The sun came down in little rays of light through the open spaces in the canopy of trees. The dim lighting gave the forest a peaceful look. The forest was quiet. Only a few animal calls and the gurgling of a brook could be heard within the forest. There was something very wrong in this seemingly perfect getaway though.

Gwen was not frolicking through the forest today. She was not talking with her animal friends or helping a lost traveler. She was leaning against one of the trees that circled the magical candle tree. She felt worn out and tired, like the life was being drained from her.

Her eyes no longer contained their sparkle, but was dulled and lifeless. Her skin was now pale and her once energetic and lively appearance was now left a listless body. She knew that the tree was dieing, and herself along with it.

She took careful steps towards the tree. She could see the candles that grew on the tree were barely lit. She wrapped her arms around the trunk of the mighty tree and pressed her cheek against the bark. It looked as if she was trying to console the tree.

She could hear it moan out in pain, but to everyone else the forest was silent. The cries of the tree rung in her head like a siren. She could feel feel the pain of the tree as if it were her own, for it was her own as Gwen and the tree were one and the same.

She soon stepped into the tree, becoming one with it. in a matter of seconds she began to come back out of the tree, high on a branch. She laid along the sturdy branch, watching as the flame of one of the candles began to flicker out.

She began to cry for the tree and for herself. Her tears rolled down her soft cheek and land on the plush green grass, being absorbed instantly. Where they were absorbed, a few flowers grew.

Her only hope was if she could come across some travelers that would help her find the problem. She knew the evil behind the pain of the tree lay in the roots. She would need to beseech the help of some good souls and bring them into the caves that lay under the tree, so that they could stop the dark force that was destroying the candle tree.

Adam walked along the forest path. It was barely visible in the shadow of the trees and he could only see about seven feet in front of him. It wasn't really a time for stealth, for his feet made loud cracking sounds on the forest floor.

Adam looked ahead to finally see what he was looking for. Off in the distance, there was a series of lights. The lights were small, but when the shinning energy bonded together, the tree it came from could be seen for miles.

Lucky for Adam he had only a half-mile to go until he would make it to the tree, still there always was a feeling in him that things were too easy. He drew his dagger, and started to run as fast as he could, the faster the mission was over, the faster he could claim his prize.

Rand walked through the forest not really headed anywhere in particular. When a shadow rushed in front of him. "What was that?" Rand said as he began to follow. 'I wonder what that was and where its going' he thought to himself ' well i'll find out when i get there. Rand picked up the pace. Rand was getting annoyed by the time he started to catch up.


"Hey, who are you?" Rand shouted at the shadow of whatever it was. "And why are you running through these woods." Rand had spent a lot of time in the forests and usually people running like this were ether in trouble or causing it.


"Hey, I'm talking to yo..." Rand stoped as he saw what appeared to be a woman tending trees.

Gwen slowly looked up when she heard hooves beating against the soft ground. She thought it was a person riding their horse through the peaceful forest. To her surprise it was actually a centaur. She called out to it, her voice weak but dire " Centaur, Come to me please!"

She passed through the branch of her tree, becoming one with it once more. She then came out through the dark trunk of the tree. she stepped forward a bit, but did not dare leave the circle made by the trees that grew around the candle tree. Usually she would move freely through the entire forest, but because she was so weakened she would not move more than a few feet from her tree " I beseech thee to help me! If you leave the whole forest could be in danger!

She tried to read the face of the horse man, but could not. She aimed her head up in the sky and whispered a prayer of thanks to Liara " You have answered my cries loving mother.... She made a gesture to show thanks and then looked back towards the male.

Would he help her or was he too busy. She could not save the tree alone, even though that was the task she was awakened to do. She would do anything for the Centaur if he helped her, as she would be in the greatest debt.

Rand stepped closer to the woman. "Are you hurt? What do you desire of me? I will aid in any way that I am able." Rand stepped even closer then stopped "If i may approch you? I would like to get a better look at who i am talking to." Rand waited What would she need my help for. She looks like she would be able to go anywhere in the forest without trouble.


"Why do you want my help you do not seem incapable of anything." Rand could tell there was somthing wrong but he did not know what. What if this was a trap it would not be the first like it. "At least tell me who you are."

Gwen gave a weak smile and replied to the Centaur " Do not worry if I am hurt. I am not the one in trouble. The tree you see before you is dieing, and I do not know why! I beg of you to help me find the culprit of the horrible sin and help me banish him from my forest!"

She motioned for him to come closer, to step into the ring of trees and see the mystical tree that stood in the middle of the beautiful clearing. She knew that he wanted to know more about her, but there was little time. Time was a key factor in their rescue mission.

She spoke once more " I am Gwen and I am the candle tree... She waited for him to step closer into the ring that the suns light washed over before she continued " I am a Dryad, I was woken to watch over the tree, and I have failed, because an ill beast has stole past my watch and now he is killing the tree and killing me....

She stepped to the tree as she talked. When she was there she pressed against the tree once more, whispering words of false hopes to it. She tried to comfort the candle tree. To others this would have looked silly, but to Gwen it was like taking care of a crying child.

She turned back and gestured for the Centaur to come closer still " If you say that you will help, then I will lead you to the cave where the roots lie. If you say you can not help than I hope you can carry the heavy burden of destruction!"

Walking in the ring of trees he came closer to her. "Ok what do you wantme to do. I will help in anyway possible. This tree it seems differeny, what is it really?" He walked closer to her. "You tell me what you want me to do i will have it done."

She addressed the man once more " This is the candle tree. It emanates a ageless effect on the entire forest" It was very beautiful and very important. It had been around as long as she had been around.

She then gave him his mission " I need you to go into the cave under the tree. I will let you in. Once there we will need to search for the one who is draining the magic from its roots....

Before he had time to talk she went into the tree, becoming once more bonded to it. She then opened up a hole in the trunk of the tree. It was just large enough for him to enter. The hole led down the trunk of the ancient tree and into the cavern beneath where the roots lay

Out of the candle tree's branches fell out a card, an ace of spades to be exact. Just under the black ace was a line curved like a semi circle. That very card contained a being from 382 years ago, his name is Amyrspil. Amyrspil had been all over Arda since his escape from the card deck. He had just followed the wind in his card form. He almost landed once when the wind carried him to the mountain but he was quickly blown into Arda's jet stream, and sent half way across Arda before he managed to escape "the tunnel" which he decided to call it because it was like a cave but the walls were wind. On his journey over Arda, he saw magnificent sights that would ever rarely be seen. He saw Long Mountain ranges, deserts, forests, beaches, cities, and savannas. Every sight was somewhat familiar but it had changed over hundreds of years. Amyrspil started to descend near the edge of what seemed to be an endless forest from his view. The spirits of wind were loosing their grip upon Amyrspil and he felt their hands slip from the card. He felt them let go of him and the long fall began. He glided gently down to a large tree filled with candles and had a enchanting but weak grip on him. He fell through all the branches, thus as I, the Storyteller, told you earlier.
He drifted between a great large hole in the ancient scarred trunk of the candle tree and two beings he had never met before. "Passengers, we have arrived at our next location. Be free to exit the vehicle or stay on the vehicle," joked Amyrspil as he hit the ground in his card form, he knew they would be surprised when they realized what just happened, "good day! My name is Amyrspil Cheshad Exfirimor. Pleasure to meet you madam and sir!"

Adam ran faster and faster through the forest, rushing towards the light as fast as his legs could bare. He came out into a clearing where the light blinded him and made it hard to see, he quickly lost control and tripped on a root in the ground. He hit the ground hard with his chin dug into the earth.

He got up and dusted himself off, when at that moment he noticed something. He cleared away the leaves on the ground and poked his finger through the hole his chin made. He dug around the outside with it until there was enough room to poke his head into.

Adam leaned down and peer down the hole. Below there was a dimly lit cave. The only light came from... a candle of in the distance. Actually a series of them, the roots of the candle tree!

Adam opened the hole bigger, using his dagger a somewhat of a shovel. He squeezed himself inside and dropped down to the moist dirt floor. He looked ahead and once again headed off towards the light.

When Rand had entered through the hole in the trunk of the tree she closed the gaping hole. She then separated from the tree, following Rand down the twisted walkway to the bottom of the cavern where the roots grew.

She noticed the talking card on one of the stepped. She stepped away from it, hiding behind the Centaur. She knew that the card was not created by Liara's hands. It was not natural. If it was not natural then it was a enchantment or a curse put on a once natural creature. She thought to herself What fools mortals be. They are never content with what they are given. They take more than they need. They waste natural resources. They use magic take the work of the gods into their own hands. They "fix" what is not broken...

She soon snapped out of her curiosity and stepped closer to the card, picking it up. She brought it to eye level and blew a bit of dirt off the card " Who or what are you. What are you doing here?"

She did not get the best feeling from the card. She felt bad vibes coming off the card. She could not just rip the card into little pieces or just leave it though. Her curiosity would never allow that

Adam charged down the hallway with expert agility. He turn this way and that through the curving cave. He then stopped to take a rest. He lay his back against the wall panting with the lack of air in the tunnel.

When his breathing came to a normal pace, he heard a noise off in the distance. It was like the sound of a goddess of life, the sound of a high-class creature. He peered around the next corner to see a Dryad and a Centaur. He then quickly hid behind the wall again and drew his dagger. His only mission was to destroy the tree, not to kill anyone. He wasn't that evil, but there was something inside him telling him to go ahead and attack the being.

Adam decided to just lay against the wall just a bit longer to see if the targets were a threat, or just an obstacle. Then he would choose his next path to take.

He saw the female back away and hide behind the centaur in fear. He saw the surrounding darkness and wondered how he could coax the nymph out of fear. He had a belief as a bard that even though we were free to choose how we interpreted and responded to a situation but there were two hidden variables called destiny and fate. He knew somehow that they led him here to do something.
It was his turn to interpret this situation, he listened and felt the vibrations in the air hitting him and heard a great many things. He heard the centaur breathing, the nymph, and strangely someone else was breathing. What to do? He could reveal this now but would this support a neutral situation? The Candle Tree may have appeared to be dying but good had still held a slightly higher hand then evil. So if he revealed this now he would go against his own ideals. No, Amyr wouldn't consider doing it.
"I am only an atari human cursed by a wizard because a simple misunderstanding." Amyr humbly spoke to the nymph. "Now if you wouldn't mind, would one of you say my name?"

Adam stayed still listening to what was going on. It was just then he heard a third voice, it was like a hallow echo in a cave. Adam didn't stand a chance against three, even if they were allies it would be foolish to jump out of hiding now. Adam peered once more around the corner and then spotted a torch across the tunnel, the only other light came from the tree and they were too far down to get more of the light.

Adam skillfully gathered a bit of saliva in his mouth, he aimed and... fired. The wet ball of spit soared through the air and then spit apart. The torch flickered and then went out. In seconds the whole section of the cave went dark, only the small bits of candle light flickered still making it hard to see in front of you.

Adam quickly turned on his infravision and charged at the Centaur, dagger in had.

Rand saw the man charging him but he had only a moment to act. Pulling his spear from his back he reared up and threw it as hard as he could right in front of the man. then readied himself for an attack. This cave was very dark but he needed not light to fight. It was also not very open which gave him an advanage. Rand moved in front of Gwen. " If he gets past me run" Rand said still facing the man. Rand perpared to charge but he would wait to see what else happened first.

Gwen watched in horror as the torch went out and the cave went dark. She heard another mans footsteps and thought could this be the man who is killing me?

She stepped back behind Rand for cover. She was never one to fight, only to protect. She questioned the card " If I say your name you must promise to help us stop this foul beast! She waited for his reply.

Gwen was hesitant to do anything. This man had obviously been cursed for a reason. He must have done something to anger someone. Would releasing him now be the best choice? Was it her only choice?

Gwen had to make a decision and fast. She quickly yelled out the name of the card man. She then waited to see what would happen once she had done so. Would he be free? Would she control him? Would he double cross her? There were so many questions racing through Gwen's head. She did not like it one bit.

Adam dodged the thrown spear and with his great agility jumped, tapped one foot on the wall and pushed himself off. His dagger was in front and he rocketed right towards the Centaur like a spear.

With a smirk Rand lunged forward to catch the blade in his shoulder so it would not hit anywhere else. The impact from then strike was big but it only took a second to recover and deliver a giant fist to the gut. Rand then hoiested the man over his head and threw him the agianst the wall. "Run i will try to handle this get to the tree. In Lothlómendil's name get moving!" Rand charged the man raising his hand he brought his hammer-like fist down stright at the man.

Amyr had almost regained his/her humanoid form with freedom since Gwen's humanoid form was not touching him, but unfortunately s/he was touching one of the tree's roots so since Gwen was connected to the tree she had become Amyr's next master. The Same vortex appeared under the tree and sucked him toward it as fast as a flash of light.The vortex magic stretched him/her to unbearable limits and then it made him/her a liquid that was floating in zero gravity.
It grew bigger until it changed more and more into something humanoid. It started to adjust itself to its masculine form. It grew taller and thinner. It lost it's ability to float in the air. A large black ace appeared on the being's face and then two lines appeared on the face. The lines grew into orange eyes that reminded you of the flames of lanterns at nights. Amyr grew a dark green ranger's outfit around him that was similar to Robin Hood's and then a velvet-like-paper cape grew from the shoulder of Amyr's suit.
Amyr walked as silently as possible toward Gwen, he sounded fairly quite to himself but he was worried about the other man hearing him and possibly attacking his new master.
"Madame, I am your servant and protector,"whispered Amyr in Gwen's ear, "now let us save this dying tree before it is late." He gently took Gwen's hand and crept along the edge of the passageway of the cave deeper into the cave. As they walked, Amyr was casting Fear. "Permissum qui pulvis meus amicitia sentio a vereor opprimo quod attero lemma." whispered Amyr as he made some elaborate hand gestures with one hand.

Adam spat out blood and jumped to the side. He was defenseless and beaten up pretty bad too. He then got another idea. Adam quickly drew up all his strength and focused it in his right hand. He turned upwards at the ceiling and punched the top of the tunnel with so much force it made the ceiling crumble and come down on the two of them.

Up above cracks formed and gave away making a huge ring around the tree. Adam tried to get himself out, but all of the earth on top of him would be about five times his weight. He was crushed, but luckily so was the Centaur.

Amyr heard the ceiling starting to come down on the third man and the centaur, He looked up and the crack in the ceiling was spreading to them. "Oh no!"Amyr exclaimed as he broke into a run while still holding Gwen's hand, "The Fear spell didn't work on that man." He heard the ceiling collapse on the centaur and on Adam. It was starting to collapse on an area of the tunnel behind them. He quickly put Gwen on his back piggyback style and ran as fast as he could from the collapsing tunnel deeper and deeper into the cave.
"Sorry about that, madam, but I am your protector." informed Amyr to Gwen as they ran into a deeper part of the cave that was far darker then where the centaur and Adam had fought. The crack that was collasping the cave suddenly stopped far behind them. He knew he had to save his master and her tree from whatever was troubling them. Suddenly, he tripped and fell into a deep hole. He noticed a bright light at the bottom of the hole. The bright light was dimming as they fell. As he hit the ground, he took most of the force from the fall. He felt a rip tear at him at the inside of him and he slipped Gwen off of him. He looked up and saw saw a gaint scorpion staring right at him. It suddenly hit him what was hurting this tree, "Madam, the syndicate was here."warned Amyr to Gwen, "Beware the balance destroyers." Amyr was suddenly knocked out as the giant scorpion stung him with it's deadly venom.

Adam lay unconscious on the ground his moth wide open. The force of the rubble was crushing him like a bug under a car wheel. Adam was slowly having his bones fade away into dust for his body could not handle the weight. It would only be a couple more hours before the wounds would be fatal! Adam tried to wake himself from his state, but his mind wouldn't let him. At least his body was smart enough to know that if he woke up he would feel all of the pain...

Gwen let out a scream as the ceiling began to collapse. The card man acted fast and pulled Gwen and himself further down the cave. They moved quickly together and when he stopped Gwen hugged him tight " Thank you for saving me...

The went on a bit, huffing and puffing. She then felt the card man slip and begin to fall down a deep hole. He dragged her down with him. All that could be heard now was the echo of their cries as they plummeted lower and lower.

When they hit the ground Gwen landed on Amyr. She got up slowly, knowing that he hurt a lot more than she did. She tried to hoist him up " Oh I am so sorry. Are you ok?

She than noticed the large scorpion staring them down. She heard Amyr's final words before he was attacked. She began running down a dark pathway. Thoughts raced through her mind as she continued on, barely being able to see What is the Syndicate? How did that giant scorpion get down here? How am I going to get it out?

She continued on, running till she could think of a plan. She could not run much longer though. She was the protector of the tree, So why did she feel so defenseless.

Adam struggled as hard as he could to wake himself, but when he tried to hard he would plunge deeper into sleep. He tired to wake from the dream of being surrounded by rock golems, all trying to destroy the young Adam who was like a piece of popcorn to them.

He tried all he could to wake up. He closed his eyes in his dream and thought as hard as he could, he tried hitting himself, but his arms couldn't move, he also tried to bite down on his lip as hard as possible. Once he did that last one his body went on full alert, Adam woke up and scream with pain. His bones were crumbling and his lip bleeding from the cut he made with his bite. He screamed louder and louder and his head went this way and that. he tired to move his arms, but it was no use. His plan had worked, but he had to sacrifice to make it right.

Rand moved the rocks and dirt off of him there was alot but only a couple hundred pounds. The dirt had broken two of his ribes not not much else. He stood up walked over to were the dieing man lie and said "today is not a goodday for me to die." He picked up his spear and drove it through the dirt at where his chest should be. He then drew it out and ran after Gwen and this Amyr " Hello! Where are you? Mistress Gwen where are you. His front left foot went down but did not hit ground so he steppedv back he could not see at all but he could tell what was happening down there. His savage being took over and he lept from the edge striaght in to the hole. He landed right in front of Amyr. Just in time to catch the giant scorpion's second strike, at the man, with his spear.


While barely holding back the stinger he kicked Amys hard in the leg with his back foot to wake him up. "Get up you fool, and get after Gwen. If you don't both her and the tree will die!" Rand yelled at the man "I can handle our little friend here." Then wispered to himself "I hope or we else all might die." Rand chuckled half heartedly. "Well today might be a good day to die after all."

Amyr lay dreaming on the floor of the hole. His mind lay drifting between the mortal and dream realm. It was an oblivion like no other. He saw what was happening on all of Arda and the other continents of this world. He saw it all at once in all it's glory. This was enough to make a mortal man go insane and get caught in the twilight realm like many others have had done. He saw the echo of the past and the possibilities of the future. He had access to information that would otherwise be very hard to get. He was as of now focusing on everything that was related to the syndicate. He had seen everything he needed to know yet he was barely hanging on to life, Amyr was truly in his Zen moment.
After seeing all he needed to know, he slipped over to the realm of dreams. Amyr was trapped in a Labyrinth in his dream. He was being chased by a giant wizard hat and a giant scorpion. Occasionally his two chasers would exchange blows. He was determined to get away from them but always he was confronted by them. He couldn't escape but he wanted to be free. He ducked into a dead end but it appeared that no one was here. He suddenly turned back into his card form. The giant wizard hat appeared above him and sucked him into the hat.
Amyr appeared on an endless grassy and hilly plain that was as far as the eye could see. This realm was trapped in twilight with every star in the universe above him and the sun and the moon floating right next to each other on the moon. Amyr looked at himself and saw something he had not seen on himself in 382 years, a human hand!
A mirror appeared in front of him in the dream. He saw his long albino human face in front of him. He had hair that was indistinguishable from a midnight black raven. his eyes were a hauntingly blue that he had not seen so many years. He was wearing his own traveler clothes. Amyr broke down in tears, he hadn't ever been this happy to be a human ever. He looked up to see an old wizard from ages past that had ascended a long time ago. "Amyr, this is but a taste of what is to come if you can stay in Zen and maintain the balance." informed the Wizard to Amyr as he helped Amyr up, "Do not forget me for I have some gifts for you." The wizard dropped a net and a wisp of light at Amyr's feet. The wizard put his hand in Amyr's chest and took out a vial of the scorpion poison. The wizard disappeared along with Amyr.
Amyr woke up with a blunt pain in his back. "Get up you fool, and get after Gwen. If you don't both her and the tree will die!" Rand yelled at Amyr "I can handle our little friend here." Amyr groaned in pain from the kick but noticed the pain from the scorpion wasn't there. Strange, the wizard must have taken the pain with him. He slowly got up to see the centaur holding back the scorpion.
"Best of luck with holding back The Syndicate's gift."said Amyr to the centaur. "I have to go help my master." Amyr started to shift into a swarm of cards. The swarms of cards jumped like crickets toward Lady Gwen. As he was speeding toward Gwen, he shifted back and forth between the card swarm and his card golem form. He soon saw his master running up ahead in the tunnel.
"Madam, we must save your life and this tree." exclaimed Amyr to Gwen as he caught up to her both as a card swarm and his card golem form.

((Woot!!!!!! :w00t: :spin: :eh: I have done a 657 word post! Yay me!))

The centaurs spear had barely missed and Adam had tried all he could to fake getting hurt. He then used all of his strength and anger to bush the heavy mass of dirt off of himself. He moved the earth rock by rock taking short breaks to clutch his burning bones. Then he would return to work. It had only taken his fifteen minutes to clear enough to get himself up.

Adam struggled to his feet and quickly fell back down to the ground. It was too hard to walk around his every bone in his body burning, but he had to be tough. He had to finish his mission or at least find help for now. He grabbed one of the longest torches he could find and used it as a cane. He still had to bend over a little which he knew wouldn't be good for him, but he had to act fast and avoid the centaur and the dryad.

Gwen stopped moving when she heard the familiar voice of her card servant " Oh thank heavens your alive! I thought that beast had killed you for sure!

She began running again. The tunnel was long, but she knew where she was going. She moved from torch to torch, counting backwards. She had explored every inch of the cave in her immortal life and knew it like the back of her hand.

When she finally found where she wanted to be she stopped running, walking slowly to regain her energy. The room was large and the Ceiling high. This was the very center of the Cave and it was directly under the tree. All of the roots ended in this room. Usually there would be an enchanted pool that the roots would drink from. Now however there was no pool, it was empty.

Gwen stepped to the base of the empty lake, peering down into it " Someone must have blocked the hole the allows the water to flow in!" She saw a large boulder that sat over the hole. It was blocking all the water from surfacing. That must have been what was killing the tree.

Someone had also put the scorpion in to stop anyone from moving the large boulder. Gwen ran to the heavy stone and tried to push it off the hole with all her might. It was no use though.

Her mind raced, trying to find all her options. Just then she had an epiphany. She knew what they could do " We need to lure the scorpion here...

In her mind she pictured him using his large tail to strike the boulder, smashing it into pieces. They could not just ask him to strike the boulder though. They would need to trick him, make him try to attack one of them.

Adam struggled to keep his weight from bringing him down. He walked as far as he could and then fell back down to the ground, his wooden torch skittering off to one side. He struggled to get up, but without the stick he couldn't lift himself to his feet. He had to make a plan and fast, he heard voices echo from behind. he then had an idea. He drew his dagger and stuck it into the rich soil, he drew up all of his strength and pulled himself forward with one painful motion. He then removed the dagger from the soil, reached as far as he could, stuck it in the ground and dragged himself across the floor again. It was a slow process, but it seemed to be working on Adam's side for the time being.

Amyr heard the familiar voice of his sweet, sweet master Gwen, " Oh thank heavens your alive! I thought that beast had killed you for sure!"spoke Gwen in her enchanting voice to Amyr as he caught up with her. Amyr was glad to not have failed his master by almost dying and putting her into a dillema. Gwen and Amyr proceeded to run again into the pitch back tunnel lit only by the glow of torches.
Amyr was following Gwen through what seemed to be an everlasting tunnel. He watched her briefly slow down when she was near a torch as if she was counting them. Now that he had thought about, she had probably was just pinpointing her location in the cave to try to find the part of the tree that needed to be saved from whatever plagued this great majestic plant that rose out of the forest.
Amyr was still shifted back and forth between the card swarm and his card golem form as he traveled through the cave with his master. He suddenly rushed into the titanic room with a size that seemed would only come from the fanciful myths and legends of the many cultures in this world. Then again, This very world had the very gods walking on it. "Its beautiful, time has truly spared this candle tree of the curse of aging that takes hold as time goes on." spoke Amyr to his master before he saw the dry lakebed before him with the boulder plugged into the hole that the water would regularly go out through into. Oh no.
Amyr stepped closer to he boulder to inspect it, he saw small cracks all over the boulder. Through each crack a little bit of water was coming through almost like a spray as if the water had found a way to escape this boulder. Strange? " Someone must have blocked the hole the allows the water to flow in!" said Gwen as he backed away from the rock. He watched her run into the rock and attempt to push it out. That attempt had failed right then and there.
" We need to lure the scorpion here..."suggested Gwen to her servant Amyr. Thats it, that would definitely work! Amyr quickly ran off in the direction of the scorpion in order to carry out this plan.

Adam heard more voices coming from below. He sped up his process which really made it hard to not let out small yet high pitched yelps of pain. He smash the dagger into the ground and pulled himself closer and closer the the exit. Small fringes of light were showing, yet the exit at the tree was closed. Adam looked from side to side, but nothing would come to his brain as helpful. The dagger was his only way out.

He rolled over on his back and aimed the dagger at the small little bunch of dirt covering the hole. He drew the weapon back and fired. It didn't hit the ceiling with much force, but it put small cracks and openings in it. Then he dragged his body over to the weapon with his hand. He drew it again and rolled over, this time he pulled it back even farther and fire. More cracks formed and even bigger openings. Still when the dagger came back down it landed and cut Adam right in his palm. He shrieked with pain that echoed in the narrow tunnels. He tried to remove the weapon, but most of his body was still paralyzed with pain from the recent crushing.

He bit down hard, his teeth jamming together trying to keep back the screams, he slowed inched the dagger out and then yanked it with all of his force. His teeth chipped and cracked as his bit down hard and threw the dagger across the room. This was not his lucky day...

Rand heard what sounded like thousands of flies. It stopped him for only a second but during that time the scorpion lundged forword with its pincer and grabbed his spear. 'This is not good that spear is the only thing I can use to fight this thing.' He had an idea he walked forward and stopped. The scorpion brought down its stinger right at him. He jumpped to the side as the stinger hit the ground. He leapted for his spear in the scorpion's pincer. The spear was now just five paces away. He dodged the other pincer midswing and grabbed his spear and with all his might pulled it free. He jumped back and began again fighting back the stinger. "I will die before I let any more harm come to this tree if i can stop it!" He yelled then ran to one side of the room. 'You guys better save the tree or this might be for nothing' he thought to himself then ran striaght at the beast leapt in the air and began to bring down his spear...




(OOC: Sry for post size)

Adam took deep breathes and let a couple tears run down his cheek, before reaching for his weapon once again. He pressed his wound against his heavy cloak to keep blood from going all over the cave and leaving a trace that he had been there. He grabbed the dagger in his left, unwounded hand and and gripped it tight with pain and fury at his stupidity. He drew back the weapon and threw it as hard as he could. It slammed the ceiling and it gave away leaving a small hole in it. The dagger crashed down to the ground inching Adam's arm. He then picked up his weapon still laying on the ground and struck it into the wall next to him. He used all of his strength to reach his feet and the lifted himself out of the hole.

He lay plopped on the grass, looking up at the candle tree that sat in front of him. "Should I," he thought looking from his dagger to the tree. He dragged himself closer to the tree and then stabbed the dagger right into the base of the tree. There was a short silence, then there was a rumble. The candles on the tree started to flicker on and off, Adam quickly crawled away and hid behind a nearby mossy rock. The tree flashed with light as the candles flickered furiously and Adam shut his eyes.

Gwen began to run back down the path she had came from. She counted each torch she passed and knew she would be at the scorpion again. She hopped quickly down the path with grace, like she was walking on air. She could not help but shake.

It was not long till she found the scorpion again. The Centaur was currently doing battle with the enormous beast. Gwen yelled out " Make him follow you down this way!" Hopefully the Centaur would listen to her wishes and lead him back into the large room.

She began to run back. She would have to make the Scorpion attack her and hit the boulder instead. That was the only way to save the tree and herself along with it.

Adam shielded his eyes from the burning light. He scuttled backwards on all fours and then got up to run, the tree flickered faster and faster making everything seem to happen slowly, frame by frame as some call it. Adam dashed away finally feeling his legs again. They ached, but his mind was set to getting away instead of pain. He dodged trees and roots, but soon tumbled over a fallen branch. Then came an ear piercing screech as the candles flickered as fast as ever. Adam covered his ears, but he could still hear it. He was unconscious in seconds. He lay motionless on the forest floor as the tree rumbled, screech and flickered on and on.

Rand barely stopped in time to hear Gwen shouting "Make him follow you down this way!" so he drew back then began deflecting again to give her time to get a ways away. Then he ran after her. He looked back the scorpion was not chasing him. 'I have to get its atention somehow' Sunddenly it came to him he pulled his bow forward then nocked his arrow. He shot it at the scorpion hitting it and barely cracking its armor like shell. The beast charged him. He turned and ran it was alot faster than him. He saw Gwen ahead of him turn into a room so he followed in then stopped. The roots of the great tree. The dried lakebed. Sudden pain shot trough his entire body. And he fell with the light fleeing from his eyes. Barely holding to life he looked at his attacker. The scorpion had its stinger driven into rands back. He turned to Gwen and Amyr "Save Gwen and the tree. You must not let them die." His head hit the ground and he was gone.

Adam was lost in his dream, he was surrounded by people, citizens of his old village. They a whimpered and where cowering in fear. Adams hands glowed run with dark energy as slowly he started to drain the life from one of the citizens. Adam killed the man and then fired a huge blast of dark energy. He drew a long black blade and slashed though the crowd. He killed all that stood in his path. even the helpless children. He had killed one after another with his blade and magic until he stopped, confronted by a tall man. Adam stopped dead at the sight of... his father.

Adam couldn't control himself, his body quickly moved in a charge. Adam tried to pull back, but the nightmare wouldn't stop. Adam had flung his sword around and slashed the man in one clean sweep!

"AHH!" Adam shot upwards looking at his surroundings. There was no screech of the tree, but the flickering candles still went on. Everything was silent, even Adam's own breath couldn't be heard. He looked around, but even the creatures of the forest didn't make a sound.

Gwen turned to see her companion with a large wound in his back. Gwen gave out a cry " Rand!!!" She could not run over to help him though. She had to finish the task of saving the tree.

She ran into the empty lake bed and picked up a stone. She threw it at the scorpion with all her might. It did next to no damage when it hit the beast, but it did get its attention. He let out a roar and snapped its large claws. He began to charge towards Gwen with great speed.

Gwen backed up slowly, not taking her eyes off the great and deadly beast. It wasn't long before she walked right into the large boulder. She pressed her entire body up against it and watched the beast come ever closer. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart.

When the scorpion was in range it wasted no time in attacking. Its tail coiled back slightly, then sprung into action, throwing it at Gwen with deadly speeds. Everything looked as if it were going slow. She watched as the tail came ever closer to stinging her. She watched as Rand lay in pain on the floor. She watched as her card companion moved slowly towards her for help.

She then turned to see some roots growing along the boulder. She reached her hand over and grabbed them tightly. With even greater speed than the scorpion, she had melded with the tree and become part of it. His stinger struck the boulder, greatly cracking it. Water began to spray out of the boulder. It was not completely gone, but it had taken a mighty blow.

Adam look everywhere, but nothing made a sound. Could I be deaf? he thought, finding his dagger on the ground and picking it up. Still when he reached into his ear with one finger, nothing seemed to be wrong.

It took a while, but the truth had been found soon. Adam had looked down at his feet to see they were rooted to the ground. He tried moving them, but they were stuck. The reason Adam couldn't hear was because he had become a tree! Not exactly a tree tree, but a part of the forest. Adam then tried cutting the roots with his dagger, but it sting him, the roots were part of him and so were it's nerves!

Gwen left the tree once more to see that her plan had worked. She was overjoyed as the rock began to crack and water began to tinkle out and very slowly begin the fill the lake. She picked at some of the crumbling rock to make the holes bigger, allowing more water to flow out. The roots responded and quickly began to move their way back into the water, absorbing what they could. The magical healing waters slowly began to flow through the roots of the tree and it very slowly began to get better. They would need more water in the lake if Gwen wanted to restore the tree fully.

She had completely forgotten of the giant beast that was still in the cave, but he had not forgotten her. He coiled back his tail again sent a mighty blow at her again. The stinger connected this time, and went right through Gwen. She let out a cry and a tears pored down her face as her body soon subsided to pain. The stinger had also managed to connect with the boulder though and it shattered. The water was now free and the lake soon began to refill.

The scorpion pulled its dagger like tail out of Gwen and left her in the lake. her body float on the water. Her blood staining the sparkling clear water red with her blood. Her vision blurred as she fell in and out of consciousness. it wasn't long until she died in the lake. She did not die sad or regretful though. All she could think of was that the tree was safe and she had done her duty.