“SCREE SCREE.”

“Will you shut up you stupid bird.” Sean sits up wondering why his guide is so agitated.
He see why as a dark figure rides up on a camel.

The dark individual looks at Sean as if he was nothing. He steps down from his mount and approaches Sean. The very earth around Sean seems to tremble at this beings presence.

“So, you must be the one known as Sean Carlton.”

“I don’t know of who you speak.”

“A sense of humor in the middle of the desert. You must be a bard. If that’s the case, here.”

The stranger throws Sean three things; a skin of water, a ration of food and a message. The stranger climbs back onto his camel

“Farewell ally to the house of falcons crimson. This world is dull an I must leave.”

The stranger trots away.

Sean opens the message.  It reads.

I hope this letter finds you alive and well.
I hear you tried to attack K’tai. Still haven’t learn control huh?
Well it will take time.

I see you when I return to this realm.

Oh yeah. A heads up I’ve alread been commission to bring you in but sense I’m traveling. You should be ok.

Changeling
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The smells in the woods surround him in a wonderous way. Subtle hints of  other creatures hidden in the forest excite his senses and tickle his  troubled mind. Walking the woods in the dark makes for many deep thoughts.
A low tree limb , bent at an angle , allows him a seat to gather his flurry of important details. As he shifts to a human form , he plants himself on the limb. Now the secrets of the night hide themselves again. The details not as clear. One of the drawbacks to a human form.

The rune around his neck reminds him that a catalyist is all thats needed to cause the avalanche to engage. Now that this is in motion, controling the direction of flow is hazardous. With all the others now hunting the pup , the game is afoot. With all the information that was flowing into the city streets, sorting out  the rumor from the facts was becoming a trialsome job. Focus . Focus .
" Think about the solution , not the problem. " he told himself.

A warrant was issued Sean Carlton for crimes against the crown and treason.
Tanara had become a little to close to the pup for his likes. His master side flared up and reproved her every chance it could get. But his human side was getting to like the pup for stepping up to the challenge.
Storming the castle was just the rouse he needed to slap the pup into action.
And giving the grappling hooks to the assasins was just for sheer fun.
His human ears picked up the sounds of stirring a few yards away. Only the few knew his thinking spot, and fewer would dare interrupt. One of those few was Grizz. With his long hair and beard he looked like a human grizzly bear.

Grizz hadent yet seen Ice thru the woods, but he knew where to go. . Ice slipped off the limb and wrapped up in his grey shifting cloak. He blended into the night air..
Grizz slowly stepped up to the sitting limb and, looked around..
" I know you are here Ice ,,, I can smell ya. So stop playing hide and seek, cause I got some news.."
Ice slipped into the path and walked up to the Grizz.. after clasping hands,
Ice let the smirk of playfullness fade..
" Info??? do tell"
"well , the funny of it all is that Tequilia beat some drunk half to death with a rolling pin.. He pinched her ass , and she rearranged his nads....Bitch can be moody when she wants too. "
"hell yeah but it takes an earth quake to get her fighting ,, "
" Well, she busted him up good,,,,ends up he was one of the heralds sent to post a warrant . , but made a detour.. We saw the warrant though. Sean is to be TAKEN INTO CUSTODY , which Kenta took for slapped silly and brought back .
"If he's lucky. Most in the kingdom dont care if your dead,, they can buy a healer."
"Kenta wanted you to know that the bar is humming with talk of a hunt.... a man hunt..
"I know ,,, my intell is the same....I dreamwalked into the regents mind and watched him sign the warrant in his sleep.....he was very detailed,,, so it has to be accurate..."
"Kenta also sez that those that are watching are not pleased about the castle ....it cost a lot to get those people pissed off enough to attack a strong hold like that. "
"Kenta doesnt know everything in this game. I pushed buttons myself to get a result. Now that result has a price on his head,,, and information to make the battle a worthwhile expense.
"You coming back to the bar??"
"No.. Tell Kenta that i may need TQ to run the shop a while ,,,,, tell him to dust off his goody bag,, we are going for a rabbit hunt..."
"I thought you liked sheep??"
Ice looked at grizz with his deepest scowl.....then snickered
"Smart ass"
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By royal decree of his majesty Ewen McFadden, the following individuals are wanted for questioning in relation to the assault on the Dhahran compound, and for conspiracy to overthrow the crown. These charges are based on EYE WITNESS accounts of their participation in the afore mentioned battle.

They are to be taken into custody and delivered to the king. I believe someone once said " Broken but not dead".

Any who give harbor to these individuals should consider themselves enemies of the state, and will be dealt with accordingly.

Gabriel Van Devic
Tice of Redhawk
Kenta of Redhawk

By order of his majesty King Ewen McFadden
Monarch of the Emerald Hills,
Knight of the flame,
Chieftain of the Saracen tribe Templar
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After almost a week of traveling damned near day and night, the foothills and underbrush have given way to forests and mountains. The stream that Sean had camped by a few days ago has turned into a river. The "goofy lookin' chicken" that had been his guide for the first part of this pilgrimage has not been seen for two or three days.

 The forest in which he now finds himself somehow seems very familiar. He cannot tell if he has ever actually been here or just in a dream.

As he settles down for the night the rumbling in his stomach rolls like thunder over a distant hill. A brief period of foraging through the forest yields only berries. Sean sits next to the fire , eats the berries and begins to nod off to sleep.....Or does he.

The scent of his horse and the warm glow of a fire that is now little more than a pit of coals let Sean know he is still in this world; in some form, at least.

The night air cool and aromatic. On the breeze a scent he'd never before smelled. The scent in the air inspires a wellspring of salivation and internal thunder. Off into the forest he goes. Following the river, sniffing at trees, drawing ever nearer to that glorious scent.

Finally on his ascent up a small hill he can see in the distance, a tower silhouetted in the full moon. From portals in the tower the glow of a fire pours out into the air around it....and that GLORIUOS SCENT.....FRESH MEAT!!! Quickly and silently Sean approaches the base of the hill on which the tower stands. His hunger now almost overwhelming.

As he crosses the stream in front of him he slips and gets three of his four feet caught in the mud. While struggling to free his himself he sees a large flat rock. He puts his free foot on the flat part of the rock and uses it to pull himself free. While shaking off the water and mud he notices a simple cane fishing pole.

AHHH, at last free of entanglement.....on to the tower.
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A proclamation from the Prince of Tow’land

To the Folks of Tow’land Forest and the Elves of Eryn Lasgalen.

The wandering bard of our respected groups, Changeling Darksong Jester, has a uncovered a plot of the Saracen King Macfadden.

The decree he sent out,  IS A TRAP.  His intent is to capture not only the rebels but kill even the folks who brought the rebels in.  His paranoia is getting to the point where he’s seeing assassins everywhere.  I hear that’s the reason his leutenant disappeared. He either escaped or was killed by his own king.  If the king is willing to strike down his own man, one of the Emerald Hills high ranking bards I must add, who will he strike down next.

Keep you guards up folks
May the Dreaming protect you all.

Leonardo DeLeon
Prince of Tow’land
*************************************

A message arrives for K’tai.

K’tai

Get out of the palace.
I fear for your life and your very soul.

Your bro.
Change
*************************************

A message arrives for Kenta

Hey you. I got the cubs, again!
They’ll be back whenever.
Try not to have too much fun.

Change
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning sky filled with clouds that threatened to open at any moment  and cover to earth with blankets of water. The Forest however were strangely  quiet.

While roaming through the forest in a form that was now easier to control  in search of food , Sean encountered a familiar scent. He did not feel threatened by it as he had before he had become confident that he could hold
his own against any of his new family.

"Well my friend, you have come along nicely. I was worried that you would  be destroyed, or destroy yourself."

"No, that is not an option. When you last visited me in Dhahran I knew not what you were, or what I was becoming...An evil trick you played on me..."

" Not a trick, A gift. With it you can do much more than you ever could as a mere human."

" Yes but in discovering this I have turned my back on all that I know and  have become an outlaw because of it."

" Welcome to my world. We will begin our walk together."

At that moment from over a hill bt the road a deep voice resounded through  the trees like a trumpet. " Not If I can help it."

"Oh shit, not him, not here, he'll recognize me and that will only make things worse."

At that moment from the forests around Sean and his new traveling companion a band of men dressed like vagabond warriors and took up a line with them against the coming party.

Sean recognized two of the party right off, Sir Logan and Sir Sparhawk.

Suddenly his resolve grew less solid and his grip on himself slipped. Before their very eyes Sean took the form he so long tried to keep hidden from his king and brethren. In a mindless rage he attacked.

"F#@K! , Don't let him be taken! He's to be kept here with us !"
At that moment the vagabond looking band sprang into action behind Sean.

During the battle Sir Spar noticed that his own squire ICE of Redhawk was attempting to champion the effort to thwart his serving of a royal warrant.
"Why, My friend, This only makes things worse for you."
" Your king doesn't belong on the throne and I will not rest until the crown leaves his head, or his head leaves his body!"
Another time SQUIRE! We will talk now I've business to attend to STAND ASIDE!
The battle went on for an eternity in brevity and when the dust settled Logan, Spar, Sean, & the bodies of their party were gone as if by magic.
"Damn, Now how we gonna get things done. The key to the vault is now back on the ring"

"And if that weren't enough" A voice from behind,"while wearing yourself  out against a superior foe you've made my job easier. I Gabrielle Van Devic  have come to serve a warrant on YOU as well. Men, ARREST THEM !"
From behind Gabrielle a band of men with fresh resolve and ready weapons encircled the party and took them into custody.
"His Majesty will be pleased"
 
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