"Aiden! Eonian! It is time to get up! We have quite an amount of traveling left ahead of us!”

The two rangers woke slowly, savoring the last few moments of blissful sleep before they were forced to rise and greet the day. Already, the sun was beginning to peak above the eastern horizon, bathing the silent grasslands in an soft, yellow-orange light.

“Wonderful,” Eonian muttered as he sat up, wearily rubbing his face and arms. “I never thought I could get to sleep so quickly before.”

“Like you ever miss a chance to sleep,” Aiden said, his eyes not yet open, but his voice full of sarcasm. He quickly flinched as a dirt clod bounced accurately, but harmlessly, off of his nose. He rolled over and opened his eyes to see a standing Eonian with more ammunition at the ready. “Would saying I’m sorry help?” He received his answer quickly, along with another dirt clod to the face.

“I hope that answered your question,” Eonian replied, turning away and walking towards their standing mounts. He kicked dirt over the fire as he went, not wishing to be responsible for any wildfires on the plains. Making his way to the horses, he reached out to his mount and rummaged through his saddlebags. He quickly pulled out a small pouch which he quickly tossed to Aiden and Fira. “Dried fruit,” he explained, opening his own bag and partaking of its contents.

“It’ll be roughly half a day or more,” Aiden said, munching down on a few dried berries.

Eonian nodded in agreement and said, “I don’t see us getting there before mid-afternoon. We’ve still got to get through the plains, much less the foothills and the mountains themselves. We can rest at about midday, then continue on for the few hours it’ll take to reach the mountains.” He quickly closed his food pouch and replaced it in his saddlebags. The morning’s quick nap had given him a burst of energy, making him eager to start out. He turned to Aiden and asked, “So, what’s the plan?”

Aiden could only look up in surprise as he finished off the food within his pouch. “You mean once we get to the mountains?” He received a nod for an answer, causing him to stand and finish eating. “That depends on Zieg. If he is anything like we remember, he’ll have his tracks up and visible. There is no way he will let us miss him, not when he’s so bent on finding us.” Eonian could only nod grimly in agreement. For the moment, they would have no choice but to walk willingly into an undoubted trap and face Zieg once and for all if they wanted to save Lorien. However, there was an unstated challenge to their journey: finding the base itself. Despite this, neither ranger addressed the issue, deciding to cross that bridge whenever they arrived.

Aiden moved towards his horse, getting his gear and weapons together. He decided to keep the short sword that he had seized from their midnight attackers, thinking that a bow might not be the only weapon he would need when he faced off against his nemesis. He secured his bow and nearly full quiver of arrows on the side of the horse, keeping them in easy reach should they run into trouble on the way.

Eonian too made preparations, moving his longsword closer to his side. He made sure to keep the blade drawn slightly in the sheath for easier access should they need it. He also took care to take a small dagger from one of the dead, robed men near the edge of the camp. Both he and Aiden had decided against a proper burial, leaving nature to take care of these vile villains. Eonian again shifted the weight of the bags and items on his horse, making sure that the mount would be balanced with both that weight and the weight of its two riders.

It only took around fifteen minutes for the two rangers to disassemble the remains of the camp and get everything in riding order. For the most part, they left Fira to her devices, knowing what would happen if a young woman were denied her private time in the morning. They moved quickly and quietly so as not to disturb her, but when the time came to leave, they moved back towards the charred remains of their now dead fire.

“Ready to go?” Aiden asked, “We’ve got a long ride ahead of us…as you noticed. . ."

Fira caught the small container of fruit and then gave a grateful smile; for during all of her own preparational thoughts of the journey, the sorceress had not thought to bring any sort of food. As she slowly ate the food, she listened to the plans that were being discussed between Aiden and Eonian. She decided not to grant any input of her own since it appeared as though the two of them had put together a well thought out plan and she could view nothing wrong with it.

After the two rangers had finished their discussion, they began to move about and left Fira alone. Although the young woman felt that it was rather awkward how they had split up and began to prepare themselves for the trip towards and into the mountains, she relished the time that she was able to have alone.

'Though it is not as if I spent quite a bit of time alone by taking the watch last night,' the orange haired woman thought and she gave a small laugh while running a comb through her hair. As she did so, she closed her eyes and began to hum quietly to herself. With everything drawing so close, Fira felt as though her emotions were starting to become a little bit out of hand. The best way to fix this was to meditate. Such an action would also increase her concentration and would make for no distractions when they finally either reached Zieg or the evil men that did his bidding.

Once she was finished, Fira opened her eyes and placed her comb back within her pocket. She carefully unsheathed Divinity and held the blade of the sword up into the sunlight. There was no doubt within her mind that she would be needing to use the sword within the battles that were inevitably coming. As she sheathed Divinity once more, she made sure that it did not become contained entirely within the sheath to provide for a quick unsheathing.

She gave a bright smile to Aiden when he spoke and she walked over to the once great fire. "We do have quite a bit of journeying ahead of us. Especially if we are to beat the storm. You know, as unfortunate as this is, I believe that the storm will come when we reach the mountains. It is not a good omen if this occurs and could bode ill by creating obstacles when a fight is created...

"Yet I am ready to go, if the two of you are as well."

"We do have quite a bit of journeying ahead of us. Especially if we are to beat the storm. You know, as unfortunate as this is, I believe that the storm will come when we reach the mountains. It is not a good omen if this occurs and could bode ill by creating obstacles when a fight is created”

Aiden only shrugged at the thought of the storm being another obstacle. He mounted his horse and pulled on the reins to steady his mount. “Maybe we need an obstacle or two while chasing him. We’re going to need some kind of challenge; otherwise this whole trip will be boring.” This caused a bit of laughter from Eonian, who also mounted his horse and brought the steed close to Fira.

When the young woman agreed that she was ready to go, he politely helped her into the saddle, and then turned the horse towards Aiden.

“Are you ready?” Aiden asked, keeping his eyes on Eonian.

“Sure,” the ranger replied, nodding lightly. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Alright then,” Aiden said, turning his horse to the west. He took a quick look around the campsite, then squeezed his legs hard, sending his horse off at a fast gallop across the grass. Eonian quickly followed suit and the trio galloped away into the western
distance. . .
**********************

Aiden’s horse leapt across the small ditch as he followed behind Eonian and Fira. During the ride, the pair had switched leaders since Eonian knew the land much better than Aiden. Despite the leader change, the trip was starting to go painfully slow as they made their way through the rugged foothills of the Ered Annon Mountains. To make matters worse, the storm that they had been dreading had already beaten them their, making the ground wet and treacherous to move across. The steady rain continued to pour as they made their way up what seemed like a mountain of mud.

“This is no use!” Eonian shouted above the sound of the wind and rain.

Aiden rode forward a little, riding up beside Eonian and Fira. “It’s not like we can stop or anything!” he shouted, struggling to keep his own horse on a straight path. Aiden silently worried about their situation. They very far from the base of the mountains, yet he knew that traversing the distance on horseback would be almost impossible, not to mention time-consuming. After a few minutes of silent riding, he said, “We’ll have to ditch the horses.”

He received no reply and watched as Eonian continued staring straight ahead along their route. Although he stayed silent, Eonian too agreed that their journey would be impeded more than helped by the horses at this point. “Are we just going to leave them in the rain?” he asked, his voice still a shout but clearly tinged with a regretful tone.

“That’s our only choice!” Aiden shouted back. He looked forward as his horse seemed to stumble a little, but relaxed as his horse regained its balance. “We’ll have to stop at the crest of the hill!”

Eonian nodded in agreement, spurring his own horse forward and regaining the lead. They galloped hard up the slippery hillside, but met with no other difficulties as they reached the top of the rugged hill. Luckily for them, there was a small grove of four or five strong oak trees that looked uncharacteristically strong for vegetation in the foothills. Though the site was unusual, it was certainly possible, so the two rangers quickly thanked the gods for their luck and brought the horses close to the grove. They quickly dismounted, Eonian taking extra time to help Fira, as they looked around to get their bearings. “Another hour of hard running ought to do the trick!” Eonian said.

Aiden nodded in agreement, but only grudgingly. Both knew that if they ran hard and reached the mountains in an hour, they would be tired…perhaps dangerously tired. If they were attacked in such a state… Aiden shook his head quickly to clear his mind of the thought. They simply had to take the risk; there was just no other choice if they wanted to make good time. “We can rest when we get to the mountain.”

Eonian quickly agreed as he began removing vital supplies from his saddlebags. He secured his weapons on his belt and back before going after some of the food and other supplies. After a few minutes of rummaging, he was forced to leave behind a few things, especially an sort of camping equipment. ‘We’ll just have to rough it or find a cave,’ he thought, slightly despairing of their situation. The trip had not exactly gone as planned in the final hour of their ride, quickly deteriorating as they ran into the storm. And to make matters worse, it had apparently been raining a few hours before their arrival, no doubt making their tracking situation worse. Eonian sighed as he made his way towards Aiden, who stood beside his horse.

Turning towards Fira, Eonian said, “We’ll have to rough it the rest of the way. Seems like luck isn’t exactly on our side today!” He suddenly buckled as a fierce wind blew across the hillside, rustling the leaves on the trees and slightly scarring the horses. Aiden quickly soothed the beasts by rubbing them softly and talking quietly to them. He secured their reins around the trunks of the oak trees, hoping that their mounts would not try to bolt while Aiden, Eonian, and Fira were gone.

“I hope the rest of our trip isn’t like this,” Aiden muttered as he prepared to leave the hilltop and continue their journey. . .

It was not long before they had departed from the camping area and had begun to make their way towards the Ered Annon Mountains. Just as it was not long before the storm overcame the trio and began to send its howling winds and steady rains.

As Fira remained upon the horse that was being led by Eonian, she fiercely tried to keep her long hair from out of her face; yet this task proved to be quite difficult with the forces of nature going against her. She glanced up to the heavens as if to curse them for creating their storm with such an ill timing and then thought better of it. It would do the sorceress no good to become disfavored by the deities of Arda.

The young woman got off of the horse with the help of the other ranger and then stood there in silence, pondering the options that were avaliable to them. Fira nodded in agreement with the statement of how rough their journey was to both be and become.

'This does indeed look at though this is going to be ardous,' the half-elf thought to herself with a sigh out loud. 'If there are to be any more ambushes from the men of Zieg, this would be an opportune time to do so.' As if to reassure herself that she was ready for any sudden attacks that may ensue, Fira places her hand upon the sheath of Divinity.

"How much further do we have until we reach the base?" Fira questioned above the wind and the rain. She tried to figure this out on her own based upon their surroundings, but the heavy winds were making it rather hard to fathom any features that might indicate where they were at. The young woman gave a grateful sigh as she acknowledged that the rangers knew the land well enough to possibly be able to travel through the storm and still reach the destination.

'Where is the destination?' She wondered to herself for the first time. In all of the discussions that had been occurring, there had not been a word spoken of where exactly Zieg was to be found; only that they were traveling after him and into the mountains. With a frown, Fira concluded that it was possible that neither Aiden nor Eonian knew quite where the base was.

"How much further do we have until we reach the base?”

Both Aiden and Eonian shared looks and could not help but grin at the question. Looking back to Fira, Aiden replied, “I have no earthly idea. It’ll take an hour to reach the mountains themselves, but after that I can’t give you an estimate of how long we’ll be kept waiting.”

“How long it takes depends almost entirely on Zieg and his plans,” Eonian said, continuing to look forward over the top of the hill and the gently rising approach to the mountain range. “You didn’t think we actually knew where the base was, did you? If we did, then we would’ve sent for an entire army of elves instead of going in ourselves…not that we’re just scared or anything.”

“Just lazy,” Aiden muttered as he passed Eonian and led the way from the small tree grove and further towards their destination. . .
*******************
Aiden led the way down the opposite slope of the hill, and then quickly led them back up the slopes of an even larger rise. Aiden and Eonian moved quickly, hoping to cover enough ground to reach the mountain passes before evening. However, neither could deny that the storm was proving a difficult adversary with cold gusts of wind that threatened to send them tumbling back down the slopes. Every now and then, the small group found themselves forced to stay low to the ground and clutching their cloaks and gear.

“It’s getting worse?” Eonian asked, shouting above the harsh gusts.

Aiden could only nod a grim affirmative as he took a chance during a lull in the wind to move farther up the slope. It took many minutes of hard climbing and running to make their way to the top of the rise. Aiden, the first to cross the crest, turned to look at the relatively short distance they had traversed. He almost laughed glumly as he could still make out the grove of trees behind them and their mounts nearby.

“We’ve barely gotten any distance,” Aiden said as Eonian and Fira cleared the crest. Eonian, his breathing still light, only nodded in agreement. “I said it would take a while, but I never saw this happening.” Turning towards the dim outlines of the mountains ahead, he said, “We can only hope that we can get there before nightfall now. If we don’t, I’d hate to think the kind of things we’ll be faced with in this kind of storm.”

“Then let’s go,” Aiden said enthusiastically as he clapped Eonian on the back. He set off at a brisk jog, seemingly ignoring the rain and wind that whipped past him. He looked up, noting the heavy rain droplets falling from the tip of his hood, to regard the terrain they would have to cover. Luckily, the approaches from this portion of the foothills looked relatively flat until they reached the dark mountains further west. The only real difficulty would be keeping up a fast pace across this scrubland while fending off the storm.

‘Stopping is almost out of the question now,’ Aiden thought as they passed a small group of scrub bushes. ‘If we linger long in this place, we’ll risk getting sick or something. And that would be the worst thing that could happen right now…besides meeting Zieg on the way of course.’ The thought brought a grim smile to Aiden’s face, making him glad that his other two companions were behind him. He’d hate for anyone to think he’d enjoy the thought of wringing Zieg’s neck for all of the trouble he caused…even though he really would. . .

Fira tilted her head in confusion at the response made concerning the location of the base of Zieg. In truth, she had thought that the two of them had known where it was. Yet the comment of Eonian about sending out an army of Elves made sense as to why only him and Aiden were out here and fighting off the other Elf.

'I guess this merely makes for more of an adventure,' the young woman mused in her thoughts.



As they began to continue their way to the mountains, the storm began to grow in strength just as slowly as they were travelling. When Fira paused to steal a glance to the direction that they had come from, she saw that it was hard to make out anything due to the massive amount of rain that was being lashed about by the winds.

'Even the storm appears to be going against us.' She thought bitterly as she turned away from the sight of the storm.

The sorceress became grateful that they reached an area that seemed to be relatively flat. The harsh ground would make for it to be easier for the three of them to travel across it and, hopefully, beat the storm.

Yet she began to wonder if it was wise for them to continue onwards with the force of nature continuing to whirl madly around them. If they were to wait for the storm to pass, it was true that they would certainly lose valuable time, but were they not currently losing time by continuing to battle against it currently? With the rain and wind, there would surely be no ambushes from the men of Zieg; though it was doubtful that the vile man would not make an attempt to kill them all before they reached him.

“We can only hope that we can get there before nightfall now. If we don’t, I’d hate to think the kind of things we’ll be faced with in this kind of storm.”

"I do not think that we will be able to break free of this anytime soon," Fira said. It surely did appear to be that way; for she knew that the water would not stop falling from the sky for a while yet. She could only hope that they would be able to continue to endure or that the storm would at least let off of them for some time.

With a slight shiver, the orange haired woman gently raised her hood over her head to keep away the mingling effects of the chilly air. It was clear to see that they still had a while left to go.

"I do not think that we will be able to break free of this anytime soon," Fira said.

Eonian and Aiden could only nod in agreement as they jogged against the fierce headwinds of the storm. In spite of the forces of nature raging around them, the two rangers were strangely calm, acting as if the storm were only a slight breeze compared to the challenges they would soon be facing. Neither spoke much, only using hand gestures to indicate a changed direction or weather condition.

The silence was strange, yet comfortable as the trio made their way across the flat scub plains of the mountains. By the end of the hour, they could faintly make out the base of the mountains themselves. Although they were in sight of their destination, Aiden and Eonian still didn’t lighten up, knowing that this would most likely be the most dangerous part of their approach.

By being on the relatively small scrub plain with rough foothills behind them, this was almost a perfect ambush point for anyone who wanted to defend the mountain. Despite this danger, Aiden hoped that Zieg had few enough numbers on his side that rising an attack out in the open would be unlikely, if not impossible. Desipte that, he kept his bow and sword at the ready, anxious to strike down any obstacle they might face.

Eonian was no less thoughtful, although his thoughts centered around his sister and her coming rescue. His resolve only drove him harder, causing him to ignore the winds and only clutch his cloak tighter around his toned frame. He shifted uncomfortably under his light armor, but didn’t complain as they moved.

“Another hour or so?!” Aiden called out above the storm.

“At least!” Eonian called back. He was amazed at how loud they had to shout to be heard over the storm, even though they were only a short distance away. ‘Truly formidable,’ he thought, embracing a newfound respect for the power of mother nature.

“Should we stop?” Aiden asked.

Instead of stopping, Eonian rummaged through the items he had taken from his mount before leaving it on the now faraway hilltop. His eyes seemed to brighten as he found what he was looking for: three more small packs of dried fruits and nuts. He moved closer to his companions, not wanting the bags to be blow off course due to the wind and rain. When he was less than a foot from both Aiden and Fira, he lightly tossed the packs to them. He quickly made sure that they had caught the packs before moving further away from them and continuing to jog to their destination.

He could feel himself starting to tire, but again he pushed away those thoughts as he focused only on the job ahead. ‘And what a job it’ll be. . .’

*******************

Wind and rain lashed against the craggy peaks of the low mountain. But despite the strong storm, the scrub plains were easy to see from the mountain range, a fact that made Zieg smile as he tracked the three dark points moving across the barren flat.

“Should we attack them now, milord?”

“Did I tell ye to attack?” Zieg asked, keeping his eyes trained on the scrub plains. The resulting silence was the only answer he needed. “Then I don’t suggest ye attack. Just sit still while they come to us. Then we can ‘ave all the sport we want!” An evil sneer spread across his face as he viewed what he knew were the forms of Aiden, Eonian and Fira.

He turned from the sight, moving up the mountain to a series of hidden caves and chambers that had been made long ago and abandoned. The caves that he now called home. . .

As the storm continued to batter those that journeyed upon the earth beneath it, the trio continued on unrelentlessly. It was harsh for them to continue on their journey and much of the plain was being to swell with large puddles of gathered water; for there was only so much water that the shrubs had the ability to take. The storm clearly was showing the Ardians just how strong nature could be and Fira wondered wearily if the deity of Nature, wherever their existence lay now, knew of the endangerment that they were causing for herself and the two rangers.

"Another hour or so?!"

"At least!"

Fira sighed with frustration as she heard these words being callled over the fierce winds of the storm. When Aiden made the suggestion that they should perhaps stop, the young woman decided to side with him upon this matter and cried loudly, "I agree with Aiden! At this rate, we will be too tired in order to make a successful confrontation if we are to be faced with enemies!"

She noticed that it appeared as though Eonian was not heeding the suggestion and caught the small pouch that was thrown at her. The Half-Elf shook her head sorrowfully and did not open the fruit since she was not hungry just yet.

As she continued to move forward and through the storm, the orange eyed woman thought to herself with worry, 'At the rate that we are travelling, we are fighting too hard against the storm and wasting energy. I know that Lorien is important to free, but if we continue onwards in this fashion, we will just be killed.'

Feeling as though her thoughts on this manner were right, Fira dashed forward to be alongside Eonian and told him fiercely, "Eonian! If we continue on like this, then there will only be trouble and danger for us later! We will run low on energy and inevitably be killed!"

Eonian! If we continue on like this, then there will only be trouble and danger for us later! We will run low on energy and inevitably be killed!

Eonian whirled to face Fira and was forced to shout back, “If we don’t get off this plain before nightfall, he’ll attack and kill us all anyway! This place has absolutely no cover or protection for us if we should fall victim to an assault. The only way we’ll be safe is if we make it to the mountains! And I’d much rather be tired and have cover than rested and out in the open!”
He tried to make sure his voice didn’t carry any animosity, but it was hard to keep the frustration from rising to the surface.

His decision conflicted with every instinct in his body, knowing full well that they would have to wait a while in the mountains to regain enough energy to fight off Zieg. However, there waas little choice under the circumstances. In the face of the storm, visibility was low, making any stops treacherous and removing the possibility of early warning. And if Zieg and his men had horses…well, that would be the end of their little journey. Eonian’s worry, and ironically his caution, drove him forward, ignoring all pleas for an early rest. “I will continue alone if needbe,” he said, “You can rest here and catch up later.”

Aiden snorted loudly and comically, trying both to ease the mood and dissuade Eonian from such a suggestion. “We’re here for the long haul,” he replied, “So you might as well lead on, oh stubborn idiot.”

Eonian smirked and bowed comically, as if receiving the title with amazing grace and style. Then, he immediately turned towards the mountains, now clearly seen ahead. He moved off at a jog again, hoping to make good on his promise to reach the mountains in an hour. Aiden began to move forward again, but as he passed Fira, he gave her a look that almost screamed, ‘I’m sorry. He’s an idiot, but he’s right.’

Meanwhile, the storm continued to strengthen as buffeting winds nearly turned into full force gales, threatening to throw the party off track completely. However, they were forced to struggle on, knowing full well that without cover or a suitable campsite, there was no way to wait out the storm. . .

Although Fira understood the reasons that Eonian had for not wanting to rest right then, she could not help but to feel slightly worried. There was some sort of tone within his voice that she could not fathom. After a few moments of pondering what sort of entity this was, the Half-Elf shoved the thought away into the back of her mind. She decided to conclude that they were all become weary from the storm and the dark shadow that loamed closer and closer was bound to lead to darker thoughts among them. Even the sorceress herself was finding it difficult to see the light of hope within the troublesome events that lay both around and ahead of them.

Feeling as though some sort of magic would have the ability to strengthen them, Fira chose to cast Bless. She whispered low so that her companions could not hear, "May myself and my allies be blessed as we continue this journey."

As a result of her casting, she felt better immediately and felt as though it would no longer be quite so difficult to continue their path to the Ered Annon Mountains. The sorceress hoped that the casting had placed its effects upon Aiden and Eonian as well.

She felt apologetic for suggesting that they should rest and then felt reassured that the words of Eonian had not been an attack by the look that Aiden gave her. Fira smiled sheepishly and shrugged. They were bound to reach the mountains one way or another, so why not while they had the drive to do so?

Her smile faded as she decided to glance up to the storm-laden skies above them. The storm seemed to be lasting forever and would possibly continue on even when they reached the mountains. Still looking up to the sky, Fira mused, 'Is it night or day?' She gave a soft laugh out loud at her thought and continued to walk against the wind and rain of the storm.

Both Eonian and Aiden felt the effects of Fira’s spell and instantly felt their burdens and fears lift, if only a little. “Thank you,” Aiden called back, knowing that Eonian felt the same, but could hardly say so over the storm.

“Less than half an hour!” Eonian called back with strength, surprising Aiden.

“You had more resolve than I thought!” Aiden replied.

“That’s what happens when you start thinking clearly!” Eonian said as he slowly drifted back towards his companions. He looked back quickly and made a polite nod of thanks towards Fira, knowing that her spell had lifted his spirits considerably.

“I agree,” Aiden said, “But what do we do after we reach the mountains?”

“We can rest,” Eonian said, signs of fatigue starting to creep into his voice.

Nearly an hour of running and jogging could do that to anyone, even a well traveled ranger. Aiden could only smile slightly, understanding how tired his friend must truly be after such a distance. ‘But he won’t show it for anything,’ he thought, keeping his eyes focused on their now looming destination. As they drew close, his thoughts drifted to their future plans. Assuming that everything went right…which hadn’t happened recently, they would at least have a little time to rest and get a few things in order before going after Zieg properly.

Fears of losing his trail now disappeared completely. Both Aiden and Eonian knew very well that very few tracking signs would survive such a storm. That meant that Zieg would likely reveal himself in some fashion so that they wouldn’t be completely lost. ‘He’d hate to miss his favorite guests in the storm,’ Aiden thought grimly.

“Of course he would,” Eonian said softly, almost startling Aiden in the process. Eonian only smiled as he guessed that Aiden might wonder at his new mind reading powers. “You’re too easy to read my friend. I’m not telepathic, you’re just too emotional.”

Aiden’s mouth moved up in a somewhat relived smirk as they continued to jog across the open distance. With that resolved, Aiden turned briefly towards Fira and asked, “Are all of your spells like that? Do they all have such beneficial effects or do you have some offensive ones stored up as well? I’d hate to see you use up your power before we find someone worthy of beating up. . .

Fira smiled gratefully as the morale of her companions was lifted by her casting. It was nice to note that the storm did not have all of the ability to force them to give up hope in their quest. She nodded fiercely to Aiden, who appeared to have noticed what it was that the sorceress had done, and answered, "You are quite welcome."

Just as the many times before, the young woman listened intently as discussion passed between the two rangers. It was shorter than the ones that had occurred recently, which was slightly strange for her; but Fira assumed that it meant that everything had been sorted out clearly ever since they had begun their venture to the mountains. Even the Half-Elf could not think of anything to say since she herself was spent on words.

The orange eyed woman could not help but to nod in agreement at Eonian stating how emotional Aiden was. Although such a factor could prove as helpful and such within other times, Fira did not believe that this was a just situation for one with that factor to be in. Her mind was once again plagued with the thoughts of her companion becoming within a grave circumstance when the moment came when they were to face Zieg and save Lorien. His emotions had the ability for them to lose time and could also lead to them becoming seperated. As a trio, the young woman felt as though they were capable of handling any danger that arose; yet as seperates, she felt that this factor would change.

As the jog continued, it appeared as though a sense of silence might fall upon them; and Fira was surprised faintly when the green-blue eyed Elf asked her about her knowledge of castings. She gave a short sigh and replied simply, "A majority of the spells that I know are defensive and are for either aiding allies or hindering foes; however, there are a mere couple that I know for offensive."

She wondered if he thought that she was properly equipped in knowledge. With a frown, she decided that Aiden probably thought that she would not fair well within the heat of battle. Her frown shifted to a smile as Fira realized that she would just have to prove herself when the appropiate time came.

“A majority of the spells that I know are defensive and are for either aiding allies or hindering foes; however, there are a mere couple that I know for offensive."

Aiden couldn’t help but frown, not at the new revelation, but that perhaps Fira would be presented as an open target to Zieg. Somehow, they’d have to make sure that Zieg focused on himself and Eonian during a fight, possibly giving Fira a chance to land a final blow. Aiden smiled in spite of himself, knowing that he would love to see the look of disbelief on Zieg’s face as Fira struck him down. A plan began to form in Aiden’s mind as he could feel that their pace was slowing down…marginally.

“We’re close to stopping,” Eonian said. His wet hair clung to his face as he continued to lead the group along the now rocky terrain. By all accounts, they were in the final stage of their journey to the mountains. The scrub plains gave way to sloping, rocky features that ended in a sheer mass of dark rock. The mountains jabbed into the grey clouds above, seemingly impassable to the few travelers looking up into the fortress of solid rock.

However, their fears were at once aliviated and elevated as Aiden pointed tensely into the craggy reaches. Eonian and Fira’s eyes followed only to find a seemingly calm Zieg standing on the rocks above.

“Well, you took your sweet time getting here!” Zieg shouted. His voice boomed, even above the din of the raging storm.

“We were delayed!” Aiden shouted back, stepping forward in front of a now seething Eonian. His hand was calmly placed above the hilt of his short sword, but he made no further move as he stared upward. “I’m sure you had nothing to do with that, right?”

Zieg bowed mockingly, keeping his steely glare on the trio. “Of course not. It pains me to think that you were attacked trying to visit little old me! While I can’t do much about that, I can offer you some rest and comfort! Would you like that?”

Both Aiden and Eonian scoffed at the offer and, despite their slight fatigue, drew their swords angrily. They both shifted, trying to block Fira from view.

“Get back,” Eonian whispered back, shifting his foot as if he intended to leap up the mountain face and strike Zieg down where he stood.

Zieg, seeming insulted, only pouted playfully and sat down on the rocky outcropping. “Well then, can I at least show you the way to my humble abode?”

Aiden’s mind whirled, instantly realizing that their gamble on the plains had failed. They had made it to the mountains in time, but they certainly didn’t have the energy to fight off Zieg now. ‘That was his plan all along,’ Aiden thought grimly, scowling at the thought that his enemy had managed to stay one step ahead of them. Looking up, he said, “Well, that would be nice, but we’d appreciate it if you gave us about a few hours or so to get ready!”

To his surprise, Zieg stood, a look of understanding sweeping across his features. “Of course,” he said, his hand sweeping across in a gracious manner. “I understand that you’re tired and I planned accordingly. I’ll give you an hour…or until the storm clears. Your choice.”

Eonian and Aiden shared glances, quickly evaluating the offer. Neither could deny that such a thing would be helpful…but dangerous. As if in answer to their thoughts, Zieg held his hand up, palms forward.

“I assure you that I’m completely serious,” he said, stepping back. “I promise you that I will be back here in an hour, no tricks, jokes, or attacks.” He smiled evilly before continuing, “I want you to be in tip-top shape when I kill you. Having it any other way would be disappointing.” He continued to step backwards, chuckling evilly and letting the sound drift down the mountain as he left.

Both rangers waited painful seconds before sheathing their weapons and apparently relaxing. They shared anxious glances, looking back and forth to make sure that this wasn’t just another convenient trap.

“What in the hell was that?” Aiden asked finally, his shoulders sagging in fatigue and spent energy.

“No idea,” Eonian said, his voice masking the same tired feeling that Aiden and Fira no doubt experienced. “But whatever he’s doing, he’s probably sincere about that hour.”

“You’re joking right?” Aiden replied, “We’re not exactly talking about a saint worthy of our trust.”

“But he does have a record of keeping his word,” Eonian shot back, “No matter how flawed or twisted his word might be. If he says he’ll give us an hour, he means it…I hope.”

Aiden heaved an exasperated sigh, but said nothing as he plopped unceremoniously on the wet rock and pretended to enjoy his break as the rain continued to pour down the side of the mountain. “Ridiculous,” he muttered, “The most vicious person we know actually gives us a break. That’s just plain ridiculous. . .”

The sorceress noted the frown that was formed by her words and could not help but to frown herself. Fira hoped dearly that the facial expression did not mean that Aiden did not hold a low level of confidence in her abilities. After all, the young woman already doubted herself and knew that if her companions began to doubt her that she would surely take a fall in battle.

Fira gave a sigh of both exhaustion and happiness when she heard Eonian tell them that they were close to stopping. She had noticed the change in the terrain and had assumed that they were drawing nearer to their destination; yet she had not been able to fathom exactly close they were. Her happiness at reaching the area in particular vanished swiftly as the green-blue eyed Elf pointed suddenly to an Elf that was standing among the rocks with a calm aura. The Half-Elf noticed by the tense atmosphere that has fallen upon them all that this Elf was definitely of importance.

She remained silent, not knowing quite what it was that she should do; however, this was made clear when the two rangers moved in front of her. Fira crouched down behind them and did her best to keep out of the sight of the one upon the rocks. She stayed posed as so until she saw that he had taken his leave from their area and then she rose.

"It does seem to be a bit ridiculous," Fira commented thoughtfully as she pondered on the words that were spoken. "Yet I think that, regardless of his reputation, that he did truly mean what it was that he said. I could tell from his voice."

The young woman frowned faintly and then questioned, "I suppose that that man was Zieg?"

It was lucky for all three of them that he had given them a break. Their trip across the plains and through the storm had steadily managed to drain their energy. A battle right then could not be afforded and it would make for their trip to be entirely in vain. Fira's frown deepened as she thought, 'Perhaps he did not attack because he pities us. Gah, that will not do at all.'

"I suppose that that man was Zieg?"

“Unfortunately,” Aiden said, sighing as he lay against the wet rock. He was surprised and wary of the fact that Zieg had been so willing to give them a break. He knew that a fight against him in their current state would be useless and futile…not to mention a complete failure.

“Don’t look so glum,” Eonian ordered, pulling out his uneaten bag of food. “At least he decided to have pity on us poor travelers.” The comment drew a tired smile from Aiden, but little else. Both he and Aiden knew that they were very lucky that Zieg had decided not to attack. Had he done so, he might not have led them to his base and their attempt to save Lorien would have failed.

“Are we going to stick to his timetable?” Aiden asked, taking out his own food.

Eonian shook his head as he ate a few pieces of fruit. “We’ll leave before the hour is up,” he said, “We can follow his tracks to his base and meet him there. Of course, I am sure that he’s already planned for that sort of thing, so we will have to be fully alert when we go.”

“Do you think he has men posted?”

“Probably, but not too many. It would be far too hard to keep a supplied garrison in the mountains…I hope so anyway.” Eonian looked up thoughtfully as he continued, “And plus, if he had a lot of men, he would have sent some against us while we were traveling on the plain.”

Aiden nodded in agreement before adding, “Or he might’ve even brought more with him and tried to fight us in the Sanctuary itself. He doesn’t particularly care if there are others around to get in his way.” They fell silent as they contemplated their next move, again hoping that Zieg hadn’t realized Fira was there. The chance that he hadn’t was slim, but even if he had, he probably hadn’t expected her presence. Indeed, Fira would be their one advantage over Zieg in the upcoming fight.

“I’ll fight him,” Aiden said finally, finishing his food. He handed the empty pouch to Eonian, ignoring the frown on his friend’s face.

“This isn’t a one man fight you know,” Eonian replied, keeping his cool gaze on Aiden.

“I know, but there’s little choice otherwise. If all three of us fight and all three of us are hurt, there’s no one to save Lorien.”

“We could send Fira to save her while we both fight Zieg. That’s a much better plan than the one you’re advocating.”

“True…but what if something happens to Fira? That’s our only advantage gone to the wind.” Aiden gave her an apologetic glance, hoping that he hadn’t offended her.

“Besides,” Eonian began, “Are you even sure you can handle Zieg alone? He’s a tough nut to crack, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”

Aiden paused at this, knowing that it would be especially difficult to take down Zieg alone. The thoughtful look on his face quickly vanished as it hardened into a determined stare. “I can take him, whether he thinks so or not. The important thing is that you two rescue Lorien as soon as possible. If you can do that quickly enough, then it’ll be four verses one, very good odds I think.”

Eonian scoffed at that before replying, “You’re assuming that Lorien will be up to a fight after being in captivity for over two days. And I’m not quite sure I’d be willing to place stock in those odds of yours. If I remember correctly, there have been plenty of times when it failed us.” This drew a chuckle from Aiden, but did not lessen his conviction. Eonian could only sigh as he raised his hand in submission. “I’ll leave it up to Fira. Whatever she says, I’ll go with.”

Aiden nodded in agreement, and then stared expectantly at Fira, regretting that the young woman had been put on the spot so quickly. . .

Gratefully taking some time to rest, Fira sat cross-legged upon the drenched ground with an exhausted sigh. Normally, she would have been bothered by the wet earth, but for now, it was better for her to rest rather than to worry over such a petty thing. The young woman removed the pouch of fruit from her pocket that she had saved from earlier and began to eat it a few pieces at a time.

Fira contemplated the discussion between Aiden and Eonian within her mind rather than interrupting them repetitively. It was odd that Zieg had decided to give them some time for rest, though the sorceress decided not to allow for her thoughts to remain upon that factor for long; for there was something else that directed her attention towards it. She believed the word of the Elf to be true; however, it was highly possible that he did have men stationed around the Ered Annon Mountains to quickly get rid of the trio before they had the ability to reach the base. This point in particular she did not want to voice. The Half-Elf had caused for conflict to arise between her and her companions before and, now that time was critical, she could not afford for a seperation to occur.

Once again her thoughts fell away from another aspect of the upcoming events when Aiden mentioned that he would be fighting against Zieg on his own. She swiftly shook her head. Although it would be grand to have a battle between the two of them, it was not advisable in any way.

"I'll leave it up to Fira. Whatever she says, I’ll go with."

The young woman looked to the pair of rangers in confusion, wondering if she had heard Eonian correctly. "Are you sure that you wish for me to make the decision?"

She waved her dominant hand absentmindedly as she answered her own question within her mind. Fira sighed and stood to begin to pace around the area. At last she stopped and faced her friends. "This does place me within an awkward position...

"Aiden, I deeply trust your abilities and have no doubts that you would not be able to take care of yourself in battle. However, there are some chances that something could change and it could put you heavily at risk. I know that you wish to fight Zieg alone, but I truly believe that Eonian should join you. If Eonian were not fighting alongside you, then Zieg would suspect something. If there is a chance that he does not know of my existence, well, then it would be better for me to go and save Lorien."

Fira sat down upon the ground again and hoped that she had not offended anyone.

"If Eonian were not fighting alongside you, then Zieg would suspect something. If there is a chance that he does not know of my existence, well, then it would be better for me to go and save Lorien."

Eonian sat up and sat cross-legged as he tried to conceal his pleased look. Although he hadn’t expected Fira to urge Aiden to fight alone, Eonian was certainly grateful that she had even gone so far as to come up with a decent reason why she should be the one to rescue Lorien. Despite this momentary agreement, Eonian still wondered if even he and Aiden would be enough to stave off Zieg…and whatever traps had been set for them. ‘We haven’t exactly had a great track record against him,’ he thought, ‘Much less fighting him in his own base.’

Aiden sighed in defiant resignation as he again plopped on the wet stone. “Lucky me, I never said I’d go along with this.” The comment drew a concerned and slightly angry stare from Eonian. However, Aiden only smirked and said, “But I see no reason to go against it for the moment. I’ll stick with you guys…if you really want me to.”

Eonian let out an amused snort, but was glad that Aiden didn’t plan on charging in by himself, at least not for the moment. “Now we just have to wait.”

“We could plan something,” Aiden said as he laid back. He seemed to be oblivious of the rain falling on his face, his expression seemingly distant.

“What exactly?” Eonian replied, “We don’t exactly have much to work with here. No floor plans, no information on enemy numbers, very little in the way of weaponry…anyone but us could see that this little expedition is doomed to failure.”

Aiden only shrugged and said, “And that’s exactly why we’ll win.”

Eonian took a short, almost disbelieving breath, then released it as he face creased into a smile. “You always were the hopeful one I suppose. . .”

***************************

The hour passed relatively uneventfully. Eonian even decided to catch a few fleeting moments of sleep as he draped his cloak over his head to keep out the rain. Aiden only looked up into the stormy skies, still seemingly lost in his own world as time went by. He ignored the fact that his silence might have made for an awkward wait. He grimaced slightly, hoping that Fira wasn’t offended by his thoughtful silence.

‘She might be asleep,’ he thought. He turned to look over at her, but his gaze was instead drawn upward as a familiar figure appeared on the rocks above. “Zieg,” Aiden breathed as he stood quickly, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.

“Calm down,” Zieg said, looking over the three travelers. His eyes widened as he seemed to just notice Fira. “Three of you?” he asked, “And I thought this would be a touching reunion for the three of us.”

“Plans change,” Eonian said as he too stood quickly and brought his hand to his blade. “Sorry for the inconvenience I suppose.”

Zieg only chuckled as he continued to stare down at the small group. A few tense moments passed before he shrugged and turned to his right. “My base is just a few meters in that direction. I’m sure you’ll find it easy to make your way to the entrance, so I think I’ll leave and prepare for your arrival…” His voice trailed off as he noted the harsh gaze of Aiden. “Is something wrong?” Zieg asked mockingly. His voice dripped with feigned concern, a fact that made Aiden seethe with anger.

“Nothing at all,” Aiden finally replied, struggling to keep his voice from cracking. “Just make your footsteps heavy, that way we can follow your tracks to your front door. Might as well make this challenging.”

“That is, if your stench doesn’t lead us to you first,” Eonian said, his hand moving coolly away from his sword.

Zieg only smiled and turned away, again leaving the trio to their own devices. . .

Fira released a sigh of relief when she realized that her statements were not going to be taken the wrong way once again. Time was becoming far too precious for such an event of seperation to occur between the three of them. The young woman laughed in her own thoughts as she voiced this within her mind. As if time had not already been valuable! Had she not been repeating this over and over within her mind ever since learning that Lorien needed to be rescued?



When the night finally began its crescendo into the heavens above, the young woman decided that it was at last time for her to take advantage of the amount of time that had been given and drew her cloak close to her. It was time for her to get some well-earned sleep. After all, the trek to the mountains had been everything but serene and easy. She continued to sleep; even when Zieg paid his visit to her companions and took note of her presence among them. The sleep of the orange haired woman did not have the ability to last long however; for a few moments after Zieg had departed from their area, she rose and looked about with half-awake eyes.

"Did I miss something?" The sorceress questioned as she seemed to notice that there was a tense atmosphere around both Aiden and Eonian. She frowned and continued on speaking, forging her own assumptions of what had occured while she had been asleep. "Did Zieg come while I was..."

Her voice faded away as she assumed that he had and then Fira grimaced. Now the plan that she had created earlier was of no good; for with Zieg knowing of her being among the two rangers, then he would know that she was supposed to be within the battle among the two rangers as well. The sorceress hung her head in her hands and whispered, "It is all ruined now. Our element of surprise is gone."

“It is all ruined now. Our element of surprise is gone."

Both Aiden and Eonian turned, realizing that there was little use in trying to make things look any better. However, they were worried at the sound of defeat in Fira's statement. She had unofficially taken the role of 'group cheerer-uper' and the fact that she had begun to lose hope...was disturbing.

Aiden finally shrugged and said, “Well, I guess you could look at it like that. There’s no guarantee that we even had an element of surprise to begin with.” He smiled weakly, trying to give some sort of comfort, but there was little that he could do in the meantime.

“Well, we’d better get moving,” Eonian said, masking the disappointment that threatened to overwhelm him. He felt as if their mission to save Lorien had taken a severe blow…through no fault of their own. ‘We’ll just have to be more discreet next time.”

“I guess so,” Aiden muttered, making sure that his gear was set and ready for action. He was the first to move away from their position. He moved towards the seemingly sheer rock of wall and quickly found a few hand and footholds. “This might be more difficult than previously planned,” he said absently, beginning the relatively short climb to where Zieg had last stood.

“You can say that again,” Eonian replied. He quickly grimaced as Aiden began to take his statement literally. “Never mind,” he said quickly, holding up his hands in mock surrender. Aiden only smiled as he continued climbing up the rock.

He slid a little, finding it difficult to get a good purchase on the now slick rock. “Do you have a rope?” Aiden asked, knowing that Eonian would be beginning his climb.

“Maybe,” Eonian answered, “I truly doubt it though. I probably left any rope we had with the horses. I hadn’t exactly planned on using rope.”

Aiden grunted as he forced himself up the rock, ignoring the few nicks he suffered as his limbs rubbed against sharp corners. It took about a minute to make his way to the ledge and another ten seconds before he had managed to pull himself up into a stable position. He immediately turned and took off his soaking wet traveling cloak as the rain continued to fall, albeit at a slower pace.

“Take this,” Aiden said, motioning to the cloak as he gradually lowered the tip of the tattered garment towards his companions.

“You really need a new cloak buddy,” Eonian muttered as he tentatively reached towards the edge of the cloak. However, it stopped about a foot beyond Eonian’s reach, despite Aiden’s efforts to reach as far as possible.

“Sorry,” Aiden said softly, “But, if you get up here, then perhaps we could use yours to help Fira.” Eonian nodded wordlessly and climbed the first few feet unaided. About halfway up, he grabbed the cloak and wrapped it around his hand for stability. He then, with Aiden’s help, pulled himself up the remaining distance.

Eonian turned quickly once he reached the top and grabbed Aiden’s cloak. He then took both cloaks and reached them out towards Fira, hoping that she’d be able to do as he had done and use them to stabilize her climb. “We need to invest in a ladder,” he mumbled as Aiden looked around to guard his back. . .