Conversation+in+the+Forum

The Forum was large and circular with a dozen or more alcoves dotting the walls. The Shadow's keen eyes spotted gemstones embedded in each archway and words written above the doors. Though they were written in a language that he did not know, the shape of the letters looked strangely familiar. He assumed that the openings led to more gates like the one that he had come through. In the middle of the room was a grand table, also round, piled high with books, maps and papers. The Shadow's sharp gaze also saw that a young woman with damp ebony hair sat in a comfortable chair by a smaller table which was spread with food and drink. The Shadow noticed a pitcher containing an icy cold fruit wine with crystal goblets standing nearby. Also on the table were sweet red and sour green apples, large juicy grapes, crusty bread and soft goat cheese.The warm light came from lamps dotted around the room, with a brighter golden glow coming from a huge faceted topaz the size of The Shadow's head that was set in a holder like a globe. Automatically, he tried to calculate the price and quickly stopped. It was astronomical. The soaring ceiling of The Forum was lost in the darkness above. The Shadow hesitated.

"Come, my young friend, surely you do not resent me so much that you will refuse my hospitality? I assure you, I may deserve resentment, but not for saving your life. There are many other, better things that you could blame me for." The Fox chuckled again, and gestured toward the table. "Come, let me present you to Halyn Coalscale of Saqui Salvi." The Fox swept his hand through the air and The Shadow felt a rush of Shadow magic tinged with something that he could not name sweep past him as another chair materialized by the table. The magic tasted strange to Gerion, like someone had prepared a familiar dish with a foreign spice. "Halyn, this is The Shadow, The Wolfe Hound, and Grey, among other names."

The Shadow nodded and approached the table, eying the dripping girl and wondering what he had gotten into. The room appeared to be perfectly circular, as was the table. So he chose to sit across from the girl, and The Fox, as far as possible. The Shadow was not prepared to become friends with these people despite their apparent high status. He picked up an apple and took a bite out of the succulent green fruit. It tasted sour and sweet at the same time. Delicious. He tossed the apple into the air and grabbed it with a tendril of shadow magic, tossing it about. The Shadow soon released it and flung it at the wall as hard as he could. The Fox began to say, "I would prefer it if you didn't splatter fruit on-" just as the fruit passed through a shadow and dropped from the ceiling into The Shadow's hand yet again. The Shadow gave The Fox a dark smile and chuckled. The Shadow was in for an adventure with these people, but the other gates told him he wasn't the last to show up.

"Show off," The Fox observed wryly, as he threw his head back and laughed heartily. "I can see that time spent with you will not be boring. What fun we will have!" He was still laughing as he dropped into another comfortable chair near the table, totally at ease.

Halyn, who was absentmindedly turning her crystal wine glass, accidentally snapped the delicate stem, sending wine flying across the table and opening a gash on her palm.

The Fox casually gestured to gather the wine in a shadowy globe, which hung, spinning, in mid air. Another nonchalant motion and the wine poured into a new glass.The Shadow, a little startled, asked Halyn, "Um... are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine." Halyn focused her gaze on the spurting wound on her palm. She moved her other hand just over the top of her bloody palm and a beam of shimmering light flowed out of her fingertips and over the gash, sealing it.

"Well, that's impressive," The Shadow tentatively said, as he moved his chair just a tad away from the girl. In his part of the world light mages weren't as kind as this one appeared to be.

Halyn just shrugged and looked uncomfortably at her hands, which were then folded on the table. The Fox intently watched both his companions, his gaze serious, but a slight smile on his lips.

"You don't talk much, do you?" The Shadow asked Halyn.

The Fox grinned merrily and said, "Neither of you are stunning conversationalists." He chuckled. "Halyn, I think, feels a little out of place. She is not sure that she should be here. And you, my young Shadow, you seem to dislike me for some reason."

"Stop calling me that!" The Shadow exclaimed.

"That //is// your name, is it not?" The Fox asked impishly, one auburn eyebrow arched.

"No! I mean, yes, that is my name, I'm just not five years old!" He bellowed as he slammed his hands on the table.

"I didn't call you the //baby// shadow. Or the //toddler// shadow. But you are young, at least compared to me," The Fox replied lightly.

"I'm neither young nor old. Age is solely relevant to the person viewing it," The Shadow quipped as his anger slightly came out.

"True enough, and you certainly are old in experience." The Fox seemed to be having a splendid time teasing The Shadow. His amber eyes twinkled with amusement as he watched his two younger guests.

The Shadow just rolled his eyes and continued eating his apple. Shrugging off those around him had been a frequent necessity when working with assassins.

"Come, my youn..." The Fox stopped himself. "My apologies. That form of address is a term of endearment where I come from. It was not intended to be patronizing. Come, Shadow. We are so much alike, the two of us. Let us make peace between ourselves. We have enemies enough around us. Can we not be friends?" he held out his hand to The Shadow.

Being weary and open to a new chance, The Shadow graciously took the man's hand and shook it three times. When he stepped away to grab another apple from the other side of the table he bumped into The Fox. With deft hands he managed to lift a small bag of coins and slide the ring off the hand he had previously shaken. Snickering pleasantly, he took a bite of the apple.

The Fox glanced at him slyly. "Oh, and my dear Shadow, you can keep the coins. I daresay that I have more than enough. But I would like my ring back, please," The Fox said, as his delighted laughter rang in The Forum. The Shadow tossed The Fox his ring without another word, a crooked smile on his face. Still grinning, he said, "We may have a wait for the others to arrive. So, if you have any questions, this would be an excellent time to ask them." He reached over and poured himself a goblet of wine and then took some of the crusty bread, spread soft cheese on it and took a bite.

Halyn looked up from her hands awkwardly and asked, "Are you //sure// you don't want Izel?"

The Fox looked at her, quite seriously for once, and stated unequivocally, "Completely positive. I need a healer, not a diplomat."

"And why am I here? It appears that you already have the majority of my skills in your own set," The Shadow commented, taking another gaping bite of the sour apple.

The Fox grinned at him. "Well, it is true that many of our skills overlap, little brother. However, there are certain situations in which it is good to have more than one Shadow about."

The Shadow grimaced at the thought of being The Fox's little brother and said, "You spoke of others. What did you mean?"

"You are each a //representative// of your country. Perhaps I could even say hero. There are more coming, one from every region of Pyrosium." The Fox explained, in between bites of bread and cheese. Unlike his companions, he appeared totally relaxed and at ease.

"And of Fyriah?" The Shadow asked.

All traces of relaxation instantaneously left The Fox and he leapt to his feet suddenly, startling the others.

"There is only one //entity// who resides in Fyriah," The Fox snarled, "and we are not ready to deal with that yet." The Fox's jaw was clenched and the shadows behind him twisted, thickened and darkened. The others, for the very first time, saw how very dangerous the man before them could be. The Shadow wondered briefly if this was how he had looked before he had killed the Smiling Knives. Being almost sure of it, The Shadow resumed a quiet position, knowing full well that the Fox was on the brink. Halyn, meanwhile, was busy moving backwards away from The Fox. There was absolutely nothing in all of Saqui Salvi that she knew of that could do that.

The Fox pulled in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled slowly. The Shadow was astonished at the level of control The Fox showed. He himself knew how hard it was to control shadow magic once the caster was on the verge of releasing it. The shadows behind The Fox became lighter and then curled lovingly around him before they faded. The Shadow breathed a small sigh of relief. It seemed that the momentary anger had passed.

The Fox looked up at his companions, despair in his amber eyes. "I am so sorry, my friends. I should not have lost my temper like that. It is one of my failings, I am afraid. I try to control it, but sometimes..." he sighed. "Well, sometimes, it is difficult."

Then his body tensed. His head cocked to the side again. The Shadow found the gesture strangely reminiscent of a dog and found himself wanting to smile. It was an odd sensation. He had known the feeling of intense anger all too well. His anger had failed him many times before and he had only managed to tame the shadowy tendrils a few times. Shadow magic was powerful, and if you weren't careful the darkness would corrupt you beyond your reason. It may be possible that The Shadow did have something to learn from The Fox after all. He started to resent the similarities between himself and The Fox less and less. Though he still trusted the man, as much as he did himself or anyone else for that matter... barely, if at all.

"We have another guest or perhaps even two! The Shadow, would you draw two more chairs up to the table? Oh, and I hope neither of you dislike animals!" The Fox turned to a door that was set with chunks of amber around the portal. The amber began to glow and then a tall young man with black hair was standing there, a large ebony wolf by his side.

As The Shadow conjured up two chairs out of thin air, he felt a presence loom around him. One that reminded him of a man standing in candle light. Something he had never before experienced, it wasn't significant but for a moment he tentatively felt the wolf on the pommel of his bastard sword, just wondering what life would be like if Wolfe had lived.

"Hello Fox," the young man said. His wolf growled slightly. Nervous amber eyes flitted around the room, seeming to finally realize it was not just The Fox and himself. The boy's posture changed, straightening himself to his full height of six foot one, wanting to appear braver than he truly was.

"Welcome, my young friend!" The Fox replied.

“Again with the young,” The Shadow muttered darkly. What was it with this guy? The Shadow didn't buy the "term of endearment" excuse and surmised that The Fox had a superiority complex.

"I am glad to see you made your way here. That took courage. It was very well done." Then The Fox turned to the wolf and gave a short yip. The wolf replied with a series of barks and growls and then leapt forward, rose up on her hind legs and licked The Fox on the cheek. The wolf's companion was dumbfounded.

"Weylin, may I present The Shadow, and Halyn Coalscale. Please sit and refresh yourself. Ah, and let me get something for Nott." He rubbed the wolf affectionately between her ears and then gestured and a bowl of fresh meat appeared in his hand. He placed it on the ground for the wolf.

Halyn, still a little shaken up about the sudden outburst, moved back even more and stared, with a certain amount of fear, at the new and strange animal that had entered with the new and strange person. She was feeling much regret for having bothered to come. Very little was familiar to her there.

The Fox's body tensed again. "Another guest, it seems!" he exclaimed and he bounded over to a door frame which was adorned with turquoise. A blast of heat invaded The Forum.

"Hello, Fox. Nice to see you again after these years," the beautiful young woman said as she walked further into the room. Dark-skinned, toned, and adorned in light colored fabrics and feathers in her hair, the young woman looked like she had just stepped out of a tropical paradise. Her long black hair flew back as if in a breeze as she stepped through the doorway. One could tell that she was of some kind of royalty as she was wearing the biggest turquoise around her neck that anyone in the Forum had ever seen. But these weren't the most striking features. Everyone was staring at her mesmerizing big green eyes.

The Fox bowed to the young woman. "Princess," he said, winking at her, "happy birthday! You don't look a day over 18."

The woman laughed a little and then the Fox brought her over to the table. “This is Princess Andresa Zuzar,” The Fox said happily as he introduced her to the others.

"Oh please do not call me Princess!" Andresa begged, "You know how much I wish to not have that title."

"Very well" The Fox said pleasantly. "This is Andresa Zuzar."

It had quickly become too much for Halyn. Her throat felt tight, closed, and her lungs were starting to ache. She stood up, gasping for air, and turned to The Fox in unbridled terror and spluttered out a rushed, "I have to go home- I'm sorry," before attempting to escape through the gate where she had come. She managed to take two steps before a surge of Shadow magic washed over her, like a wave rolling onto shore with the power of the whole ocean behind it.. Halyn immediately felt calmer, the air was thicker and she was able to breathe. "Peace, little sister. No harm will befall you in the Forum. Be calm and breathe," The Fox's voice whispered in her mind.

Gates were opening quickly now and The Fox gave up trying to make formal introductions.

The Shadow said, "Well, who are they?"

"Just introduce yourselves!" The Fox said in a harried voice.

"Is our gracious host getting tired?" The Shadow asked sardonically.

The Fox just grinned at him and said, "This isn't as easy as it looks, you know, little brother," before bounding away to the next gate. The Shadow may well get used to the title, "Little Brother" it didn't seem to be disappearing.

A gust of summer wind flooded the Forum as a man with sandy brown hair and pale skin stepped through the gate.

"Ahh, Nicholas! So glad you could join us!" The Fox exclaimed cheerily. His eyes then took in Nicholas' haggard appearance. "Oh my! Halyn, would you help Nicholas to a seat?"

Halyn hesitated for a second, then jumped up to do so, taking Nicholas's arm and leading him to her own chair in an instinctual effort to help him, just in time for a blue creature with medium length antennas to step through yet another portal. There was a momentary pause as everyone stared, except for the Shadow, who just gnawed on his apple, and The Fox, who already knew him. Elek was trembling at his feet with everyone staring. He stepped back in fear of what they might do.

"Elek! Welcome!" The Fox said.

Nicholas looked up from his chair and said woozily, "I thought I gave up drinking!" Elek could not help but smile a little and chuckle.

Halyn, meanwhile, was backing away as discreetly as possible, so as not to let The Fox notice. Unfortunately for her, he did, and she backed into an arm of shadow, which wrapped around her comfortingly. She made a startled noise and stepped forward quickly.

"Shadow. You're not surprised?" The Fox queried, arching an eyebrow at the younger man.

"When you've been as many places as I have, nothing is that surprising," The Shadow replied nonchalantly.

Elek, meanwhile, the source of the commotion, just stood in front of his gate, motionless and confused.

"Come in, friend. No one will harm you here," The Fox urged.

Elek walked in timidly to the table they were sitting at and sat down next to the Fox, just as another door lit up. From the newly glowing gate emerged a young woman with long, dark brown hair hanging like curtains over her shoulders. She stood tall, holding onto a bow with a quiver of arrows slung across her back. Surveying the room, s he faded back slightly, then saw The Fox. "Fox!" She broke into a run and made haste toward The Fox to give him a warm hug which he returned. "Welcome, Veronika! I am glad to see you again!"

Once more, a gate opened and a male form staggered into the Forum, ragged and bleeding. As if his state were the least of his problems, the new arrival made eye contact with the blue person watching intently, and promptly fainted. Elek looked at him startled because of the red blood coming out of him.

Halyn jumped up and ran to the fallen form. She rolled him onto his back to examine the damage done, just in time for The Shadow to casually say, "Just wave a bone in front of him. That'll wake him." The majority of the room seemed surprised by this notion.

Halyn glared at The Shadow for just a moment before going back to tend the wounds. "What do you mean, anyway?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"Can't you smell it from here?" The Shadow asked in a mocking tone.

"What are you talking about?" Halyn, now that she had something to do, had gotten over her earlier fear, and was quickly becoming angry with the two men

"It's obvious. The //dog// has even noticed it," The Shadow replied, just as Nott padded over and began licking the face of the unconscious man.

Halyn sighed and began healing with her signature shimmering beam of light, then waited for the man to wake up.

The Fox grinned at The Shadow. "You do prove to be more and more intelligent, my friend," he teased.

The once unconscious man jolted awake, panicked and panting like a dog. "Good boy," The Fox murmured.

"That's quite enough," Halyn snapped, clearly having heard too much criticism coming from both of them already.

The Shadow and The Fox exchanged glances, clearly taken aback by the temper that mild Halyn had shown. "We're sorry, Halyn," they chorused and then they grinned at each other and snickered. The two started laughing harder and harder until they had an uproarious cacophony. After about a minute of this the two of them composed themselves, and dropped their eyes to the ground. It appeared to The Shadow that they were becoming fast friends.

"Oh, little brother," The Fox said, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes, "I am so glad you are here at last!" The Fox's voice was so full of affection that even The Shadow could not take offense.He had never shared a laugh like that in his whole life, and he knew there was some connection with this man. For in fact The Fox wasn't the only one who had the ability to learn things without being found. The Shadow had a small knack for knowing things about people as well. Indeed, he knew more than he let on about the man laughing in the corner, though he was suspicious that The Fox may very well have surmised this himself.

Halyn was busy with the wounded man, so The Fox asked the others to move the refreshments to the larger table. The Fox then gestured to The Shadow. "Shadow, a word in private, if you please?" The Shadow followed The Fox to a place near the glowing topaz. "Shadow, I am sure that you are aware that there is a certain segment of the population which seems to distrust magic users like us. In fact, Shadow mages are, wrongly of course, looked at as evil. We both know this is untrue, but some of the representatives may need a bit of...shall we say...convincing...in this area. Especially Talos and Ryan. I just wanted you to be aware of this, in case there is any trouble. I find it's always better to be prepared."

Nicholas, after having categorized what went where in his mind, looked around at the strange group assembled around him. Quickly from looking around he surmised that the man he knew as The Fox was not here. He closed his eyes and concentrated and could feel the vibrations in the air from the direction he guessed them to be in. He began to pick up on a conversation they were having.

The Fox's head snapped up and he turned his amber eyes on Nicholas. "A private conversation is meant to //stay// private," the Fox said loudly in his mind. Nicholas clearly heard the Fox's anger. And then the Fox and the Shadow were quickly draped in darkness and he could neither see nor sense them.

Nick's headache instantly doubled, whether it was from the booming words or the force the Fox had cast upon him, he did know not. What he learned was that with new power comes new need to control it and that the Fox was not to be tampered with. As he tried to keep his brain from turning into mush, he realized how hungry he was and turned his attention to the bounty of food that was spread before him. Going over what had transpired hours before, Nick realized he could have been unconscious for hours or even days. He plucked an orange from the table and suspended it in mid air as if held up by a transparent thread. He willed the orange to spin and it obliged. It spun faster and faster and as Nick pointed his finger at the orange the skin fell away from the orange as if an invisible knife was doing the work. When it was perfectly peeled, it plopped down into his hand and Nick devoured it along with some bread that was nearby.

A portal made entirely of iridescent black stone lit up and a young woman in full battle attire shot out of the gate, immediately falling to her knees. “Whoa, that’s a rush!” she exclaimed. Standing, she heard a subtle cough and looked up. “Oops... Did I do it wrong, or am I supposed to be here? Because there were no instructions and trust me, it was really hard to get that thing going.” As she spoke she gestured with her sword causing a few wary eyes to follow it. Then suddenly it pointed at the Fox. “Hey, you, wow, first, you got a bit old. Second, couldn’t you have put in a better clue in that letter? It took me forever to figure it out! And third...” she finally took a better look around her and noticed the opulent hall. “Where am I?”

The Fox smiled and and gestured slightly, causing a wisp of shadow magic to point the sword in a less lethal direction. He then held out a hand to her to help her up. "First, yes, I have gotten a bit older, but it's better than the alternative, I find. Second, I couldn't make it too easy, now could I? No prize is without effort after all. And third, welcome to the Forum, Princess."

He introduced her to all the others and then turned to a gate the seemed to be set with diamonds. A young woman, glowing faintly and with her eyes tightly closed, was standing at the gate and with her was a wide-eyed young man.

"Oh dear," The Fox breathed. "I was //not// expecting two people." He pinched the bridge of his nose, showing the first sign of weariness that the group had yet seen. He turned his head, finding The Shadow without a moment's hesitation. "Little brother," he said, "I may need your help."

She opened her eyes to see a circular room filled with several people she didn’t know. Only one stood out as familiar: The Fox. The others watched her, waiting for her to speak. She opened her mouth. She struggled to produce words before they finally flowed from her sore throat.

“Oh boy. This is heaven, isn’t it?”

"No, my dear," The Fox said gently. "This is The Forum." Only The Shadow noticed the forced quality of The Fox's smile. "Friends, this is Iis Oble. And Iis, who, may I ask, is your companion?"

"This is Tross. I'm sorry. He was helping me with the gate, see, and I told him not to follow me but he followed me and he ended up helping me and then there were spiders so he came here too and I'm sorry." Tross, meanwhile, observed, in awe, the room they stood in. It was something brilliant that he had never seen before. He took this all in, knowing that it was his luck to be here in the first place.

"I see," said the Fox. "Well, that was very ...gallant...of you, Tross. However, you must go back."

"He can't go back! Are you serious?" Iis cried. "There were spiders! I just told you! They'll kill him for sure if you send him back! Please!" She was on the verge of tears.

The Fox rubbed the bridge of his nose again. He sighed and turned to the Shadow at his side. "He must be sent back and all knowledge of this place and Iis must be removed from his mind. I may need your help with that," the Fox murmured.

"I don't see what the problem is. Just send him back through the gate. You can do that, can't you?" the Shadow asked.

"Of course I can," the Fox snapped, "but that's not the point. We can't just send him back to be eaten by giant spiders!"

The Shadow shrugged. "Why not? Why expend the energy mind-wiping him when he's going to be spider bait as soon as he walks through the gate?"

"Shadow," the Fox said. It was clearly a warning.

"It was just a question! Two birds, one stone and all that," the Shadow replied.

"No," the Fox stated. "We simply can't, though that might be the most expedient solution. Hmmm. Let me think." In the end, the Fox and the Shadow worked together to remove all memory of the Forum, the gate and Iis from Tross's mind. It was a delicate process, and one that took time, however it worked. They send him back through the gate, wrapped in shadow-magic so that he was invisible to the spiders, and set a compulsion in his mind to go back to his shop. And then, he was gone.

The Fox looked around the room at the people who had gathered. He was tired. He had expended much of his energy that day and to what purpose? He took a few minutes to eat a little more and quench his thirst. What he really needed was rest, but it would apparently be a while before he got that. At that moment, he felt the familiar tug of another portal opening and he saw the rubies on one of the gates begin to flash and glow. Smiling, he strode over and waited until it opened and a petite, painfully thin young woman stumbled out before collapsing to her knees. He extended a hand to help her up, which she batted away. Then a look of recognition appeared on her face. The Fox smiled.

"Well, it's about time," he said lightly, "We thought we were going to have to start without you."

He took Muirin's arm and tucked it in his own. He led her to the table where the lavish spread of food made her mouth water. The Fox looked for Halyn, but she was still busy with Rielan, the wounded man. He called to Andresa.

"Andresa, Muirin has had little food for a very long time. Would you please see to it that she does not overeat? Try to limit her portions...oh, and make sure she drinks the water, not the wine.

Andresa agreed and the two women picked up plates and sat down next to each other, Andresa engaging Muirin in quiet conversation.

The last few portals opened almost at the same time, revealing two regal men in full armor, a young woman with a bow and finally an odd looking man wearing goggles. The Fox moved over to the latest arrival. "Consilium. I know how hard it must have been for you to come here. Thank you."

"I must apologize for my intemperate behavior, Fox. Please forgive my ignorant attitude." Consilium implored as he extended his hand.

The Fox took the young man's hand and shook it. "No, my friend. It is I who should apologize to you. I wish I could have saved your father too, but I was forced to make a choice. I knew that I had to save you. You, in fact, were key to the Prophecy and perhaps the survival of the entire world. But please believe me, if I could have done any more, I would have done so. Welcome to the Forum, Consilium. I believe that we shall do great things here."

"Indeed we shall." He replied with a smile. His eyes wandered the extravagant room, noting the dozen faces that bore looks of confusion and doubt, but also easiness.

A man in a dark cloak with a heavy pace walked forward from the amassed people and jokingly said, "Welcome to The Forum, best food in the world, arguably the worst company. Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, little brother," the Fox laughed.

I am called the Shadow, and you are?"

"Such a bizarre group indeed. My name is Consilium Ucciont, how do you do?"

"I would certainly be doing better back in Pretium. I wouldn't have come had I not owed the Fox so much, my life even. I resent him, though I have no reason to. Perhaps I am afraid that he is like I am." The young man then sent a wisp of shadow magic to gather an apple. He then took a large bite of the luscious green fruit.

Consilium could feel a kinship with this man already. "He was there at my father's...passing. I understand there is little he could do, however, ill feelings remain. But as you are a User, perhaps you could aid me." He removed a tattered tome from his satchel. "Although I wasn't given much time to study it, I'm normally quite apt to understanding things. I confess, I don't know what to make of it."

The Shadow gestured to the tome in the man's hand. Consilium tentatively handed it over and the Shadow looked inside. "Well, this is indeed very interesting. This language was taught to me by the people who raised me, as far as I knew it was only used for small messages. It is inlaid with intelligent magic. Here let me see your hand." The Shadow gripped Consilium's hand and muttered a short burst of shadow magic. "There, you should be able to understand it now."

"It's strange.." Consilium whispered. "This book was the very reason of my getting here, and the manner of how I obtained it was under bizarre circumstances as well. As you may have noticed, as you are one with the darkness, there is a presence about me. It is contaminating my very aura."

"No my friend, I think you misunderstand the magic, it isn't contaminating your aura by any means. In fact it seems that..." The Shadow just gaped at the man, pondering how it was possible. "It appears you have an ability that I have only heard of."

"What? What is it that worries you?"

"Not a worry my fellow, rather something very very interesting." The Shadow then lifted a small watch off of the man's wrist in a deft motion. He dropped it on the floor and stomped on it with a quick blow.

"What in blazes was that for?!"

"Hold up friend, let your anger dissipate for a second." The Shadow let the man collect his wits. "Now, what is it that you can feel. Reach out with your mind and touch on the watch on the floor. What can you sense?"

Consilium could sense some type of presence within the mechanism. Astounded, he replied, "I..there is some sort of life force, perhaps.. I can feel it emanating from the core. The gears, I-" He trailed off as the watch seemed to regenerate and piece back together within seconds.

"That is immaculate. I have never seen anything like it before, I think the term is technopathy, are they common where you come from? Even if they are, based on your natural ability, and raw power you should become a formidable master of the art." The Shadow grinned and let out a hearty laugh and clapped the new technopath on his back.

"No. At least, none that I know of. Rithundun's advancement is directly proportional to knowledge. It is viewed (perhaps "thought" would be better here?) the greater understanding one has, the more powerful a man he is viewed. It would not seem unnatural that one on the council would possess such abilities." Consil bent to retrieve the watch, but only to find it wiggle in the slightest degree. "However, I wasn't capable of such things before obtaining that dusty old tome on Fyriah."

"Fyriah, you say? Perhaps that is why you have a dark connotation towards this tome. I assure you that the tome is older than the plague on Fyriah. I suggest you practice this new talent whenever you can, it is your gift, as is my raw skill, the Fox's control and wit. Yes, we are a very strange group, and getting stranger. Keep learning abut this skill. I guarantee that it will save your life.

"With your guidance, I would gladly pursue such a path. I daresay, such a deed wouldn't be repaid without some knowledge in return. I will continue to study this and inform you of my findings." A smile slowly crept across Consil's face as he scanned the others in the Forum. "Yes, I do believe that our acquaintance will grow into a great colleague-ship."

"I should say that I will hardly be able to guide you in any manner. Though that book will suffice as your teacher. I would like to be kept up on your findings and perhaps I shall teach you a trick or two if I can. Though I think you can keep this from the Fox for the time being." The man smiled a dastardly Cheshire grin. "If that is what you wish."

"My friend, perhaps he is already aware." The two men looked across the room and met the eyes of The Fox who gave them a small grin and a jaunty wave.

"Yeah. He knows." The Shadow shook his head.

"Due to the, shall we say, unique abilities each of us possess, I can only derive that we shall be split up into small parties. In the case that we are not together, I shall inform of anything at the earliest convenient time."

"I shall do the same for you. I may seem rather adept, but I have a lot to learn as well. I have issues with I guess the word would be...control. Either way my friend I assume we shall meet in a short time whether or not we are separated at this point in time."

With a nod, they turned their attention to the man who called them here.

The Fox looked at all of the assembled company before him. At last they were all gathered together. But he knew that they were not yet ready. There were still issues of trust to work out. He needed to find out how they would work together and as teams.

"My friends," The Fox said, "I am glad that you have made it thus far. I tell you now, we are all part of a great plan. You may wonder how I know you are involved. This great topaz is the answer. Golden topaz imparts clear seeing. This stone allowed me to see people with...shall we say...potential. You are those people. One of you from every region except Fyriah for that is the abode of our enemy. I know that some of your regions are fighting each other, or even fighting within yourselves. But please, believe me when I say there is a greater enemy, one who sows the seeds of discord among us and who wants us divided rather than united. This enemy has sent out plagues and illnesses, discord and strife. This enemy seeks to tear us apart because it fears what we can do together. We cannot let this enemy succeed."

"Quite the unique group of people you have gathered here, in such a surreal meeting place I might add." Consilium piped up. "However, I cannot help but remain disquieted. A man followed me back to that dreadful island. Is this the enemy of which you speak, or perhaps has a connection to this felon?"

"An interesting question, Consilium," the Fox replied. "The one piece of good news that I have is that our enemy cannot physically leave Fyriah, at least not at the moment. He is...tied...there. Think of it as his stronghold. However, I believe that he has sent out servants, minions if you will, to carry out his order and do his bidding. These are the people who we will target first. And such a one, I feel, is the man which you describe."

"Do we have any information regarding his appearance? Perhaps one of us came across him unknowingly."

"My family, Consilium, has done much research into our common foe. In fact, for thousands of years, we have known of its presence in Fyriah. But now, it grows stronger. It reaches out, influencing the minds of the weak or the evil. It turns them to its purposes and they spread like a plague through Pyrosium, This is where we start the war, my friends. For years, I have been tracking the movements of these minions. Now it is time to act. I am asking you to go to several different regions where I have found great activity from our enemy. For the most part, I am asking you to go to regions other than your own.

Halyn, Fevrea, Andresa and Elek, I am asking you to go to The Shadow's home country of Pretium. There are illnesses and plagues spreading throughout the land and I believe that the source of the disease is in Pretium. This is why I needed a healer, Halyn. I need you four to try and find and stop the cause of the illnesses.

Rielin, Nicholas, Muirin and Veronika, I am sending you to the border of Rithundun and Xanibya. There is a war brewing and I need you to stop it. I don't know how you are going to do this. Rielin, no one knows the border better than you. That is why I am asking you to go with this group.

Weylin, Consilium, Iis, and Ryan, you are to go to Arlyn. Arlyn has been completely cut off from all of the rest of Pyrosium. This troubles me. I need you to go and find out what is going on there.

Finally, Esme, Talos, the Shadow and I are heading for Grieum. News has reached me that the king has been put under some sort of mind control. It is thought that the possession is unbreakable, which is why I need the Shadow with me. We will be able to do much more together than we will apart. Esme and Talos, we will likely need some protection. Also, Talos, it would make a convenient excuse for you to visit a fellow monarch. We will release the king, if possible, and investigate rumors of a supply line to our enemy in Fyriah. In two weeks time, we will hopefully meet back here to make further plans.

Does anyone have any questions?

Place this wherever it goes once the conversation allows it, I just want to get it written down. Also if you do not like how I worded The Fox's sentences then feel free to change them or add whatever you want. I'm just getting the basic ideas down.

Nick perked up when he heard that The Fox, The Shadow, Talos, and Esmé were going to Grieum, his home.

"Fox, wait!" Nicholas said

"What is it my young friend?" The Fox inquired.

"If you are going to Grieum then you should go to Ebova and seek out The Runners, an organization of messengers who is hired for special tasks. Ask to speak with Elishia and if they ask for a reason tell them I sent you. Once you are alone with Elishia tell her the passphrase 'We help those who help our own' and she will provide whatever help she can. The helpers are volunteers so hopefully since I am the #1 runner you will have some help out of respect rather then scorn out of envy. Once through the gate you will find the Air Walkers who are now dead and the environment they have created. It will be warm so you will not need heavy layers and there is a forest which leaks oxygen down the mountain for you to breathe. It does get cold once you leave the environment and begin the decent down. That is all the information I can give you and I wish you four good luck on your travels.