, another part of her couldn't understand how anyone could have done such a thing, while the awakened part of her slowly dropped down next to traveler with a sigh. She only nodded as Traveler spoke, turning away toward the path that would take them to Carriac.

She was torn between two thoughts, to stay with Traveler and the kitten, or to run off and help Moiran. Darkness was already slipping around them as they sat in the dark, silent except for the soft purring of the cat, and Traveler's breathing. Mara didn't notice the small creature until it jumped into her lap and curled itself into a tight little ball, making a weak meow as it looked up.

"Everything will be ok little one," she whispered. "Traveler will take good care of you," as she looked over toward the sleeping form. Gently she placed one hand on his arm, before closing her eyes. She gave him some of her energy, so that when he awoke, he would feel refreshed. She wanted to go deeper into his mind, to scrub away the things he had seen the past few days, but decided to leave well enough alone.

She had done enough damage. Probing into Traveler's mind might have brought forth worse images. Images that would have even frightened her. Feeling a slight chill in the air she looked around and gathered up a number of dried limbs, all without disturbing the kitten or Travelers slumber.

Building a small fire, enough to chase the chill away, she waited until it was time to wake Traveler back up. She wanted to let him sleep more than just an hour, but hearing his voice, the way he was acting around her made her think twice about letting him sleep. Reaching down, she started scratching the kitten's ear, smiling as it tilted its head to her before yawning.

"Traveler? It's time to wake," she whispered, her voice as soft as a summer breeze. She reached out once more, stopping within a fraction of an inch from his arm, afraid he would become startled or angry. Pulling her hand back quickly to her lips, she whispered a little louder, causing the kitten to stir, arching its back in her lap, its small nails digging into her clothes.

"Traveler? You said an hour..."

[Traveler]

He had slept a deep dreamless sleep. He heard her call his name and felt her reach toward him and stop. He heard the soft purring of the kitten in her lap.

Traveler opened his eyes, and sat up. "I had almost expected you to be gone when I woke. I'm glad you were not. You know, you remind me of...," he caught himself before he spoke the words. "You remind me of someone."

"Come on, we better get going while the trail is still fresh."

He turned to go and said, "Thank You."

[Mara]

Tilting her head, Mara gave Traveler a puzzled look before blushing. "I couldn't leave you alone. Who would be here to take care of the kitten while you sleep?"

Standing while cradling the small creature in her arms, she started to follow Traveler down the path that Morian took. The only problem was that the small ghost did not leave a trail. But she stayed silent, walking close beside her friend, while scratching the kitten's ears and chin.

"Traveler? Do you think we'll find Carriac?"

It was a simple question that left a number of questions unanswered. If they did find Carriac, what then? Could she control her other sides? The side of the assassin was still whispering in her mind, telling her that the adventure she was on a fool's folly. Nothing mattered except taking justice for the dead that he left in his wake.

Her other side was curled up in the corner of her mind, cowering at the sights it had see. The blood, the destruction was starting to take its toll. All she wanted was to go home, to live the life she remembered.

Mara shook her head as if to brush those two from her mind, yet she could still hear the laughter. It was almost disturbing if not for the kitten who decided that her hair was something magical. It started by batting at the strand of hair, before it bunched up and leaped on Mara's shoulders attacking her hair with three strikes of its front paws.

"Eek!"

[Traveler]

Her question caught him by surprise. "Yes, we'll catch him. One way or another." He dreaded that moment. He knew something was controlling Carriac. Whether or not it would relinquish control before they killed the elf was another question. There was something else that had been bugging him. If it could take control of Carriac, Could it take control of him, or worse yet Mara. Would he be able to do what was necessary if that happened?

[Narration]

The forest surrounding them had come alive. The trees were watching their every movement. The Gaurdian had entered their borders She was near and she was looking for something. Were these people what she sought? They seemed to be small insignificant creatures. Short lived and small.

Her attention was focused in a different direction. She was looking towards the darkness that had begun to grow. There was an ancient strength in that darkness. Many of the trees looked forward to it's coming.

Suddenly the Guardian turned her attention on the couple walking towards the darkness. She realized they would not make it in time. She sent her influence to the trees in the area, but the darkness had already won over too many of the trees in the area. She would have to intervene personally.

[Traveler]

There was an odd feeling about these woods. He felt like he was being watched. There was an almost palpable feeling of malice in the area.

"Mara, be watchful, all is not well here." As he said this he slipped his sword from it's sheath and felt himself slip into the now familiar hunting mode where all his senses were heightened. They crept forward ever wary of ambush.

[Moiran]

Moiran soon discovered that traveling at such a high rate of speed made it near impossible to follow Carriac�s trail. After several instances where he was forced to backtrack, he settled on a more moderate rate of speed that allowed him to maintain constant eye contact with the shuffling footprints.

The trail was becoming easier to read as the miles passed. Great gouges were scraped into the dirt at places, as if Carriac were purposefully dragging his feet. In other instances, plants had been smashed and tree limbs had been broken, clearly marking the elf�s path.

These signs got Moiran to thinking. He knew, or rather, highly suspected that Carriac had been possessed by a shadow creature � perhaps even a shadowlord. His movements from the time he had fled the wagon had substantiated that theory - especially the scene at the farmhouse. Surely the shadow knew that Carriac�s friends would attempt to track him. It followed, then, that the creature should be doing everything in its - and Carriac�s - power to cover his trail to foil pursuit. And yet, here before him, Moiran found ample evidence that argued to the contrary. What was going on?

It suddenly became clear. Carriac was fighting the possession. The elf was forcing his body to rebel against the shadow�s control. That was good news. It would slow them down and make it easier to force the shadow from Carriac�s body.

Moiran dreaded that part. He remembered reading about people who had once been possessed by shadows. They had rarely been the same afterwards. Of course, that could have been a result of the exorcism process. Burning with fire tended to cause lasting damage. Moiran knew that Mara would be only too happy to provide the necessary heat, but he was wary of her ability to control her powers, especially given what Carriac had done to her prior to his flight. No, Moiran would have to find another way to exorcize the shadow.

After an hour of tracking, he noticed that the land had become rockier. Larger and larger boulders scattered the area. Entire clumps of stone thrust forth from the earth in places. Moiran drifted skyward to take a bearing on his location. He was amazed at how far he had come in such a short time. There was the valley where the farmhouse stood - now barely visible as a speck on the horizon. In the other direction he could see a minor mountain range. No wonder the ground was so littered with rocks. Why, that group there was large enough to be a house.... Movement before the rock formation cut off the thought.

There stood Carriac.

Moiran could make out the gangly feature of the elf, leaning against the stone, not half a mile from his current location. The gnome had to restrain himself from rushing to the elf's side - indeed, without conscious thought his will had moved him steadily in that direction. Who knew what powers a shadowlord could bring to bear that might affect a ghost? Moiran regained lost altitude and zoomed to hover directly above the figure of his friend.

Carriac's features were drawn. His muscles strained as if he were pushing against a great weight, though it was obvious he was not. It occurred to the gnome that Carriac might be struggling against the shadow's control. He silently urged the elf on.

It was then he saw the cave.

The opening was small, but unmistakable. There beside Carriac was the opening to an underground cave. Carriac's choice of resting place suddenly became much more interesting.

Moiran's irrepressible curiosity got the best of him. With a thought he was zooming through the rock and into the cave below. He came out in a winding tunnel. He paused to orient himself. He was unsure how deep he had penetrated into the rock - still unused to the speed of his ghost-form's movement. He was soon aware of a dim light that reflected about the passage. Strange, it was dark on the surface. The light must be coming from deeper in the tunnel.

Moiran followed the light, keenly aware that its intensity increased as he progressed. The tunnel ended rather abruptly at a deep pit. Moiran hesitated only a fraction of an instant, then descended into the hole. The light increased phenomenally. When he reached the bottom - a drop of at least fifteen hundred feet - Moiran saw why.

If he had possessed mortal eyes, he would have been blinded by the intensity. His ghostly orbs, however, took everything in in an instant. He had entered a large cavern. In the center of the cavern were five huge crystal monoliths, arranged in a pentagram. The monoliths were the source of the light. Large mirrors surrounded them at even intervals, reflecting the light back towards the center of the pentagram. There at the center was an iron cage. Inside it stood the figure of a man. He cast no shadow.

In an instant it became clear. He remembered the story from his childhood. A dark horror had once walked the surface of Ifreann, a great plague that killed, maimed and destroyed for nothing more than sadistic pleasure. A shadowlord. Moiran's people had called him Rianzibul. His followers had simply called him "Highlord". One in particular had taken the shadowlord's fancy - a twisted, demented man who had given himself soul and body to the dark power. After years of terror, the dreaded shadowlord had been captured, imprisoned forever in the body of his loyal follower. Imprisoned here, in this cavern of eternal light.

The shadow possessing Carriac wasn't trying to escape the elf's friends. He had intended to come here all along. His goal was this very chamber. Here, with Carriac's shaper magic, he would destroy the monoliths and set Rianzibul free. Then, the terror would begin anew. Moiran could not allow this to happen.

"Greetings ghost."

The words echoed across the chamber. Moiran realized with a start that Rianzibul had seen him.

"A shame your friends will not get here before my brother arrives."

Moiran bristled. Should Carriac reach this chamber before Mara could reach him, all was lost. Thousands would die.

"We'll see about that." Moiran left the chamber in a rush. He had to get back to the others. Somehow, they would stop this.

They had to.

[Carriac]

It was an intense struggle to hold his body in one place, but he was succeeding. The shadow had weakened considerably since the night at the farm and Carriac had been able to gain a greater and greater measure of control. He knew what had made the difference. The shadow had been careless. Thinking it firm in its control of his body, it had permitted him to view the carnage it wreaked upon the farmers. Anger and revulsion had boiled up in Carriac - and the shadow's hold had slipped. Carriac clung to that anger and used it as a weapon.

From time to time, he had caught glimpses of his possessor's thoughts. They were dark, alien things and he was forced to pull away quickly. But he had learned of the shadow's mission, and he worked to thwart it.

Carriac was not old, as elven standards went, but he was old enough to know people who had lived when Rianzibul walked the earth. He had heard firsthand accounts of the destruction that had been wrought by the hands of the Highlord. That he would be used as the instrument of releasing that horror upon Ifreann again filled him with fury and fueled his increasing strength. He could not allow this. He would not.

"The ghost goes to warn the elf's friends. The Highlord says you must hurry."

Carriac saw a large crow land on the stone before him. He knew that this crow was invisible to normal sight, but he saw through shadow-tainted eyes.

"Ridiculous," his voice answered, his mouth moving in spite of his wish for it to remain still. "There is no way they could make it in time to stop us."

"I don't see you moving."

Carriac could feel the shadow's displeasure at the crow's words. "I but rest."

"You lose control. The Highlord was concerned this would happen, that you would not be strong enough to complete the task he set you."

"NEVER!" Carriac suddenly lost his sight. He could feel the walls of the shadow's will forcing him back into the prison of his mind. His own anger resurged and he pushed back. In a moment he was able to see again, but the effort had cost him. He was no longer able to hold his body from moving. He stepped into the cave.

"Tell my brother I will be there momentarily."

The crow disappeared down the tunnel. Carriac's body followed. Carriac probed at the shadow's defenses, but they were stronger than before. It had been strengthened by the crow's insults.

Undaunted, Carriac began to chip away at the barrier, all the while hoping that his friends would make it in time.

[Traveler]

They had traveled for only a few minutes when there seemed to be a rushing wind approaching them. Traveler looked towards Mara, She seemed to be oblivious to the noise.

"Mara," he started, but the noise had ended. There seemed to be a struggle of some sort, and then stillness. "Nevermind, I thought I heard something, but it's gone."

He noticed the kitten in her arms had begun to bristle, and he knew he hadn't been wrong.

[Guardian]

The forest would bend to her will. She had not been in this part of the woods for some time, but it was still her kingdom. She struggled for a moment to gain control, but finally she had managed. Now it was time go to the one. He and his friends were the key to end this. She had to get them past her borders to the cave. One of her old adversaries was about to make an escape. There were none of the old ones left in the area who knew how to battle and control one such as this. Their only chance was to stop the escape before it could happen.

[Traveler]

He reached out into the woods to sense what was happening around them. He could find nothing untoward. Actually, he found nothing. There was a sense of restless unease among the woods.

[Guardian]

She focused on the couple, and was in their presence. "You shall fight a great evil this hour," she said much more forcefully than she had intended.

[Traveler]

Suddenly there before him stood the ancient guardian of the wood. She spoke and the sound of it was so powerful that they were forced to their knees. The sound of it seemed to resonate in their bones, He screamed with pain from the intensity of the noise. He looked at Mara and notice the kitten had scampered from her grasp. She had slumped to the ground. Something wet was running down his neck. He reached to wipe it and found blood was running from his ears.

[Mara]

Mara heard Traveler's warning, her eyes shifting until two small flames burned where her pupils once were. That's all it took for her assassin side to kick in, a word of warning. Picking the kitten up off her shoulders, she gave it a look before placing it in the crook of her arm, scratching its ears rather hard. There was something stirring up ahead, just out of her senses, but she could smell the disturbance in the air. She turned her head when Traveler called to her, yet her eyes never left the path in front of her.

"Aye! There's something stirring just ahead. You have good ears, for a human."

Suddenly she was on her knees, holding her hands to her ears as a voice echoed in her mind. With her senses peaked full out, looking for any sign of danger, she was struck full force by the Guardian's approach. She felt herself slipping into darkness, feeling as if her head was about to explode. Falling to the ground, her now blood coated hands fell to her side as the darkness swallowed her up.

(to be continued...)