Waking to the sound of trickling water into a pond, Tristan’s eyesight gets clearer. His vision shows him a young human girl ringing out a cloth, and the dripping water into the shell looking bowl sounded to his head louder than it was. Around the girls neck was a familiar necklace shown to him not long ago, and closing his eyes he goes into a state of disappointing agony for the thought that Stark did not survive. Sitting up and opening his eyes again from laying in a hammock, Tristan looks around to the sight of trees and the sound of singing birds of exotic display, thinking that he is deep within a forest and has no chance of finding a way out himself he turns to the girl.

“I’m sorry, for Stark he tried and hang on as long as he could, he wanted me to give you that necklace” Tristan said moving his stiff sore back to look to her better.

“I know it’s ok; it was hard to see him like that but he is now blessed, and all is well” Lilly said with a smile and putting the cloth over Tristan’s forehead again.

“Well I got to admit your taking this very well for a girl of your age, considering you just lost your father”

“You mean this father!” cried a voice from the trees and focusing hard Tristan could make out a very big man coming at the north of his cot.

“Stark?” question Tristan not fully trusting his vision,

“Yes, it is me you stubborn Captain, because of you I had to give her the necklace myself” and coming up to his side he grabs Tristan’s hand, shaking it firmly he turns it into a hug “And what a great feeling it was to do” Stark smiles

“Is Alisianna….” inquires Tristan

“She is alive and well, she waits for you down at the pond when your mobile enough to move” and turning away from Tristan’s sight he lowers he head with a concerned thought “I warn you though she wasn’t happy to be told how the saving of her life went about, so go easy and choose words carefully with her” he concludes looking back up at Tristan, and nodding his head Tristan thanks him for the rescue,

“Thank me! It is I who has to thank you, for if it wasn’t for you the elders that Lilly got to wouldn’t have had nothing to try and heal, and as you can see I’m on both legs standing tall” he smiles after his thanking speech and leaves Tristan to rest quietly.

A while later Tristan makes his way down to the pond, seeing some elders along the way they thank him for executing the situation well and award him with a song of honor. Accepting this humbly he then proceeds to the pond; close to the waterline she sits on her knees head down looking like she was praying. Tristan walks up slowly to her and sees her holding the ring Cloud gave her tightly in her hand, she looks at it intently and then putting it back on her finger, thinks to herself while spinning it around. At first Tristan says nothing just watches and waits to see if she will face him.

Not moving an inch he knows that she knows he is standing there, but doesn’t have the courage to look, taking a deep breath he then talks.

“Alisianna, look I know that you don’t probably want to see or even talk to me, you don’t have to look at me but please just hear me out.

I’m sorry; for how it happened but not for what happened up there, for I was given a great choice to make; to either save your life risking a very prosperous friendship or save the professional Captain bond of brotherhood Cloud and I share. I made my decision and if given another chance to redo it all again, if I had to I would, and I wouldn’t change a thing that transpired. Now you may not agree with it and be angry for how the final result was, the truth is you should, it should eat away at you every time you look at me and you know why; because you’re a loyal loving wife to Cloud, and right now he is all you should be thinking about” with that said he turns to leave but is stopped by the soft sound of her broken hurt voice

“Tristan, please wait” she said turning to finally look upon his face “From when I first started to know and understand Cloud, I fell hard for his compassion and his enduring will of self-sacrifice for life, and I now see that in you; I don’t mean that I love you but when it comes to safety, there are now two men in my life that I will now place full trust in” she finishes with coming up to him and embracing him with a big hug and a peeking kiss to his cheek. “I know how uncomfortable you were when you got close to me, and could feel how disloyal you felt to Cloud when you did what you did, and that was most important to me; it showed to me that you are very worthy to the title of Captain and I thank you for it” and concluding her sentence she then walks past him but he doesn’t follow behind her, he waits to let some moments and space come between them and smiling to himself he then moves to follow.

Arriving at the desecrated hills; Cynn, Maylor, Straud, Artanis, Cloud and Dawn take a quick look around the area. Seeing sights of unearthed graves and pushed back tombstones, the ground was covered by a misty eerie fog not settling on the ground but moving as if alive, a sharp cold chill followed the group everywhere they went and a disowning discomfort perched in their stomachs warning them not to be here.

Cloud and Straud find the first catacomb entrance and Cynn gets a funny feeling with having no conflict, so far it seemed too easy for her. Going in and down a flight of stairs which went on for a short while taking them about fifty feet below the surface the group arrive to a mausoleum like room, dead lords and ladies now lay in stone beds with great stone covers to protect them. Their names are carved into the sides of the tomes and a single motion of their greatness now rests, a carved display of such power by a single still image imprinted on the stone face representing them.

“Looks like this is a preparation room for the afterlife journey” stated Maylor and not spending another moment in the room they press on, the catacombs have a musty damp stuffy smell to the air, the old grey stone walls and floor where covered with cobwebs and old lantern fire torches that the group had difficulty lighting up. But as the tunnel cavern seemed to widen the group enters a room that is fairly large and high.

“Looks like a training room of some sort” Straud says drawing his blade with a weary feeling coming over him, joining him is Cloud and Artanis and searching around for a while longer the door they entered closes shut. Artanis walks quickly paced to the door and with reefing attempts tries to open it,

“It’s locked” he blurts out

“Someone knows we’re here” Dawn says pulling out her staff spotting Dread knights; skeletons from the cursed stories of the massacred men with armor and magical weapons emerge from an opening door across the room, and hold high resistance to magic from both schools mage and priest alike.

“Spread out” Cynn commands “Don’t let their knights see us in clusters”, and not giving them any time to react and plan Cynn casts spells right toward the door, ducking and dodging varies spells countless warriors pour into the room and combat the Drow. Weapons and spells erupted all around and as blades smash together, the Drow group starts to over skill and beat down the Dread knight fighters, getting close to one another Dawn and Artanis go back to back fending off the foes.

A distant Dread knight seeing the two judges their positions on the ground and hitting a lever along the wall, the floor beneath the two gives way. Artanis and Dawn disappear into the dark hole in the floor with only a faint scream to be heard that is drowned out to the rest from most of the battle going on around.

Waking up at the base of the fall, Dawn rolls over and slowly opens her eyes, she sees Artanis still knocked out and hears the battle through the opening they fell through raging on above. Shaking awake Artanis who then opens his eyes, he looks to Dawn staring at him

“Are you ok?” he says sitting up and shaking his head to jog his senses back alive,

“I’m ok just a bit bruised…you?” she replies

“Having some trouble breathing but I’ll be fine” Artanis shorts out from his mouth and holding his side he slowly climbs to his feet,

“Sorry that was my fault from landing on you, you broke my fall” she said helping him up

“Well that’s me, always there to try to do something good” and looking up Artanis hears the shouting of Cloud and Straud fighting above “We should try to find a way up there, they’re going to need our help” and trying to support his own weight from wind loss, Artanis and Dawn move from the room they were in to a large open cavern adjacent to the one they were currently in.

Moving into the large cove like cavern the two gazed upon the giant sculpted spike stone rocks, which molded out from the floor and the ceiling of the room. They saw pretty much nothing else as well as no door way up and even out. Dawn looks intently with her dark elf vision allowing her to see almost as clear as day down in such a dark cove spotting a statue across the cove; it has a great height and carries a general appearance of a huge orc. Over bearing teeth came from its stone shaped mouth and a monstrous head formed on its shoulders, showing no carved out hair it looks bald and broad build, it had two humanoid legs and two arms that where extended straight outward from its body holding a black glossy egg like object in its clawed like hands. Its eyes were carved to a deep stare which to Dawn looked as if it peered into her soul. Moving over to get a closer look with her Artanis is distracted by a glimmer in the corner of his eye; he moves his head to reveal to his eyes a small pond of water making a perfect half-moon shape at the corner of the room off to the left of the statue.

“Hey Dawn check this out, I found some water and maybe a way out of here” said Artanis racketing his voice off the stone dome structure hoping that she would hear it.

“You should see this statue Artanis, it’s a demon of some sort and it’s holding something, I’m not sure what though” and about to touch the object in its clutches Dawn suddenly is torn away from her studying to the loud sound of her name being shouted.

Spinning her head toward Artanis she sees him gripping his left hand and rolling around on the ground in pain, running to his side she pries his right hand from holding his left one to see Artanis’s skin being dried out flaking to the ground, almost having vision of muscle and bone from his hand Dawn carefully covers it with her own hands and starts a healing chant to repair the damage.

“Ahhh!” Artanis cried out again “It burns like acid and heat” he said again to her and only seconds past before the glow from her healing ability began to slow his breathing and calm him down, by the look on his face the pain seemed to have been lifted and removed and staying there for a while longer Dawn removed her hands to see that the heal was working, placing them back on till his hand was fully healed she asked him.

“What happened Artanis” Dawn questioned

“I just put my hand into the water to test it, as soon as I did it my hand immediately started to smoke, I felt my hand starting to burn, when I lifted it out of the water the gloves were alright but my skin under it was on fire”

Dawn looks to the pool of water and spits into it, waiting for a reaction nothing happens, Artanis is told to place the blade of his sword into the water, and doing so reveals nothing.

Dawn then takes her staff and places it in the water to again reveal nothing, finally she pokes her finger into it and gets the same acidic burning feeling to her tip as to his hand, closing her burnt fingered hand she heals it up and helps Artanis to his feet and away from the pond.

“It seems to only affect living tissue” Dawn speculates and taking a dagger from his side Artanis cuts his hand and moves to hang it over the pool,

“How about blood” he says squishing his hands closed and having it drip blood into the water. As soon as it touches the blood seems to evaporate and disappear from the clear watery substance while looking to Dawn’s face to see if she can know anything by it, she shrugs her shoulders

“I guess blood is alive too, it replenishes itself when we get cuts, makes sense” she said “Let’s leave that for now, come here I want to show you something” and they move back to the statue Dawn found, going over there Artanis listens carefully to the blades clinging together up above for a sign that their friends and family are still alive, and moving to the front face of the stone beast Dawn points to the jewel it is holding.

“What do you think it is?” Artanis asked

“I don’t know…oh but look above the beast has an inscription, I… I can’t read it” Dawn said looking harder at it.

“I can” Artanis blurts out looking at it himself and having the words just flow into his mind he reads and translates it to a tongue Dawn knows, Reading allowed in Drow he speaks,

“The light to me is black as night,

To feel its warmth I am to feel its blight;

I thirst for life thick as mud,

For the endless life thou seek is blood;

Strong as a bull and quick as a flash,

I’ll be the last you spare with and clash;

I hold the key to the clear watered pond,

For fear and me hold a great bond”

And holding a mass of confusion on his face Artanis looks to Dawn “And I have no idea what I just said…do you know what it means”

“It’s a riddle Artanis and the answer is Vampire, though I don’t know what the last part means”

“Well this is good, we have the answer to it, that’ll help right?” he says to her

“Knowing the answer and understanding the answer are two different things, and unfortunately for us my brother Rain is the one who can always figure these out”

“Well he isn’t here so we are just going to have to do it” Artanis says

“That’s what I’m afraid of, he is almost never wrong with knowing the meaning behind things, but I on a constant always misread things”

“Then we’ll figure it out together Dawn” Artanis says and smiles to her placing his arm to her shoulder and walking around and back and forth they focus on trying to solve the puzzle.

“The stone!” Dawn said after some time has passed

“The stone, how did you come up with that thought?” replied Artanis

“Well the last part talks about me and fear hold a bond, me being the statue and bond being him holding it; and the stone is the fear essence; the one that were trying to find” Dawn concludes and goes up to grab the stone.

“Dawn wait!” said Artanis but already Dawn had gripped the opal in her hands and taking it from the statue she goes back to Artanis’s side.

“See no problem” Dawn said smiling and then heard a voice coming from the stone work mouth of the statue “For the pursuit of power must come one’s life” and just then the statue comes to life.

Dawn ducks and thrusting her out of the way Artanis draws his blades and combats the stone giant. The giant moves slow and clumsy, easily Artanis and Dawn dodge the impending attacks from the monster; but one lucky stroke from a solid hit of its left arms drills Artanis air born and flying across the room. He hits the stone wall hard, dust flies into the air and some stone rubble falls to the floor along with Artanis.

“ARTANIS!!!” Dawn cries to him and seeing him motionless she dodges another attack and moves to his side, checking his neck she feels a faint but steady pulse and returning to her feet she looks to the statue with sheer anger; her eyes turn a deep dark orange and her staff glows a bright purple color as she chants some words of doom.

“I call, to this ancient stone, its life style to match my own, give it skin, bone and blood; bring this creature straight to life!”

Moments later the creature starts to change and morph; it stretches it arms to the sky and legs wide apart as the newly formed skin wraps to his body and the stone crumbles to the floor, waiting till the moment was right Dawn grips one of Artanis’s blades and holding it firm in a spiral tossing form with the blade end out, as the skin begins to form she sees the torso but the heart is in skin and then, pulling back with her arm like a sling shot she then throws the blade straight at it, being distracted by the changing of its form the creature knows nothing of the blade hurling toward him, and not making any attempt at a block it pierces where she aimed and stabs into the creature’s chest deep. Hoping that the creature’s heart was in that place she waits and watches the creature losing strength and life as it slowly falls to the ground, first it’s knees, then holding itself up by its arms shaking without sufficient strength for the massive weight barring body it opens its mouth and speaks to Dawn

“For the pursuit of power…must come one’s…life” and drops dead to the cold stone floor.

Sitting for a moment puzzled by the speech it gave her she shook it off and went up to Artanis, trying to shake him awake he was groggy but staring to come around, feeling a shaking feeling of her own she looks to the cause and sees the black stone moving,

“Artanis the stone its moving as if…it’s hatching” she finished and tossing away the stone egg she views a piece of stone shell come off and hit the ground, slithering out was a black cobra looking snake and coming up fast to Dawn she grips her staff and tries to bat it away.

Dodging all the attacks due to its quickness the snake strafes and shimmies around her staff and arms until getting close to her legs, with lightning haste the snake wraps up her legs and moves to her chest, dropping the staff Dawn grips the raised ridge part of the snakes skin neck just before the head and holds it from biting her, the snake moves the rest of its body to wrap around her neck and cutting breathe from her lungs the snake slowly suffocates Dawn, losing strength she loosens her grip on the snake and it moves from her grasping hands.

Falling to her knees Dawn holds up her arm to Artanis and calls his name “Ar…Artanis…help me” she says but barley a whisper come out of her lips, and falling now to her side the snake moves its body to expose a small portion of Dawn’s neck side to its sight. Waiting no more the snake bares it’s twin venom dripping fangs into her neck side, the venom flows into her blood stream but instead of letting go the snake seems to be filling its body with her blood, growing bigger and bigger until its sheer weight almost crushes Dawns bones it then moves off of her so not to kill her. It massively slithers away from the two of them and moves to where the statue first was, undergoing a change it transforms into a stone creature, a replica of the first and taking the other statues place it moves into the spot under the inscription of the wall; making a choking and hacking up sound it throws up a black egg stone from its throat and holds it in the position of the first again motionless.

Putting through his staff to the rib cage of an undead knight Maylor says two words to finish off the last skeleton in the room and Cloud suddenly sees a glow of a red tinged coming from his necklace

“What the…” Cloud says stunned and looking around to see if anyone else is seeing this he notices that Dawn and Artanis aren’t anywhere to be seen “Hey uncle where’s Dawn and Artanis, and what’s going on with my pendant its changing color”

“Red is the color most used for danger or death” said Maylor

“Here! over here I found a trap door passage, they must have fallen down it” and leaning over from her find Cynn calls down the shaft “DAWN!!! ARTANIS!! CAN YOU HEAR US” and quickly covering her mouth Straud shushes her, violently moving his hands away from her mouth she bolts him

“What! What are you doing” Cynn demanded

“If they are being followed we might give away their position Cynn” Straud says

“But we do need to get down there” Cynn said and not wasting any time they have Cynn transport them all down.

Looking around in the tunnel and then heading to the big cove area they find both Dawn and Artanis lying on the ground

“He’s alive” said Maylor checking Artanis’ neck pulse

“Oh my god” Straud says backing up and away from Dawns body “She’s…she’s been bitten, by a vampire; that’s what your necklace picked up Cloud, Dawn’s life force, they must be connected to them somehow”

“Her pulse is erratic but it’s weakening, if we kill her I can…oh no…NOOO!” says Maylor looking to his pack

“What, what is it Maylor” Cynn concernedly asked

“The blades… the blades of the Dread Knights they must have been swords of a magical sharpness, that why I had to treat your stinging cuts right away up there” he went on

“Why do you think that Arbiter” Cloud asked

“Because only blades of such sharpness could do this to a scroll of resurrection” he finished with tossing down twin haves of the scroll, showing that it had been cut in two.

“Quickly spread out and see if you can find anything that will explain what has happened down here” commanded Cynn, and rushing to his side Maylor uses a vial to bring back Artanis to them, lifting his head fast Maylor slows him down.

“Easy Artanis you were knocked out and good”

“DAWN…” Artanis spouted off and getting up he went to her side, he was blocked by Straud who hold him back “Let me go I must see her!” he shouted

“Dawn has been bitten Artanis, by a vampire and has little time left, do you know what happened down here” he asked him

“Bitten by a vampire…”

“Artanis focus NOW, what happened” again said Straud shaking him

“There was a stone creature it hit me hard against the wall….Him” pointing to the figure back in its spot

“What about this one” asked Cloud pointing to the fleshy mess on the ground with one of Artanis’s swords in its chest.

“What? there are two now…no that’s not right, there was only one and its right there that is where we found it” said Artanis pointing to the one standing under the writing.

“Maybe it came through here” added Cynn pointing to the pond of water and putting her hand close Artanis yells to her

“NO DON’T” and pulling her hand away being startled she stands up questioning “Why?”

“Because it’s like acid or something, I don’t know but it decays living tissue” and accepting the answer she moves away, “Then what is this” said Cynn again pointing to the writing,

“It’s a riddle Dawn figured and she solved it, the answer is Vampire”

“How convenient” said Straud looking at Dawn now sweating profusely and making mumbling motion sounds while she moves around,

“The change as well as death is nearing completion” Maylor says touching her forehead

“Maylor can you cast a spell to bring her back to us, without the scroll?” asked Straud

“I’m weakened but I have enough energy left in me yes although I must warn you that you’ll probably have to carry me out of here after, and I’ll be of no further help for healing purposes” and drawing his blade and holding it over Dawn chest Straud looked to him

“We’ll have to take our chances” and raising it into the air his hands are stopped by Cynn’s holding his forearms still “Wait please” she pleads out

“This needs to be done now or it will be too late Cynn”

“Artanis were you hit before you knew about Dawn?”

“Yeah?”

“That means what?” Straud asked Cynn

“That this creature left him alive and alone for a reason, Artanis read me the script on the wall, you said you could right” and complying, reading aloud Cynn listens carefully while holding on to Straud’s massive arms. Finishing up she thinks while holding on to Straud with Artanis perking up.

“Oh the creature said something too, he said for the pursuit of power must come one’s life” added Artanis and thinking a while longer she let go of Straud’s arms.

“Get up Captain, you too Arbiter”

“What why?” Straud said

“Because we have to let this play out, she has to turn…she needs to become a vampire” Cynn explains

“No that’s unacceptable, I won’t stand by and watch my sister die, Arbiter save her NOW!!” yelled Cloud

“NO!” Cynn yelled back “I figured it out Cloud, the pursuit of power is the essence, the fear stone we are looking for and the only one that can get it is by a vampire”

“How, the pool hurts tissue” said Artanis

“Living tissue Artanis but vampires are dead, the tissue as well as their blood are dead too so they won’t be affected”

“But the prophecy was said that we needed to be alive to kill Colossus Cynn” said Cloud and going up to Cloud side she runs her hand to his cheek “Please trust me this will work” and thinking for a moment he then nods his head to agree, kissing his cheek she thanks him for his faith and Straud speaks up

“A little far-fetched don’t you think Cynn, all of this?”

“So is a man ascending to godhood before his rightful time, but Colossus seems to be doing that feat quite well wouldn’t you say?” Cynn says back to him and having no argument he says again

“I’m just saying that were killing an innocent child here, if this doesn’t work...”

“It will Captain…” she says looking only at Dawn and her final moments of life, Dawn struggles and sweats for long but short lengths of time and then goes limp and lifeless. The pendant around her neck starts to glow a bright and intensively white color that almost blinds everyone, and then goes to a dim but constant glowing white color and she opens her eyes.

Cynn pushes everyone aside and goes up to her “Dawn, I know that you want answers but right now we need something from you, go into the pool and retrieve what is there for us, I know about the water curse but it won’t harm you… not anymore”

Shaking her head focusing her eyes, Dawn looks to all in her company; she feels no air upon her and holds a great sensation of great energy. Like having a great night sleep, having many thought to her mind Dawn complies with Cynn’s command and without saying anything she goes up to the pool. Dipping her hand into the cold water she neither feels nor sees nothing, looking back to Cynn she smiles to her with a motherly look and smiling back Dawn gains new confidence and dives into the water.

Time elapses by in long spurts and finally Dawn emerges out of the water with a black looking emerald jewel shining with a fiery red glimmer to it, Cynn is certain that it is what they seek out and took it, put it down and extended her arm to help Dawn from the water.

“It must be magical… the water; for it was a very long swim but I could hold my breath for like ever and I felt like I had more strength to myself for traveling though it was very easy”

“Interesting said Cynn not admitting to nothing yet” and picking up the stone she hands it to Straud, he takes it and gives her a very distinctive scowl as he puts it in his belt pouch.

“Now let’s get out of here shall we” says Cynn outreaching with her arms for everyone to grab them

“Wait teleporting…from here…kind of far down wouldn’t yea say, can you judge the distance Cynn” questioned Straud

“Of course I can” and having everyone grab her arms she and the rest through a bright phase of light disappear.