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It was the dark of night. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the crescent moon shone brightly alongside its legions of stars. A light breeze blew from the south, creating a chill in the air.
From his position at the top of the cliff, Lance could see the path that lay before him. It was a thick, dark forest, and it stretched out for as far as he could see. Beyond it lay his destination: the town of Hamasha.
"I'd better get going," Lance said to himself, and he slowly began to make his way down the path to the bottom of the cliff.

The town of Hamasha was just a point along Elizabeth's path, as her true destination was a good few days travel further away. She'd decided it would serve as an adequate place to stop for the night though, and had found a room for the night.
As night had drawn on, she'd reflected again about how strange the anonymous demand had been; why would anyone want her to travel to so far away a place to get that boy back? It'd mean her adversary would need to be racing off in that direction as soon as they'd done the deed, merely to be able to wait there when she arrived...

A bizarre request indeed, particularly with the lack of details about any ransom.
She spent much of the evening examining maps, trying to find what sorts of land she would need to pass through, and where amongst them she would have set a trap if she was the one being pursued. No harm in being prepared, after all.

Lance stood at the edge of the town. From the top of a hill he could see the dark houses and the empty streets. The journey here had taken not quite four hours, much less than expected. Lance surveyed Hamasha as it lay before him, as if searching for something. A few moments of searching left him unsatified, and he reached into his bag, taking out a piece of paper. Written on it were directions, which Lance studied carefully.
"This is the place," he said to himself. "So where the hell is the cave?"
Lance contiued to inspect the area, looking for anything that might be a hidden opening, but came up empty. Just as he was about to give up, something caught his eye. Standing behind the treeline at the edge of the forest about twenty feet away was a dark figure. After a few moments of staring at it, a look of recognition came to Lance's face.
"So there you are," he said with a grin. "I've been looking for you."
The figure did not speak, but only beckoned for Lance to follow. He did so without hesitation, and soon they both disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

There was somebody outside Elizabeth's room.

This would not normally be cause for concern, but the way they were moving disquieted her. Quietly, enough so that she'd not have been awoken; in itself not something to worry about, but they'd stopped right outside her door...

She surveyed the situation for a moment. She was in bed, her sword was propped up in a corner, and her armour plates lying in a pile beside it. For all intents and purposes, she looked unarmed and harmless, an illusion it would be fine to maintain, she decided.

Shortly, the door was eased open, and a burly man stepped in. Not the innkeeper, so there were probably two things he could be after. Both things he had no right to.
She was slightly disappointed when he approached the table at the opposite side of the room, since that meant he'd snuck into a girl's room to steal her money. Must have been watching earlier, maybe mistaking my scrap metal for more bags of gold, she decided.

"Don't you think it's improper to enter a maiden's room uninvited?" she asked in a mild tone, sitting up. This startled him as she'd expected, but he quickly turned around and revealed the dagger he'd brought.
"Quiet, wench, or I'll gut yer." he hissed, pointing the blade at her face for emphasis.
How rude.
Smiling somewhat like a shark, she ignored the command. "I have to ask, what made you think I'd be carrying enough gold to make this worth your while?"
The man spat at the ground before answering. "'Cause you act like a bloody noble, 's why. Now shut up."

He probably feels in control of the situation, given that he has the knife and I'm a mere girl in her bedclothes. The fool has no idea that I could crush him like an insect caught between the gears of a machine...

Somewhat pitiful, really.

Lance and his new companion walked slowly down a dark tunnel. The atmosphere was cold and damp, and the occasional torch that lined the wall provided little light. Lance's companion wore a long, black cloak that covered his entire body. A hood also covered his head, so nothing was visible of his features.
"So, Vince, why exactly was a session called here on such short notice?" Lance inquired.
"We have found two more who possess a crystal," Vince responded in a deep voice. "Better yet, we believe their paths will meet at this town."
"Ah, I see."
"Our scouts are tracking the enemy's movements," Vince continued. "We still do not have any information about their abilities, but we should have that before they arrive."
"Good, good," Lance said with a grin. "I'll be sure to give them a warm welcome."
Lance and Vince then entered a larger chamber within the cave. There were roughly a dozen others there, and they sat around a table, discussing various matters. Lance looked around at the faces and recognized all of them. They were all former henchmen of Cerezoth.
"Where is Jackal?" Lance asked. One of the others responded.
"We haven't been able to find him, sir. Our leads keep coming up empty."
"I guess that means I'll be doing all the dirty work, since he and I are the only ones here that already have a crystal," Lance thought to himself with a sigh. "Oh well, I'd better go do some scouting of my own. Knowing the others that were sent out, they'll probably get caught before they learn anything useful..."

Blood splattered against the walls of the church, the Paladins lower half slid to the ground, his upper half crawling away with a few breathes of life still in him. The sword wielded by the attacker slided easily into his back, ending his life just a few breathes short.

Cinead looked down at his enemy, he brought the handle of his sword to his face and inspected it. There were thirty notches in the wooden handle, seven had a second notch through it. They symbolized the murderers that he had slain and sent to the hell they all told him they'd see him in. He brought a blood stained hand to the handle, and crossed out another notch.

Leaving the church behind, Cinead never gave a glance back 'I hate churches' he thought, while heading in the dark forest.

Dear innkeeper,
I apologise for leaving the room in such a mess, but I was given little of a choice in the matter. I shall leave some gold with this letter, which should pay for repairs and cleanup of the blood.
As for the scoundrel left in here, he will probably live, though I cannot promise he will regain use of his limbs. Do what you want with him. I will be leaving tonight, and I suggest nobody follows me, for I shall not hold back next time.

Yours faithfully,

Elizabeth looked over the letter, and decided it'd do. She signed it as "Lisa Wolfram", the pseudonym she'd given the innkeeper, and left it and a fair sum of gold coins where they'd be easily found later.

I don't like the thought of staying here anymore, especially if he had allies who might want revenge. And that's ignoring any potential law enforcement problems I've invited upon myself... I'd best not delay.

She left the building as quietly as she could, and headed to her horse. A few minutes later, she was riding out of the village at a moderate pace, wondering whether she should find somewhere sheltered to camp for the night, or try to ride on to the next settlement.

Lance stood quietly in hiding. Around him was a forest, and a dirt road ran straight through it. He stood hidden behind a tree and some bushes, observing the currently empty road.
"I can sense the approach of a Crystal," Lance thought to himself. "And it looks like it's heading along this road. I should be able to get at least a glimpse of its carrier if I wait here."
Lance waited for another minute before he was interrupted.
"Well, hello there," a voice came from behind him. Surprised, Lance turned around to see a tall man with light brown hair and dark skin.
"Jackal?" Lance said, still surprised by his sudden appearance. "So you finally decided to show up."
"Yes," Jackal replied. "But now is not the time for small talk. While you're away from the group, now is the time for me to finish you."
"What?" Lance stammered in shock.
Jackal drew his sword, and holding it out in front of him, his image began to blur. It then split up into twenty new forms which circled around Lance.
"Dammit, what is this? Why would you turn against us now? You’ve always been one of Cerezoth’s loyal followers; in the Elite Core you were second only to myself!”
Lance paused as a realization came to him.
“That’s it, you’re looking to become Cerezoth’s right hand man, aren’t you? When he’s revived you’ll make up some story about how I was defeated by the enemy, and you’ll take my place. Is that your plan?”
Jackal laughed.
“You’re the same fool you always were, Lance. I’ve got far bigger plans.”
Jackal raised his sword, as did all of his illusions, and they charged Lance at once. Raising his hand, Lance summoned twenty bats to combat Jackal. Each attacked one of the forms, and Lance watched them carefully. Nineteen went right through, indicating an illusion. But one made contact, and Lance quickly spotted it. He turned towards Jackal, and raising his axes, blocked the oncoming attack. It became a battle of power, axe versus sword, and Lance took the upper hand. He pushed Jackal backwards, knocking him into a tree.
“Dammit, I guess I got a bit overconfident here,” Jackal mumbled to himself.
“You’re weak without your tricks, and after fighting alongside you for so long, I can see right through them,” Lance boasted. “Now answer my question, what the hell is going on here?”
Without answering, Jackal stood up and turned away from Lance. His body suddenly split up into over a dozen forms, and each ran off in a different direction. Realizing it would be futile to attempt to determine which was the real Jackal and then take pursuit, Lance merely stood and sighed to himself.
“Bastard…”

Hearing a bit of a violent commotion ahead, Elizabeth stopped for a moment, hesitating. It was in the wrong direction to be pursuit from the town, she reasoned, but could well be trouble anyway.
Bandits, perhaps? ...If it's someone in trouble I can't really ignore them, but I could be approaching a real mess, and riding in would only attract attention...
Reaching a decision, she got off her horse and proceeded slowly on foot, leading it. She did see a flash of movement once, seeming to be heading in the opposite direction, but it was gone before she had much time to react. She wasn't even sure she'd not imagined it, so she went on.

Soon, she sighted a young looking male ahead, who seemed to have a pair of axes. She hesitated again, since it looked like any battle was over; if there was nobody in need of help she could just go past.
But on the other hand, if he's hurt maybe he won't be able to handle another fight? And knowing what might attack someone around here would be safer than not knowing too...
If he's just an axe wielder, I could probably-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a more pressing one: she had suddenly been struck by the certainty that she'd been seen by this person.
Deciding it was too late to turn back now, she spoke.

"Uh, greetings. Was there some sort of trouble...?"

Lance saw the woman staring right at him.
"I can sense it, she has one of the Crystals," Lance thought to himself. "Dammit, the rest of the group isn't here, and now that she sees me, it's too late for a sneak attack. I don't want to fight her here, either, because I don't know if I could end it quickly. Jackal might still be around; it'd be just like him to wait until I'm distracted by this girl to attack again."
Lance paused another moment to think as the woman walked closer to him, her horse at her side.
"I'd be best not to reveal my intentions yet. I'll pretend to accompany her to wherever she's going. Then I can get away from here and wait for the right moment to strike and take her Crystal."
"Uh, greetings. Was there some sort of trouble...?" The woman asked. Lance responded calmly.
"No, it's nothing. What are you doing out at this time of the night? Are you headed somewhere?"

A tall figure was racing toward him, seemingly running away from something. With the swift movement of his sword, the figure was without a head... or atleast that's how it should have gone. He kept running, head and all, not even noticing the attack. "An illusion?" Cinead said aloud, 'must have been, wonder what it was running from?' he made up his mind to see, the town of Hamasha was in the same direction, and he had heard another paladin resided there.

There were no paths to follow, no markings he could use as a guide (and certainley no bread crumbs). But the Lord of Blood could smell the crimson liquid on someone. It wasn't fresh, congealed by now, but still there. That smell, he both loved it and hated it, the smell reminded him of his foster clan as the feasted but also it brought back terrible memories of the day he did not guard them...

"No, it's nothing. What are you doing out at this time of the night? Are you headed somewhere?", the youth had said, calmly.
The second part of the question was simple to answer, but the first was something Elizabeth hadn't come up with an explanation for.

"Oh... I was, um, heading out towards a town I'm supposed to meet someone at. It's still a few days away, though...", she replied, slightly flustered.
She was about to wave an arm to indicate the direction she was going, but stopped herself after realising such a movement would move her cloak aside enough to reveal some of the red stains on the dress underneath.

Ah~, he had to ask that... I suppose I'll need to tell him half of the truth if he presses the issue of why I'm out...
Though actually, I wonder why he's out here at this time? With those axes, he looks like a fighter of some sort. If he's an bandit, would that be why he didn't want to say what happened?
But then, why would a bandit hang around when there are no targets to prey upon?
Deciding there was no point in speculating with so little information, she smiled brightly and asked a question:
"Are you travelling too? Which way are you going?"

Lance listened to her replies, but noticed something strange. She seemed to stop herself in the middle of something.
"What was that?" Lance thought to himself. "Is she trying to hide something? It's probably her Crystal. But I can't worry myself over that now. It's time to make up my own story..."
"No, I don't have anywhere I need to be," Lance answered, giving his best smile back. "I'm a mercenary, and just got off a job, so I'm free for the time being. Perhaps I could accompany you to your destination? A maiden like yourself shouldn't be traveling these dangerous roads alone, especially at night."

"Just got off a job", he says? Interesting, when combined with the fact he probably just had a fight.
She looked him over again before answering.
Well, he looks a decent sort. Offering to escort me is certainly a gentlemanly thing to do, unless ill-intent lurks behind it. In which case, better I should face it than a less dangerous lady...

"Yes, I would appreciate that. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, though; however it may look, I am fairly competent at taking care of myself."
Her smile by this point had become on its own rather brighter; though she didn't consciously realise it, since her journey so far had been quite lonely, the prospect of company had cheered her up a lot. Especially as it carried the possibility of gaining an ally with the skills of a mercenary, and the honour of a gentleman.

"My name is Elizabeth. What's yours?", she said.

"The name's Lance," he replied. "And don't worry about inconveniencing me. I always travel wherever duty calls, this is how I live. Now where exactly are we going?"
Lance's smile grew a bit wider as the conversation went on. On the outside it appeared that he was happy for the company, but on the inside he was smiling at his success.
"This is going perfectly," Lance thought to himself. "I can't travel by day, but I can get around that. If she's out this late that means she probably hasn't slept much. If we stop to rest somewhere soon that would be the perfect opportunity for me."

"Ah yes, of course. Wait a moment, okay?"
She opened one of her horse's saddlebags and started looking through it for her map, while continuing:
"It's a town about two days travel to the south, though I think we need to cross a river at some point. I've forgotten the name, but it should be on the map somewhere..."
After a few more seconds of rummaging, she triumphantly drew out a slightly battered map.
"Ah, found it! Let's see... Does 'Satsusha' sound about right for that area, Lance?"

Thinking for a moment, Lance remembered coming through that city before.
"Yes, that's right. I've been there a few times. It's a day and a half's journey if we make haste, or two days if we take a slower pace."
Lance turned and ran his eyes over Elizabeth's horse and bags.
"It looks like we've got enough to get us there with no problems, so there's no reason to hurry. There's not much in the way of rest stops, though. The best we could get around here is an abandoned cave in the rocky area not far ahead, unless you want to go back to the last town and start the journey tomorrow."

"Ah. Well..."
She thought quickly about this choice. Going back wasn't acceptable, but a reason would be nice, so she looked less suspicious. She was pleased to come up with an excuse relatively quickly, though.
"...Well, the cave sounds fine. There's no need to waste money on an inn if we don't have to, right?"
Not again, anyway. I suppose I'll seem rather miserly this way, but that can't be helped..., she reflected.
"Lead the way, if you will?", she said, a lot more brightly than she felt. Her thoughts would be distracting her as she followed.

"Very well, let's get going, then," Lance said as he turned towards the south, where they would be headed. He started walking and Elizabeth gathered her things and followed.
In the beginning, they walked in silence. The atmosphere was rather stiff, and Lance could see that Elizabeth was nervous and deep in thought about something. Hoping to lighten the atmosphere and improve the good guy image he was trying to convey, Lance struck up some small talk.
"So, do you travel often?"

"Huh? Oh, somewhat. Not so much before, but recently... Well, I used to practically be apprenticed as a clockmaker. Then a lot of things happened, mostly unpleasant, and now I'm on my own..."
All true. I don't know if I should be honest with someone I've just met, but it feels nice to have someone to talk to, for once.
It was after I got the crystal that everything really went wrong, wasn't it? The power's kept me safe more than once, but if I had given it to father back then...

She forced herself to think of the present, rather than what could have been, and continued speaking.
"I'm thinking of bounty hunting or something, since I'm a fairly good fighter. Though I do need to get to Satsusha to deal with one last bit of business first...
Anyway, you seem like an experienced mercenary, so I can ask you: What's the life like? Must be nice, being able to go wherever you want... "

Lance thought for a moment before he began his reply.
"Life as a mercenary is interesting, to say the least. It's great if you enjoy traveling, since you do get to go all over. If you're a member of a mercenary guild you may be restricted somewhat, but I'm a freelancer, so I can go wherever I what to take on new jobs. You meet all sorts of people, too. Sometimes they're interesting, but other times... they're just plain crazy."
Lance reflected about this for a moment. In a sense, he had been a sort of mercenary. He had carried out jobs for Cerezoth in the same way that members of a mercenary guild would carry out jobs given to them by the guildmaster.
"Is that all I am?" Lance thought. "Just a mercenary of Cerezoth's..."
He struggled with these ideas for a moment before shrugging them off.
"No, I can't be just a mercenary. Cerezoth saved my life and raised me. I'm not a mercenary serving his guildmaster, I'm a son serving his father."

Careully, Cinead walked into the clearing. He looked down at the ground and saw four different tracks. Three were human, one from a horse "This was were the blood came from, I'm sure of it" he said to himself. Deciding it wasn't important he continued to the town.

It was a small village, an inn and a small market... that was about all. He didn't plan on staying the night though, nor did he want to shop, his purpose here was so that his blade could taste the sweet taste of vengeance. He walked through the street, being on the receiving end of raised eyebrows, these people didn't like strangers, especially ones wearing a black cloak, covering their features.

Arriving in-front of a small house, the ominious figure pulled his blade from it's sheath, raising a single black boot, he kicked down the door. Charging into the home, he made a left and was in the bedroom. The Paladin was up and out of bed, the woman with him, a girl no more than 12, was under the bed in a shot. Fom beneath the pillow, came the Paladins dagger, shapped like a cross with a point no doubt blessed, a rosary wrapped in the other hand, he brought them together to recite a prayer. "You're not going to repent are you Padre?" the Lord of Blood said with a chuckle. Flames encircled him, 'what the....' he thought as he surrounded by a cyclone of flames. Cinead quickly knew what to do, as he carried out one of his most powerul spells. The body burned to a crisp, collapsing to the floor.

The Paladin smiled, revealing quickly redining teeth and gums, and lips. The blood poured down his mouth and he collapsed. Standing behind him was his child prostitute, Cinead's sword in hand. The girl then grew taller, changing sex and taking on the appearence of Cinead. He laughed, though he didn't want to take child's body from her, he had no choice. Maybe he had even done her a favour, she would no longer have to sell herself.

Elizabeth watched Lance curiously for a moment. His answer was something to think about, sure, but he'd paused a little too long after giving it. As if he'd himself found something to think about in it, perhaps?
Judging from where he stopped... These crazy people one meets, did one of them do something bad...?
She opened her mouth to ask if something happened, then stopped.
I don't want to pry if it would bring up a bad memory, but on the other hand, maybe he too has things he'd want to talk about?
She decided to ask slightly more indirectly.
"Is something the matter...?"

"No, not at all," Lance responded, waving the comment off. He wanted to avoid going into discussions any deeper than what had already been said, to avoid the risk of giving himself away. Noting the rocks up ahead, Lance managed to change the topic.
"It looks like we're approaching the caves. There should be a dirt path that leads to the biggest ones just up ahead."
They continued walking for a moment, and sure enough, Lance saw the path.
"Here it is, let's go," Lance said, beckoning for Elizabeth to follow him.

"Okay."
She followed, looking around at the landscape on either side of the path, and ahead towards where the entrance to the cave would be. But since it was still dark, it was hard for her to see much, so she started instead to pay more attention to not tripping over anything hidden in the darkness.
...And there was no mistake about it, it was getting harder to pay attention to anything; her lack of rest was catching up to her, and she yawned sleepily.

As they drew closer to their destination for the night, she half-mumbled something she might not have said if fully awake.
"Hey Lance, you won't do anything weird while I'm asleep, right...?"

"Unless by weird you mean standing at the entrance watching guard, of course not," Lance said jokingly. Inside he was laughing to himself, because he new that something "weird" was exactly what he was planning on doing.
Soon they arrived at one of the caves, and this train of thought was cut short. Looking around, Lance determined that this would be a suitable location to rest for the night. He was about to turn to Elizabeth and tell her something, but he was interrupted.
"So you came here after all," a voice said from the back of the cave. "You're so predictable, Lance, you make things so easy."
Lance recognized the voice immediately, and turned around, trying to locate the speaker.
"Jackal...?"
"And young miss, why are you with a lying bastard like Lance?" Jackal continued. "You know he's never been one to act gentlemanly like you think. If you rest here with him, you may never wake up."
"That's a lie!" Lance shouted angrily. "Don't listen to anything he's saying, Elizabeth. He's just an enemy trying to ruin my reputation."
Jackal's figure could now be seen, slowly walking out of the depths of the cave.
"Tisk tisk, Lance, there's no need to be angry. I'm only speaking the truth, after all. Now, young miss, do you really want to travel with this deceitful Lance, or would you rather have me escort you back to town?"

Elizabeth had smiled faintly at his joking reply to her question.
I will trust you, she'd decided.

...Yet now, this new person had appeared, and his words suggested she reverse that decision. Not commenting on the issue of Lance's trustworthiness, she replied to his offer of an escort:
"I don't particularly see any reason to trust you better than I do him. Since I also have no intention of returning to town right now, I believe I shall respectfully decline your offer, good sir."

She smiled brightly, but coldly at him as she spoke. He had a far better grasp of the situation than he had any right to, which suggested to her he'd been watching. Which, in turn, suggested a purpose for watching, quite possibly a malicious one.
Certainly if he had any concern for my welfare he'd not have left me with a dangerous person. There's something else going on here; that "Jackal?" was proof. Evidently the two know one another, but what's their relation?, she wondered.
With a slightly warmer expression than she'd given the stranger, she put this question to Lance in a mild tone.
"I see you know each other by name. You have a history with this 'enemy trying to ruin your reputation'?"

And just in case the hostility lead to a fight, she surveyed the situation while awaiting a response.
She had her sword and armour plates beneath her cloak, and there was a fair amount of scrap metal in a saddlebag near enough to use, so weapons weren't an issue. Instead, she discreetly looked around for ways she could turn the location to her advantage.

Lance paused for a moment.
"How do I answer this question?" He thought. "I certainly can't tell her the truth. I guess it's time to make up another story and hope it flies..."
"It's a feud that began with our grandfathers. Mine sa-"
Lance did not get far before Jackal interrupted him.
"Why do you insist on hiding behind your lies? It's clear she's not going to trust you again."
Then, turning to Elizabeth, Jackal continued.
"Miss, let me tell you the truth. You must know this by now, but you possess a Crystal which gives you great power. That is what Lance is after. He-"
Hearing this, Lance had had enough.
"I'm tired of your big mouth, Jackal!" He Drew his axes and swung them both in Jackal's direction. "SLASH OF DARKNESS!"
Lance's attack roared down the cave towards Jackal. It destroyed everything that got in its way, even ripping a layer of rock off of the walls, and Jackal disappeared instantly when he was hit. Several seconds later, a loud impact could be heard, as the cave had turned and the attack hit a wall. When everything settled down, Lance surveyed the situation.
"Dammit, Jackal's still alive, I can feel it. That must have been an illusion, so the real Jackal should be somewhere deeper in the cave. But what about Elizabeth? If I just leave her here... no, I don't have a choice. Jackal is by far the more dangerous of the two. He'll continue to pursue me until I take him out. I can always track down Elizabeth again later."
Throwing his cape around himself, Lance quickly disappeared without a trace, and left Elizabeth standing alone.

Kieva had noticed the couple walking along the dirt road as she was watching high up in a tree near the caves. The man was a warrior, no doubt a mercenary hired to guard the lady. Wearing armor and black clothes, he walked along with the lady, who was wearing a travelling cloak. The two were talking amicably enough. Maybe they were a couple? Kieva had been staying around this area for the last couple of days, trying to discern what was happening. There was a concentration of power around here, to be sure. A man had left the cave earlier today, and returned just a while earlier. Now this couple looked to be coming along the same way, heading right towards the cave where the tall man was currently located. Were the two men allied? To Kieva, this looked like a classic trap. A lady hires a mercenary in town to guide her to the next town over, and the mercenary leads her right into trouble. Then the bandits steal her possessions, and only that, if she's lucky. Well, this time, there'd be a little cog in the wheel, so to speak.

The two approached the cave. Kieva continued to watch from her perch, making no noise and blending in with her surroundings. She began to hear snatches of speech from inside the cave as the two stood at the entrance: "...you make things so easy...he's never been one to act gentlemanly..."

Then the man in black and armor shouted, "That's a lie! Don't listen to anything he's saying, Elizabeth. He's just an enemy trying to ruin my reputation."

An actor, huh?

Kieva felt like it was time to make herself known, at least to one person. She could see the woman known as Elizabeth standing at the cave entrance, and Kieva projected her thoughts toward Elizabeth telepathically, forming a link and sending the following: an image of herself, an image of her and Elizabeth disappearing into the forest, and an offer of help: "If you run, I help you escape! This is ambush for sure!"

Cinead saw the entire thing, the fight and the talk. "They have crystals too huh? But how did that one man.. "Jackal" know? Can it be possible to sense them? Is that what this feeling I've been having is?" He could feel something around these three, and another presence from someone off to the side, though he couldn't see them. "It must be it" he decided, but before he could ask the two men disappeared, and he figued the woman was as ignorant to this power as he was.

A sudden spell of dizziness that struck just after her question was easy for Elizabeth to dismiss as a sign of fatigue. Momentarily blurred vision was the same, though somewhat more worrying.
Voices and images though, were an indication of something strange. Particularly from the way the voice spoke; she would have expected a voice from her own mind to speak as she might. She hid her surprise as best as she could (enough to fool an unobservant or distracted watcher, at best), while considering her next move.

An obvious possibility for the cause was magic, which she deemed also the most likely one. Her own powers from the crystal were very physical, but there was no reason to think all others were the same.
So the question now is who that was from, and what their intent is. The sender seems to be the woman in the images, and it's a pretty clear suggestion that I flee with her.
I could leave these two dubious men behind and get on with my quest.

...So why am I hesitating?

She understood some of the reasons. Curiosity was one, in that she wanted to know who the villain was in this scene. She'd claim altruism was another, because she was confident she could handle a mere mercenary who'd stoop to mistreating a lady, and would rather do so than leave them free to prey upon someone else.
Those reasons played parts, but there was one more: her father had been a proud man, and this was one thing he'd passed on to her. She simply didn't want to run away, danger or not.

She decided she should meet with her prospective rescuer, and explain how she was not as helpless as she might seem, and had in fact planned to walk into any possible traps. It wouldn't be polite to ignore it after all.

...And then was when her great miscalculation became apparent, as after a few moments of conversation, Lance lashed out towards "Jackal" with a clearly magical wave of dark energy, then disappeared.
She didn't miss the significance of their words either; one had known of her crystal, and the other wasn't surprised by it.

After getting over the shock of him having a crystal of his own (and berating herself for her arrogance in assuming he was no threat), she realised there was no reason to stay here anymore, besides its value as a place to rest.

She no longer even seemed to need rescuing, but the woman was probably still there somewhere. Elizabeth took her horse's reins in hand, and led her into the forest in search of this mysterious would-be rescuer.
"Hello? Are you still there...?"

Kieva continued to listen in on the conversation between the man in black and the man inside the cave.

"...she's not going to trust you...you possess a Crystal which gives you great power..."

Thoughts ran through Kieva's head quickly at hearing that. A crystal? The man or the woman has one? There are more of these crystals?

The thoughts hadn't much of a chance to continue, as suddenly the man in black had drawn weapons: two large axes. He then shouted, "SLASH OF DARKNESS!" and swung his weapons towards the inside of the cave. A thunderous roar could be heard echoing out of the entrance. A magical attack. Then I know who has this other crystal now. Hmm, maybe this isn't quite the situation I thought. Though, it has gotten even more dangerous.

As for the lady Elizabeth, Kieva had noticed her slight waver. She had to have gotten my message. She wasn't retreating, though, even after this display of power from the man she walked with.

Just then, the man in black covered himself in his cape and had disappeared.

Wa! Kieva was surprised at this. Such a show of stealth was usually how she surprised people, not the other way around. But she hadn't noticed him fleeing at all, just... gone. He wasn't using invisibility, that she could make out, anyway. Maybe that's part of the power his crystal grants him. I don't seem to have that one, though.

Kieva's thoughts were running long and her attention running short. She hadn't even noticed that the lady Elizabeth had walked almost right under the tree Kieva was perched on, and had called out, "Hello? Are you still there...?"

Kieva stared down at her from above, projecting her thoughts once again to Elizabeth: an image of herself up in the tree above her with the following words: "I am up here, yes. In the tree. Don't look, this area still dangerous maybe. The men still around maybe. I have watching this area for two days. The man inside cave is very powerful, and man you walked with has the magical power. He still be near, maybe. Why do you come here? I take you to safe resting place for night, continue travel in morning?"

After reappearing some distance down the cave, Lance paused to get a better read on the situation. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on locating Jackal's Crystal.
"It feels like it's over here," Lance thought to himself as he searched. "Somewhere... behind... found him!"
Throwing his cape around himself once more, Lance disappeared and reappeared again, this time at the location where Jackal was. Despite the darkness, Lance could see Jackal, as well as three illusions, standing right in front of him.
"I've got to be especially careful," Lance thought to himself as he drew his axes and prepared for a fight. "The darkness here and the cramped space are both advantageous to me, as I can see much better than Jackal and he doesn't have the space to fully utilize his illusions. He wouldn't have lured me here if he didn't have some big trick up his sleeve; something big enough to counter both of those advantages."
Jackal's figures turned towards Lance, and then he spoke.
"Welcome to this little cave, Lance. I'm glad you decided to come."
"You know why I'm here," Lance replied coldly. "Now answer my question, why?"
"Why did I betray Cerezoth? That's obvious. Fighting for my own goals, I have everything to gain, and nothing to lose."
"Nothing to lose?" Lance snapped back. "Do you think Cerezoth is going to just sit back and let you run free when he's resurrected?"
Jackal laughed loudly at Lance's comment.
"Lance, you fool, do you really think the dead can come back to life? There's no such thing as resurrection, even for a God. Cerezoth is dead, and not even the Crystals can bring him back."
Lance stood silent for a moment, shocked at what Jackal said, before responding.
"Just why should I believe you on that?"
"Do you really want to be dedicating your life to a lie?" Jackal replied calmly. The anger building up inside Lance could be seen clearly by this point.
"Even is this were true, why the hell would you know about something like that?" Lance asked. Jackal paused for a moment before answering.
"Perhaps if you have your axe to my throat, I will tell you that."
Two of Jackal’s forms drew their swords, and started moving towards Lance. He could tell from their movements that both were just illusions, so Lance stood his ground, not moving a muscle. Jackal soon realized Lance knew what he was doing, and both of the advancing illusions disappeared.
“In this narrow cave, there’s nowhere for you to run,” Lance announced with a smirk. He raised both of his axes, and swinging them in unison, let out a powerful attack once again.
“SLASH OF DARKNESS!”
The attack roared down the cave, but Lance was not impressed. He saw both of Jackal’s forms disappear before they were hit.
“No, I was talking to an illusion all along?!” Lance yelled in frustration. But he did not have time to vent his anger, as his attack hit the wall of the cave with a bang, and a faint roaring sound could be heard afterwards. The walls of the cave began to shake and crumble.
“Shit, this place is gonna cave in… that was jackal’s plan all along!”
Cursing his naivety for falling into this trap, Lance quickly threw his cape around himself, and disappeared from the collapsing cave just in time.

The second telepathic message felt strange like the first had, but knowing what it would feel like enabled Elizabeth to put on a much better act of nothing unusual occurring.
She stopped near the tree Kieva was in and pretended to be looking for the map again, and meanwhile in a voice she judged to be only just loud enough for her to hear, answered her questions.
"I was led here when looking for a safe place to rest, so finding one would be nice, thank you. And I'm not sure about the sudden disappearance of Lance, but the other guy wasn't in the cave after that blast... Anyway, I'll follow if you lead the way."

And once again I find myself relying upon the integrity of a stranger. However, this time I won't be foolish enough to assume I'm invincible if it comes to a fight.

...Actually, come to think of it, I wonder if her messages work both ways?
She focussed her thoughts on the message "Can you hear this?", as an experiment. It would have been better to have answered that way if it worked, but it was too late to do anything about that now, so she just hoped she'd not misjudged the necessary volume for speaking.

Kieva watched as Elizabeth walked to the trunk of the tree. She was standing directly below. Then Elizabeth spoke."I was led here when looking for a safe place to rest, so finding one would be nice, thank you. And I'm not sure about the sudden disappearance of Lance, but the other guy wasn't in the cave after that blast... Anyway, I'll follow if you lead the way."

The man in black, Lance. The other man disappeared, too? It had to have been some sort of magic, then, since she didn't see him leave the cave. Unless the cave had another exit. Either way, they weren't average bandits as I had originally thought.

"Can you hear this?" resonated in Kieva's mind. Ah, it seems this one catches on quickly. Kieva smiled.

Kieva started climbing down from her nest on the tree with nimble speed. She returned Elizabeth's mental query: "I admire sharp minds. I coming down now, so we can go to stream. It's not far, a half hour's time maybe. Hidden well in forest, well off path. From studying area, humans rarely there before me. Safe as any place in forest tonight."

Kieva was on the ground by now, landing a couple meters from Elizabeth without making any sound. She removed her minor invisibility, so that she could make her physical presence known to Elizabeth.

She projected into Elizabeth's mind: "Now I am to your right. My name is Kieva. Nice meeting you."

A rumbling far off in the distance from the direction of the caves caught Kieva's attention. It sounded like a cave-in. It seems like the man with the crystal is still in the area, and the other man, too, if they are fighting.

This time, out loud, to Elizabeth, Kieva said in a shrill whisper, "We better to be leaving quickly and quietly. Grab my hand, you will be safer this way!" She reached her black, fingerless-gloved hand out to Elizabeth.

They all definitly had crystals, Cinead sat at a tree, looking at the two woman as they "talked" practing this crystal sensing ability. 'Okay so, they're over there and I feel the auro coming from the direction, the other two aren't far away' he thought to himself, he was beginning to get the hang of this. After a few more minutes of practice, he emerged from the woods "Who are you?' he asked the maidens.

After Lance reappeared, he quickly surveyed his surroundings. He had not paid particular attention to where he was going, as he had just been trying to escape the cave. A brief look around told Lance that he was still in the forest. He then searched for Elizabeth's Crystal, trying to get a more exact reading on his location.
"Hmmm... I can sense her now, but she's a ways away. That's probably good, since it means she couldn't have noticed me leaving the cave. And... wait, there's two more Crystals?!"
Lance looked shocked as he tried to figure out who they might be.
"Was Elizabeth traveling with someone all along? Or did they just meet? I'd like to go check it out, but..."
Lance looked up at the sky, training his eyes on the horizon.
"I can't follow them now. It's getting too close to dawn. If I just watch them for a few minutes and leave, I'll be fine. But if a fight develops, I could be exposed when sunrise hits. No, I can't take that risk. I'll have to call it off for now."
Lance turned and headed to the south, towards another cave where he would rest to wait out the day.

She reached out her own hand, to take the one offered. Hopefully any red stains revealed wouldn't put off this new ally...
"Okay. I am Elizabeth, pleased to meet you.", she said, shortly before letting out a "Kya!" or surprise as someone else suddenly spoke.

*Another* one? I'm certainly meeting a lot of new people today...!
She turned to face this new person, noticing his red eyes and what looked like claws on his hands.
"I- I could ask you the same question!", she countered.

Just after Kieva had finished her whispers to Elizabeth, she heard a man barging out of the woods toward them. She had sensed a presence waiting nearby, but wasn't sure if they were being watched or not. Guess that solves that.

Elizabeth reached out her hand just as the man emerged.

"Who are you?" the man asked. He was tall, with black hair and crimson eyes. An imposing figure. She could sense a concentration of power in him as well.

Kieva paused a second, listened to Elizabeth's reply to the man, then decided to play it dumb, maybe to catch him off-guard.

She spoke her own language to him in a frightened voice, her big eyes open wide in fright. "Qa! Trie vetir me barioi?"

Actually, forget this. There's too much power being concentrated in this area. It's better to run now and sort this all out later. She projected images into Elizabeth's mind: The man in the cave coming and leaving, the man Elizabeth had been travelling with, Lance, and the man who had just appeared. She sent images of them razing villages and killing innocents.

Well, it didn't hurt to overexaggerate when you need to convince someone to run, but the type of power that these men have could certainly do all that, even if they never have before. She was just drawing on her own memories, after all.

But, even after so long... it still hurt.

She projected one more thought to Elizabeth: Sorry! We'll come back for the horse when area is safer. Please, let us run now so that we can compose us both and be good to fight together against danger next time!

She didn't want to reveal anything to this man until it was sure Elizabeth was ready to run. And she didn't want Elizabeth to fight this scary-looking man alone if it came down to it. "Argh," Kieva thought to herself.

Destruction. The death of innocents. The images Elizabeth received this time were unpleasant, but there was no denying their plausibility. That 'Slash of Darkness' attack had pulverised stone, and she knew her own metal-manipulation abilities could shatter bone and tear flesh with ease. The power offered by a Crystal was great indeed, and an innocent bystander could not even hope to match it.

For the first time, her own quest seemed very insignificant. While others used their strength to prey upon the innocent, she was seeking revenge on one person? Shouldn't she be protecting those too weak to protect themselves?

These thoughts ran through her head, but now was not the time for long-term planmaking. At the moment, her choice was simpler: abandon her horse, with its map and extra supplies of food and metal, and return to seek it later? Or stand her ground and deal with yet another potentially deadly person?

Ah~, I don't really want to do this, but... It would be foolish to make the same mistake twice...
She passed the thought "I'll come with you." to Kieva, and stood ready to run.