The sun was hidden in patch of gray luminous clouds. Ahead walked Erkenak and besides Lithar, Garl. They began to head up the hill, which used to look like a mound of flowers and grass forged by Naura herself. Instead, they now stood lifeless, trampled by the orcs. Finally, Erkenak broke the silence.
��I hate the blasted beasts! Why must they be so tall and forboding. Why in our city of nard��ha��dum we would have no needs for this beast! Ah�K nard��ha��dum that��s what you could call a city! Gems! Gems everywhere Garl!�� At the mere mention of this city Erkenak��s eyes lit up. Why the dwarf had left the city, which he so obviously loved, Lithar could not decipher. So Erkenak continued talking for about half the afternoon.
When they had covered much land they finally reached an area where Erkenak deemed it safe to rest. So they rested on the cleft of a rock and watched down at the town, which was by now a tiny speck in the strangely growing fog. ��So Erkenak, I have thought it over and have found that hmm�K we are 2997 men weak of a army that could so assault those orcs. How would we find Kharlie and rescue her without ourselves getting caught in the process?�� said Lithar. With this Erkenak pondered for a while stroking his beard. �� It would seem wise to say that we could not at present hope to save your Kharlie from the deeds the orcs carry out. Do not despair young one. I know the fortress of Mare well as any dwarve would ever. The king, he must give help to a friend!
Then Garl chimed in �� But, Mr.Erkernak sir, what would we do should Mare fall? I have heard that it has been under constant attack by the day. If GrandPlains were to send part of its vanguard to search for one small child should it be not a waste of lives? With our powers divided the orcs would easily strike and Mare would be first to fall!�� He thought for a long time then spoke once again �� I prefer a covert approach I would think! Us Certa , we are the best sneakers of em all and there is surely not a man that would question the powers of a Certa!��
��Perhaps young one. However, we have not seen the situation. We cannot even assess it until we gather more information. Until then I say we move onward! The summit of the first hill is ahead, The skies are darkening. We should try to get the bottom of this hill at the statue of Ular.�� Said Erkenak with a tone of finality.
�� Go we must, I agree, but I have not eaten since the battle. Can we not spare sometime to eat wise dwarf?�� said Lithar mockingly
�� No we may not, though I have packed food in your sacks we cannot afford to eat now as the sun is going down. Continue we must and not wait. We have delayed already. Darkness falls upon us. In here many wild beasts lay I should not want to be ambushed in blind darkness��
With this frightening prospect Lithar kept silent and they kept walking. Ahead the sun was setting very quickly, the sky had shifted from blue to orange and pink, the sky now changed into dark blue with faint traces of light. Lithar felt too cold to say anything so he just kept trotting along. An eternity seemed to pass, but finally they arrived at the Ural statue. There, Erkenak pulled out some sticks from his sack and began to start a fire.
They warmed up around the tongues of the burning flame and took out some food. It was of dried roots and much different kinds of plants. Hardly the hearty meal they had enjoyed at home. ��If I had known the food was going to be this bad I would have never bothered coming��, said Garl. �� Ah it would do your fat belly some good!�� said Erkenak. Then he added �� Though I am not fond of this food either he said�� Lithar fearing some reminiscing decided to pull out a very famous plant, Dolbas out of his pants pocket and stuffed it into a lacquered pipe. It had a strange glow as the fires danced on its glossy image.
��Ah Dolbas! Soothes the soul in a time of need or so I have heard. Though I have never actually tried any.�� Said Erkenak �� Ah the taste it is smooth as a stream and brings you back to the days�� remarked Garl as if he had suddenly aged many hundreds of years. �� Would you like to try some �� Lithar asked. �� I haven��t got a pipe but if we found a stream we could wipe it off�� �� Sounds good to me!�� replied Erkenak. So it was that Garl and Lithar spent the night smoking Dolbas. The first night melded away as they fell asleep near the fire in the warmth of some quilts.
At last the sun shone in the morning. Instead, Lithar woke up to dark mists that look almost black and stank of a deadened swamp. The only thing he could see was the Ular statue. He sat for a while then pulled out his crushed roots and some left over bread from 2 days ago. It was stale now, however it tasted like kingsflesh to him. He imagined it tasted tender and deliciously warm with butter that glided down his tongue as the dry morsel of food slid down his throat. Then, Erkenak awoke keen to his surroundings.
�� This black mist, it is no doing of nature a great presence of evil lies here. I never thought to find evil this close to the homeland.�� said Erkenak in a small voice as if someone was listening on there conversation. So they awoke and they traveled on, passing the bright statue that seemingly challenged the darkness. That too faded into the torrents of fog. They headed upwards into a steep hillside.
�� Soon we shall be entering the dark forest, Duskdeep, it is said that those that harm the trees there should be forever cursed, so try not to cleave anything, though I hate the forest as well.�� Said Erkenak �� But Mr. Erkenak sir as long as you take heed of your own words I will follow up, however can you enlighten us as to who Ular was and why they fashioned him a stone statue?�� said an inquisitive Garl ��Surely this statue is a great work of art in the darkness it stands like a beacon of hope. It is strange indeed, how you do not know how this statue was made. So I will tell you though it might not answer all your questions. I would have nothing else to say about these things. Be observant and find out for yourself.�� So Erkenak began �� In the age of your ancestors on the last stand of Khlada-mir a great battle was fought. The great citadel had been besieged and all hope was lost. Inside the citadel lay an unimportant child at the time. As part of the assasins guild Ular was hired to finish off all signs of the Certa. After the citadel first layer was burned the guild was sent in to kill the remaining Certa. They sent in a group that consisted of 10 men with Ular at the head of them. Ular ordered them to branch off. He himself found a child. That child was your mother! He raised the child for many days�K Until the seers of Naura found him here in the mountains nursing him. At once Naura turned him instantly to stone. So you can see he is not a sculpture but a man.��
��Spending eternity in stone, worse then death. Naura�K isn��t she good?�� asked Lithar ��All gods have a dark side�� Erkenak replied
So they debated about this until it would be noon, though they did not know it. Ahead it was still climbing but in there way lay a dark and mysterious forest. It��s canopy stretched into the sky and farther. The horses that they rode on seemed strangely compelled to enter this area for they rushed forward without being given the command. Soon the entrance could be seen. Though it was dark and gloomy Lithar felt a strange safeness as he entered
��Blasted beasts don��t obey at all!�� yelled Erkenak �� It is strange normally horses would be most reluctant to enter the forest, I would thought that I was to walk them in. This seems strange indeed,�� said Lithar �� Ah but this forest is large and we may lose our horses before the end yet. Though I have not traveled this far I have heard of strange dealings happening in here�K�� ��Ah lighten up Garl its trees what can the trees possibly do to us?�� said Lithar in his brightest tone.
They walked in this manner for half an hour. The mere sound of a cricket scared Garl. The trees grew on a sort of hilly area that surrounded them. It looked to them like they were in a valley of trees as the blocked the left and the right a made a clear passage. Every once and a while they would change direction sharply. It seemed all very confusing. This finally broke Erkenak��s dwarven will. �� That is it! These forests are haunted with the strangest of trees! Even now they constantly shift they bows to confuse us! Ah a different route should we have taken, we are now stuck in the forest, and I fear stuck forever��
��Yet it is you who led us down this path Erkenak should you know such an ominous passage lay ahead why did you take this passage? You knew of this forest since you must have traveled here on your way to the GrandPlains! If we are here we might as well find a spot in which we can find a source of water. My waterskin is all but empty��
So Erkenak stayed quiet his tone. They searched as best as they could but the forest was dictating a path for them. Eventually, they came upon a small stream. It was trickling out from beneath a broken tree trunk and it was so small Lithar wondered if it was just left over rainfall. He took a great scoop of the water and lay it upon his face. It seemed to refresh him so. That he felt he could do anything.
�� Ah indeed this water has magical properties I can feel magic coursing through my vains!�� said Lithar Interested Garl took a swig and remarked �� Amazing!�� Erkenak did not like the refreshing ale at all. He said it would be a forest trap therefore he brought it in a canteen and hoped he would not have to use it. �� I do not trust these things elven magic they air to me!�� �� Elves? Do you think there could be any elves in this thick forest? I have heard of great elven cities but I have only�K�� Garl was stopped short by a rustling sound and then out of no where 10 elves appeared with bows that sprang from nowhere. Their eyes were dark chestnut. They were an ancient race that hearkened to an older time. They seemed almost calm even though the flame of battle currently grew larger and larger in their eyes. Lithar could almost see back through the aeons just by staring at them. They had finely chiseled features and the fabled long elven ears. They were slightly shorter the human but still taller then dwarves