Spending what seemed to be hours in the local tavern waiting for the rain to come to an end, Haru continues to sit next to his love, Nienna. Looking though the nearest window there was still no signs that the rain would soon end its attack on the world. Nothing else important happened to Haru as we waited in the tavern. Without seeing her, Haru knew that Nienna had fallen asleep and was now leaning against his chest. Putting his arm around her, Haru continued to look between the downfall of the rain and who ever was left in the tavern. Between turns Haru's eyes would fall upon the coin he kept out. There was some type of writing all over the coin that no one so far could tell him what it was. All Haru could figure out was that the coin was old but that was about it.

"I guess this is all we can do for now."

Haru began concentration more of his attention to the coin instead of everything else around him. It was something about the coin that kept his mind in a blur. Feeling Nienna move around, Haru had hoped he had not awoken her. It did not seem to be as she soon settled back into her sleep. A smile came across Haru's face as he looked towards Nienna. He was glad that he had met her and knew that there was more for them to come. With each new challenge that would some there way they would face it together. But for now Haru just enjoyed being with her.

Leaning back into his chair and feeling a bit tired from their trip, Haru attempted to stay awake but as time came this became a difficult task to accomplish. Without realizing it, Nienna was awake and looking at Haru. Unable to stay completely awake, Haru looks down to the awaken Nienna but doesn't really know what to say.

"Sorry to wake you."

It didn't seem that Nienna cared to be awoken but was glad that she was. Looking into Haru's eyes, she only moved closer in his arms enjoying the moment.

"Haru please, you need some sleep as well. Do not worry I will take watch"

Thankful for what Nienna had told him, Haru finally gave into the chance to get some sleep. For once he would be able to attempt to recall anything that could help him out with what was going on. Hopefully in sleep, Haru would find the answers he was looking for.


Outside the tavern and standing out in the rain, stood a clocked figure as he looked towards the tavern. His intentions were not clear as all he would do was watch as people would pass in front of him. All that was clear was that the figure was waiting for something or for someone. As the rain continued to hit the figure all that could be heard was a strange laugh from under the clock as the figure finally turns towards the tavern and makes his way to the entrance......

The moments of peace Haru could get, did not seem to be much help. There was so much that he wanted to remember but nothing was coming. The sounds of the rain dropped brought peace to his mind. Something about the rain suddenly brought memories Haru thought he had lost. The image of the tree he was stucked to for so many years would always come forth as each rain drop hits the earth. There was still talking inside the tarvern but with Nienna by his side, he found no reason to worry. Nienna was always there. Always there to help him. It finally came to Haru as he thought about Nienna. It was her who first truely helpped him out...


(Flashback...Haru)

When I was able to wake up again, it seemed to be winter still. Looking around, I
could tell that more years has already passed. The forest itself was ever changing. Even
myself was changing. My hair, untouched, had extended past my shoulders and down my
back. My clothing was soon becoming uncomfortable and too small to even fit. Other
than that, my father’s dagger stayed by my side but so far it was doing me no good. I was
still unable to move from the tree. Nothing I could do would help me to get away and
return to find my mother and the truth.

That was when it happened. A strange wind from the North blew into my face. As I
turned to see what was causing the strange wind, a mysterious pair of eyes came through
the forest and were staring straight at me. Looking into the eyes, there were signs of
confusion and a form of curiosity. Other than that I was unable to tell who was looking at
me. My heart began to race as the eyes came closer and closer through the forest. My
only thoughts were that I was going to be killed, trapped to this tree and unable to find
anything more about who I am or what I am. Sounds of footsteps upon the ground
brought me out of my fear. The echo’s of the footsteps were followed by the shadow of a
figure. The light from the moon was able to show enough to reveal what was coming
from the forest.

I couldn’t really believe what or should I say who I was looking at. It was a young
women walking from the forest. Something within me began to relax but for the most
part my body was still tense. As the moment passed I could feel another breeze come
towards me. As I listened to the sounds of the wind, I could also hear the women’s
footsteps get closer and closer. She was now right in front of me. I was finally able to
get a good look at her.

She was slightly smaller than me but she was still very beautiful. She had long dark black
hair that seemed to flow down her back. She was wearing similar clothing to my
mother since the last time I saw her. It was her eyes I could not turn away from. No
longer was I afraid. It was something in her eyes that told me that told me that I would be
all right. I could also feel the wind change directions but the change also brought
something else with it. A feeling that everything would be all right. a feeling that she was
also looking for something. Nothing was said between us. We just continued to look
into each others eyes for what seemed a life time.

The sounds of a second set of footsteps brought me away from her. She continued to
look at me as if she didn’t hear anyone but us. I turned looking for where the second
footsteps were coming from. Nothing was there. The forest seemed to return to a calm
status. The footsteps had soon left but I was still worried for the footsteps to return. My
eyes returned to the women still in front of me. I wanted to say something to her but
nothing came to mind. It was as if my voice had left me and was soon not to return. She
began to once again move closer to me. We became face to face but there was still a
silence between us. She was the only one who was able to end the silence.

“I’m Nienna.” Her voice was amazing just to listen to, like a gentle breeze passing by. It
was then that the sounds of the footsteps became even clearer. The pattern in the
footsteps were too random to be just one person. Soon it was apparent that we were
surrounded. There was no way to tell if they were friend or foe but I would just have to
see what was to happen. Looking to Nienna and meeting with her eyes once again, I
finally found my voice and attempted to give her warning.

“Please you must leave and get out of here while you can”

Seems that my warning went unneeded as the footsteps came close enough so each and
every one of them were in plain view. Each were not showing any signs of emotions
upon their faces. I turned to Nienna once again to see if she knew who these people were.
She gave me a simple answer of “don’t worry, I will always make sure I can protect
you.” I couldn’t understand what she was talking about but looking deep into her eyes, I
felt that she was telling the truth. How she would be able to do so was all that I could not
figure out at that moment.

As if a whistle was blown, each of the strangers were prepared for a fight as each took up
in arms. Each stranger had his or her own weapon out as if to attack. All I could think of
was if this was Nienna’s idea to show what she meant or was there something else I could
not see. Looking back and forth between the strangers, I could see that they were
moving, making a path for something to leave...or even enter. When I turned towards
Nienna I could see that her hair began to change to a light blonde. As I saw her continue
to change, I turned my head in the direction of the gap to see what was going to happen.

Then without warning, a strange beast made its way through the gap and into the ring the
strangers formed. As I looked towards the beast, there seemed to be a deep hatred within
its eyes. I knew that I wouldn’t even stand a chance trapped to this cursed tree. When
more thoughts began to race through my mind, I could feel Nienna’s soft hands placed
onto my face, turning me towards her. Looking into her eyes, she pulled even closer to
lock in a passionate kiss. When she pulled away, I could feel my whole body wishing she
had not stopped. Looking at her, I would see that she was holding a lance, she slowly
pulled away and began to walk towards the angered beast.

The beast locked its eyes upon Nienna and began to step towards her, as if planning to
attack. The closer the beast got towards Nienna, the more I began to worry. All she
would do was stand still in front of the beast as it began its charge towards her. I don‘t
know what took over me but before I knew it, I has grabbed my father’s dagger and was
standing between Nienna and the beast. All of a sudden, with my dagger drawn, the beast
had stopped within inches of hitting me. A sudden silence fell upon all of the strangers as
the beast fell to its chest. When I walked towards the beast, it was clear to see that
something even weirder had happened...it was dead where it laid. I could only think
“how?”, as I saw the tree I was stuck to begin to burst into flames of red, gold and then a
deathly looking blue.

Looking down to the weapon in my hand, I noticed that it was no longer the dagger given
to me by my father but something different. It was a mysterious lance in my hand with
the same markings on it as my father’s dagger. Slowly the runes on the lance began to
emit an eerie glow from them and soon covered the whole lance. As I held the weapon in
my hand and as the glowing soon faded away, I realized that it was no longer a lance in
my hand but the dagger I once held. Unable to find any real answer to what just
happened, all I could do was return the dagger to my side and continue to look towards
the fallen beast.

I could feel the wind beginning to change directions once again as the dagger was
returned to my side. It was easy to feel and hear all of the strangers surrounding us
gasping and whispering to one another. I could tell that I was going to be hated for what I
had just done but the idea could not really keep clear in my head. Nothing seemed clear
from the strangers concerning their emotions towards me or what I had just done.
Turning towards Nienna was standing, I noticed that she has changed back into the person
I first met. Moving closer to her, I was able to hold her in my arms, hoping that
everything would work out. The fear that I was feeling had left, knowing that she was
now safe. I turned once again to the beast, I felt sorry for the creature that was dead
before us. Then seeing into its cold, lifeless eyes, I began to see that there were signs of
happiness and thankful emotions. The beast was finally able to pass over and find peace
at last.

“Goodbye” I replied silently to the beast as we began to turn from it and started to move
on.

The rest of the day seemed to be even weirder. After we left the beast alone to its grave,
we began walking through the forest, to where I was unable to recognize. We were still
surrounded by the strangers but with Nienna by my side, I had nothing to worry about as
much. The forest was not the same as when I first traveled through them. Everything
seemed to be different including the trees, animals, and the overall environment. More
voices were coming from deeper in the forest, it seemed like there was some village
father down in the forest but I was unable to see anything other than the group that still
chose to surround us. Soon the walking and leaving the cursed tree drained most of what
little strength I had Left. I began to feel the effects of the lack of strength. My vision
began to blur and my hearing began to lose to the wind. I hit the ground with a large
thud. I was unable to get back to my feet. I felt Nienna’s hands on my back, attempting
to bring me back to stand. Hearing her voice, I passed out yet again into the darkness of
my mind.

Finally being able to get some peace and a few hours of sleep, Haru wakes up still sitting next to Nienna as she kept her promise to keep watch. The tavern seemed to be really empty as now Haru saw that there was only a few people left. Looking towards the door of the tavern, Haru noticed a figure walk into the tavern that seemed to be someone he once knew. He couldn’t really figure out who the person was but it was something he knew that he would find out soon enough. Sitting back against his chair, Haru turns to face Nienna to see what has been going on since he was asleep.

“Thank you Nienna, that really helped.” Haru looked towards Nienna as he grabbed his cloak to see if it was finally dry. Tapping him of his shoulder, Nienna brought herself to informing Haru of something she heard while he was asleep. The talking between the two seemed to be short but it was enough to bring a small smile to Haru’s face.

“So there is going to be a tournament. This is great. I know we will find him there.” Haru stood up, offering his hand to Nienna to help her up as well. Grabbing all of the items they brought with them, Haru and Nienna thanked the bartender and began to walk towards the door. Slowly as the two reached the door, Haru heard a strange and mysterious voice coming from right behind him.

“Run all you want Harufu. One day you will find you end by my own hands and no one else.” The voice seemed to trail off into the darkness, but no matter where Haru looked, he was unable to find the source of the words. Taking the message to mind, Haru and Nienna finally leave the tavern to see what the tournament has to offer.

The doors of the tavern begin to swing close as Haru and Nienna leave into the town. Back in the tavern, the figure who gave Haru his promise, turned to order another drink. “Don’t worry Harufu, no one will kill you until I can. And I will...”

Walking around Haru and Nienna continue to look for somewhere to rest and help heal his wounds. It seemed that the tournament was more than Haru thought it would be, but he could only blame himself for that.

"That is the last time I underestimate my enemy. But at least I was able to meet a few new people. Still they weren't even there." commented Haru as he gets help from Nienna to help him stand. The wound on his side was still causing Haru trouble but that was something he would just have to put up with. Looking around the town, it seemed that no one even around. Everything was quite, as the two walked towards the local town inn to find some time to rest.

The wind began to pick up as Haru looked around the town to try and see if anything was active. Nothing really stood out as Haru and Nienna continued to walk on. The breeze was a nice change as it slowly made its way past Haru. Then there it was. It was a small peace a paper that seemed to be older that Haru was. Taking a quick glance at the piece of paper, it soon came to the fact that this interested Haru more than it would for anyone else.

"I don't believe it. It must be it." Haru whispered to himself, but it seemed that Nienna heard his words. Soon she knew that they would leave before Haru's wounds could heal, but nothing was going to stop him. Standing next to him, Nienna only accepts what is going to happen and holds Haru closer, hoping that nothing bad will come of this.

As Haru reached the Tavern, he pulled out the peice of paper once again.

The undying curse

Objective: Through out the course of time, a strange object has made its way to give misfortune to everyone that may come across it. With strange rune markings all across it, the only problem with it is its ability to trap anyone or anything that may come across to touching it. All that is truly known about the object is that it resembles a small tree trunk. The markings on the object have no meaning, for its language has been lost with the wind. The object can be found in only the deepest of forests, where footsteps have not been placed. The object also seems to have a mind of its own and may send out copies of its self to protect the truth of its origins.

You are now to be sent to the forest where the cursed tree is said to be. While this is just a rumor to follow, obtaining any information is the goal. Within the cursed tree is said to hold a daughter dagger to one other. Find the daughter dagger and return it to its owner. As for the reward, the owner will give what he can or what he has to whomever returns the dagger. Please be careful for the cursed tree is not what it may seem. The tree has the will and power to survive anything. If it comes to it, please do not engage it in battle, for the risk is too great.

Level 3

Manpower: 3

"This is something I must do." Haru says as he looks towards where Nienna was sleeping. So much was going through his head as the breeze continued to pick up as it hit against the window. It was too dark for anything to be done today, but hopefully in the morning, nothing would stop him from finding the cursed tree...

The tavern was loud as usual, filled with drunken men, some women. A man in a dark green cloak was leaned over an old man, talking in low voices. “Yes, they said something about some strange rune, I’m not sure. But the man that said something about it, is over there” the old man pointed to a man with a lance. “Thank you Sairen.” The cloaked man said, pulling himself up. “Anytime, Elither Daegovad.” The old man said, coughing and hacking slightly.
"This is something I must do." Said the man with the lance. Elither Daegovad slowly made his way over to the lanced man, his eyes gleaming from beneath the hood of his cloak, his eyes giving off enough light to barely see the outline of his face. Stopping in front of the lanced man, Elither Daegovad tapped his shoulder lightly. “Heard you were talking about some ruin.” He said, in his cold, deep voice. From that close of a distance, the lanced man would be able to see Elither’s pale complexion, and slightly narrowed, and pointed ears prodding the top of the cloak. A few bleach white strands of hair fell free from the grasp of the cloak hood, as Elither looked around for a moment, then back to the lanced man. Elither was equipped with a Hunter’s bow, a short sword known as the Flashblade, and poor leather armor. Elither’s cloak, and baggy pants were slightly tattered, and torn.

Looking at the piece of paper once again, Haru felt uneasy about what he was about to do. There was something about it that just didn't feel right but he would just have to take the chance. Haru turned to see that Nienna was still asleep. With all the help that she had given him, it was only right that he let her have some rest.

"Thank you Nienna" Haru said under his breath as he moved himself closer to Nienna.

Suddenly Haru felt someone come closer to where they were staying. He didn't think much of it, but that didn't stop him from holding onto his lance. Felling the figure tap on his shoulder, Haru turns to see what the person wants with him.

“Heard you were talking about some ruin,” said the mysterious figure. At first Haru didn't really know what to say. The question was something that he wasn't really expecting, but there was something about the person in front of Haru that told him some things would have to be trusted. Holding on to the piece of paper, Haru extends his arm to hand him the piece of paper with the message on it.

"I'm not really sure what this is all about, but the quest it says may be able to answer some of my questions. There is so much about this that is still a mystery, so I am unable to tell you anything but what you see on that piece of paper."

Haru continued to look at the figure as he read the piece of paper. Suddenly Haru could feel that Nienna was waking up. Seeing Nienna's face a small smile comes to his face. He knew that they would be leaving soon but hopefully they would have someone else to help out.

"I am sorry that I have been slightly rude. I am Harufu and this is Nienna" Haru turned between Nienna and the person in front of him, knowing that there was still a lot more than had to be answered.

He looked to the outstretched hand, and took the piece of parchment/paper. His cold red eyes met the lanced man’s for a moment, before his sight was steered down to the piece of paper, as he viewed over it. His eyes narrowed here and there, a red gleam in his eyes lighting up every time he glared. Elither got done reading the little piece of paper, and handed it back to the lanced man. "I'm not really sure what this is all about, but the quest it says may be able to answer some of my questions. There is so much about this that is still a mystery, so I am unable to tell you anything but what you see on that piece of paper." The Lanced man said, and Elither looked up for a moment, in thought.
“Hmmm…” He said deeply, almost a growl. "I am sorry that I have been slightly rude. I am Harufu and this is Nienna” The lanced man now known as Harufu said, after looking to the woman he supposed was Nienna. Elither grunted slightly, acknowledging their names, and looked around for a moment. He turned back to Harufu. “How many more do we need, before we can go on this… ‘Quest’?” He somewhat demanded, turning his sight slightly on the one he supposed was Nienna, then back to Harufu. His left thumb slid down the roughly carved arched wood, that was the main support to his Hunters Bow, and his right hand caressed the sheath to his FlashBlade, in thought.

“How many more do we need, before we can go on this… ‘Quest’?”

Haru looked back to the strange in front of him. Thinking about what to saw, nothing really comes to mind.

“I am not sure what we are able to do, but at day’s first light, we will be off.” Haru looks through the window to see nothing but darkness once again. There was no light to be seen anywhere around the Tavern. It was still night outside and nothing would help with there quest.

There soon became a weird silence inside the Tavern. The only sign that anyone else was in with them was the smell of ale and a few people who really need to discover the use of water. Haru turned to Nienna to whisper something to her,

“I don’t think he will show up, what do you think we should do.” Pulling back slightly to see Nienna face to face, he soon gets his response.

“We should wait a few minutes longer. If he does not show up, then we will leave to find what you are looking for.”

It may not have been what Haru was expecting but he was thankful that she was able to understand his thoughts. Turning back to the figure in front of them, Haru begins to ask a few more questions.

“Are you sure that you want to take part in this. To be truthful, the paper would suggest that this quest in very old, so there may be no real reward at the end of it all. I guess that we can only do what we must then find out later.

“I am not sure what we are able to do, but at day’s first light, we will be off." Harufu said, looking to Elither. Elither nodded slightly, tracing his index finger down the side of the sheath, closing his eyes for a moment. So... He has no idea if anybody else will show... This will be interesting. Elither thought, opening his eyes once more. He saw that Harufu was speaking in low voices to the woman, and smirked slightly. He twitched his elf ears slightly, knowing he could easily eavesdrop on them, but thought that the man might not let him be a part of whatever this was, so Elither closed his eyes once more, and thought about things.

“Are you sure that you want to take part in this. To be truthful, the paper would suggest that this quest in very old, so there may be no real reward at the end of it all. I guess that we can only do what we must then find out later. " Harufu had said, turning back to face Elither, into which Elither opened his eyes. He stroked his sheath like a man would his pet, running it from the bottom of the hilt, all the way to the tip of the leather sheath. "Yes, I'm very sure that I want to take part in this, it might help me get away from my.. Past." Elither replied coldly, pulling his hand away from the blade, and sheath. He reached around to his back, and pulled an arrow from the quiver, and pulled it up to his face, examining it like he would something valuable. He lined the arrow up between his eyes, to where the fletch was facing him. I might need to trim these later on... he thought, before slipping it back into the quiver. Elither walked over to the wall to the right of himself, and propped his back against it, bowing his head to where his eyes met the ground, some of his hair fell down, covering his face. "I'm ready to go, whenever dawn approaches." Elither said shortly to harufu.

"Yes, I'm very sure that I want to take part in this, it might help me get away from my...Past." The strange figure stated as he turns his attention to his weapons. Haru knew that there was something wrong with his past but that was going to be something he would have to do on his own, if he chooses. The night still controlled the skies and nothing would be done any time soon. The wind began to blow gently against the window and brought moments of peace to Haru as he continued to wait.

Looking around the Tavern there was still nothing moving around. Only the bartender seemed to be moving but that was to be expected with the Tournament in recent times. Finding that his time was becoming short and a waste, Haru turns to Nienna to tell her his thoughts.

“Nienna I think that it would be wise to leave soon. I am not sure if he is going to show up before day’s first light but that is going to be his problem. I will wait till the first light but as soon as it shows we must leave. This is something that time will not spare.” The same idea seemed to go though Nienna and only nodded for her response. There wasn’t really anything to do and al that they could do was wait.

Pulling out the piece of paper once again, Haru begins to look over it with great concentration. No matter how many times Haru would look over the paper, there was nothing new that would help them out with there quest. Then it hit him. There was a small tear in the corner of the paper but that was not what caught his eye. It was the second tear that appeared behind the paper.

Turning the paper over to see where the tear came from, Haru noticed that there was a second piece of paper attached to the first. Pulling the two apart, Haru began to read over the second piece of paper in his hands. As he read the paper, Haru could feel that Nienna too had become interested with the discovery and move against him to read as well.

“I wonder what this could be?” Haru questioned as he found himself at a loss. Looking back and forth among the writing something about it seemed to be too familiar for strange reasons. It soon came to him as the time came.

“This was written by someone from my village, but this can’t be...”

No matter how many times Haru would look over the piece of paper now on the table, the evidence was too great to be wrong. The symbol of his village was burned into the paper and proved any of his doubts wrong. Now even more questions raced through Haru's mind. And even more answers would have to be found soon.

Assish is sitting at the bar staring endlessly at the plain brown walls, when he notices a lancer having a conversation with a man in a jade cloak. He decides to see if he can join in or annoy the hell out of them. He proceeds to slowly walk over to them, the being in the jade cloak walks away.
"Damn, now I can only mess with one" Assish curses under his breath as he continues to walk over to him.
"Helloooooooooooooooooooo!" Assish yells as he reaches the lancer." What youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu doing? What that? Huh? Huh? Huh? Why aren't answering me? Are you deaf? Helloooooo?" Assish keeps yelling as he begins poking the lancer repeatedly in the head.

Elither looked up from the ground, to see that Harufu had engaged in a conversation with that woman named Nienna again. Elither yawned widely, noticing that someone had been watching them all this time. Elither had paid no attention to it, because this Tavern was almost empty, besides Harufu, who carried a lance, and himself, who was cloaked, and garnished with a FlashBlade, and a Bow and quiver full of arrows. He set his mind back to the man that he may have to trust his life with in a day or two, and saw that he was back to reading that small piece of wrinkled paper. Seeing that Harufu's face had changed drastically, Elither pulled himself from the wall. Harufu had turned over the piece of paper, and unveiled a second piece of paper, before a shocked look came upon his face. Elither had started to walk toward's Harufu to see what was on the paper, when a man walks over to Harufu. Elither raised an eyebrow slightly, as the man continuesly poked, and prodded Harufu. "Helloooooooooooooooooooo!" The yells as he reaches the lancer." What youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu doing? What that? Huh? Huh? Huh? Why aren't answering me? Are you deaf? Helloooooo?" The man keeps yelling as he begins poking the lancer repeatedly in the head. Elither grunted slightly, having a very strong urge to slay this man, for he was extremely annoying. Elither walked up to Harufu and the man, and smirked slightly. "Stop being annoying boy Or you might get hurt." Elither said cruely, stroking the hilt to his FlashBlade.

Elither then turned his attention to Harufu. "What does that say?" He demanded, with more of a growl in his voice. By this time his hand had firmly wrapped around the hilt of his FlashBlade, his hand slowly turning white on the inside of his glove, not sure if he was going to use it on the man or not.

Keeping his attention to the new piece of paper, Haru begins to read the new message. The markings on the paper meant that there was something that would only bring on more and more questions. Taking care as not to miss anything from the message, Haru soon discovers what the message meant.

*The goal you are seeking is something that was chosen for you. You are the only one who will be able to face the curse that is waiting. I know that you will not see anything true until everything is gone. Erubishi your fight is yet to come.*

Looking back and forth, Haru could not believe what he was reading. “Was this for me? But how would they know I would find this piece of paper.” Continually questioned Haru, as he soon realized that someone was coming towards him. Looking up from the paper, Haru soon finds himself being poked repeatedly by the new person in front of him.

"Helloooooooooooooooooooo!" The yells as he reaches the lancer." What youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu doing? What that? Huh? Huh? Huh? Why aren't answering me? Are you deaf? Helloooooo?"

Haru could stand the person in front of his as he continues to be poked. Getting a stronger grip upon his lance, Haru was slowing waiting to react.

"Stop being annoying boy Or you might get hurt." came from Elither as he returned to see what Haru had just found. Turning from the new person to Elither, a small smile came to Haru’s face but soon discovered that the new person had yet to stop poking him. Looking back to the new person, Haru soon is able to find his words.

“Who are you and what may you want. If you are interested in risking your life then I will continue with you later.” Haru turns to respond to Elither, “the message on the back does not make complete sense, while it seems to be in writing from my old village, there is still something wrong with what is said.”

“Who are you and what may you want. If you are interested in risking your life then I will continue with you later.” the lancer says as he turns turns to respond to the cloaked figure, “the message on the back does not make complete sense, while it seems to be in writing from my old village, there is still something wrong with what is said.”
“I am Assish Selohssa, and I’m bored. Risking my life sounds like it could be entertaining.” Assish says cheerfully as he continues to poke the lancer in the forehead, “What will we be doing?”

“the message on the back does not make complete sense, while it seems to be in writing from my old village, there is still something wrong with what is said.” Harufu had said to Elither, While the man introduced himself.
“I am Assish Selohssa, and I’m bored. Risking my life sounds like it could be entertaining.” The man now known as Assish said, continually poking Harufu in the forehead. “What will we be doing?” He added, poking some more.
"Risking your life does sound like it could be entertaining, because at this moment you are with annoying us. And we will be killing you, if you don't stop!" Elither said cruelly, looking to Assish. Elither looked down to the woman known as Nienna, who was looking up at Elither like he was an orc, or something bad. Elither grunted slightly, looking back to Harufu. "That is rather.. Interesting." Elither said, looking to the piece of paper. "Well, nothing we can do about it, it's just words any way." He added, smirking slightly. Elither was impatient about waiting.

Elither gripped his FlashBlade hilt firmly, and brought it quickly out of the sheath in a swift movement, bringing it down upon the table beside him. He was making sure his reflexes were normal, because he had just finished another fight during the Tournament being held, though he was not sure he would advance. Mage's are... Interesting. He thought, smirking slightly remembering what he did. Just then, the doors of the tavern had burst open, and a dwarf walked in. He was very filthy, and smelled like something had been dead for months. "You!" The dwarf growled, Elither knew that the dwarf was talking about him. "Me." Elither replied, smirking. "You killed my brother, who was the king!" The dwarf yelled out.

"And so it seems." Elither said sarcastically, and cruelly. Then the dwarf bolted from the door into a rush at Elither, bringing his axe out. Elither pulled his bow from his side, and reached around, pulling an arrow from his quiver. Elither set it on his bow, and took aim at the dwarf's throat tightening the bowstring, as the dwarf came closer. "And you shall meet the same fate as your brother." Elither laughed out, as he released the bowstring. The arrow shot straight into the dwarf's throat, and stuck out threw the back, just beside the spine. Though the dwarf had been slain, he had sent a heavy blow to Elither's right shoulder with his heavy axe. Elither rolled his shoulder back slightly, so that the blade did not get it's maximum blow in. The axe had ripped through Elither's cloak, and into his flesh, dow to the bone. Elither cursed outloud, wincing from the wound which was bleeding by now. He gripped the axe that the dead dwarf had inbedded within Elither, and yanked it out, growling out in pain. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to slay that king... Though he was annoying with bloodthirst." Elither turned back to Harufu. "When do we leave?" He demanded.

"You killed my brother, who was the king!" yelled a dwarf standing at the door of the Tavern. Haru looks slightly at the angry dwarf but doesn’t feel that it is something that he should concern himself with. Even so the charging dwarf you soon meet the end of his blade if he did not come to his senses. There would be no one who would hurt Nienna as long as he was alive. It only took seconds but Haru noticed Elither draw out his bow and an arrow and soon was prepared to shoot.

"And you shall meet the same fate as your brother." Elither says as he fires the arrow from his bow. Hitting the Dwarf in the throat, it was already obvious that he was dead. The arrow coming from the back only sealed the truth. Turning to Elither, Haru only nodded at what was done. It was not Haru’s place to judge his actions but he did what he had to. Slightly finding himself thinking too deep once again, Elither snaps him out of his daze.

“When do we leave?” demanded Elither, returning his bow to his side. Looking to Nienna and seeing a slight nod from her, Haru finally replies with his answer.

“I guess that with what has happened, it would be best we leave now. Assish, I will inform you as we go. Meet us at the docks as soon as you are ready. The ride has been planned out so all you must do is find the boat by the name of “Hetrio”. When we all meet again we will leave for our destination.” Standing up from his seat, along with Nienna following him and returning to his side, they soon leave the Tavern to leave Assish and Elither to their own thoughts.

As Haru and Nienna make their way towards the docks, Nienna stops Haru where they stayed. Looking at him, Nienna had something on her mind but was again lost for words. Finally finding herself and with Haru holding her in his arms, she gets out what she needed to say.

“Haru are you sure you can trust them? I know that it was to be but please remember not to drop your guard. Both seem to be all right but people can change, for better or even for worst.” Haru and Nienna begin to once again to move towards the docks. The sounds of footsteps behind them told that the choice the others were made. Reaching the boat, the gentle rocking of the waves under the boat brought slight peace to Haru. That was until he could feel the continuous poking of the new member to the party, Assish, and was soon thinking of doing just what Elither was saying.

Grabbing his lance and with a stronger grip, Haru finally decides to do something about Assish. Grabbing him by the arm, Haru begins to think about throwing Assish into the water. Giving warning, Haru was not sure if it would even be taking into account.

“If you do not stop, you will find yourself either swimming in water or under earth. Your choice.” Haru felt slightly bad for his words but he knew that he would not take it anymore. Returning back to Nienna’s side he learned over to ask Nienna something.

“Are you sure he is the one we were to wait for” Looking Nienna face to face, it showed that even she did not know how to answer. Turning to see Assish move across the boat to take a seat, Haru noticed that he continued to have a smile on his face and began to laugh.

“I don’t know what will happen but I guess this is only to be.”

“If you do not stop, you will find yourself either swimming in water or under earth. Your choice.” growled the lancer as he grabbed Assish by the arm.
This makes Assish realise he should probably stop now, so he decides to take a seat on the boat.
As he sits there, waiting for the others he sees a figure down the dock fall into the water, making him laugh hysterically.
As he sits there laughing a thought comes to his mind, the cloaked figure has a wound, that should be fun to poke.

Elither used his left arm to pick his Flashblade up off the table beside him, and sheath it. He cursed under his breathe a few times about the dwarf's strength.
“I guess that with what has happened, it would be best we leave now. Assish, I will inform you as we go. Meet us at the docks as soon as you are ready. The ride has been planned out so all you must do is find the boat by the name of “Hetrio”. When we all meet again we will leave for our destination.”
Elither nodded to Harufu as he and Nienna made their way out of the tavern. Elither had already said he would participate in this little adventure, and he kept his word. He soon followed Harufu and Nienna out of the Tavern putting his bow back to his side, tying it loosely. He wasn't sure about the other man, he seemed very annoying on first impression. Elither heard the Tavern open once more behind him, and knew that he must have decided to join in.

He watched Harufu and the woman named Nienna in the small distance apart from them, possibly sixteen feet, if that. Nienna was talking low to Harufu and Elither wondered whether he should listen in or not. Just as he decided to, a figure rushed passed him--Assish. He started to prod and poke Harufu, and Elither smirked seeing the look on Harufu's face. Harufu was very agitated by the continueous poking and prodding, and soon did something about it. Elither watched Harufu tighten his grip on his lance, then soon sent a grip unto Assish's arm. Elither watched Harufu's movements, and thought. He should throw him into the water. It'd give me a laugh.
“If you do not stop, you will find yourself either swimming in water or under earth. Your choice.” Harufu had told Assish, who immediately had rushed away from Harufu, and sat on one side of the boat. Elither followed Harufu and Nienna onto the boat, and looked around. Elither wasn't in a very good mood, and he was nauseated. He had found out a moment ago on the way to the docks that he had lost his match, and place in the tournament by a messenger. Elither finally settled down into a seat on the boat, and watched the figure down on the dock fall off into the water. Elither grunted slightly, before hearing someone laugh. He looked over to see Assish laughing then looking over to him. Elither shook his head slightly, and looked down to his own feet, closing his eyes. He wondered where they were going, and how long it would take to get there. His shoulder was stinging and aching badly as well as bleeding.

With Assish finally taking his seat, and soon following Elither took his as well, Haru stands up to talk to the captain of the ship. Walking across the tiny dock of the ‘Hetrio’ Haru continues to seek out whom ever was in charge. Finding the captain finally in his quarters, Haru begins to tell him that everything was ready and they were as well ready to get going.

The boat ride seemed to be easy enough. The ride was quiet but that was only to be expected. With the rocking of the waves under the boat, Haru could see their destination was coming up. Standing up and finally being able to move around, Haru looks towards Elither and Assish. Before he could say anything, he remained quiet as he saw Assish about to do the dumbest thing possible. Maybe poking Elither wouldn't have been the best thing and Haru felt that he should have stopped him, but something inside him told him not to.

Commenting under his breath, "This should get interesting." Taking his seat again, Haru only watched for what was to come.

Assish could see the land over the horizon, this was his last chance to poke the wound. He slowly slid down the rough seats toward the cloaked man. He decides to use his right hand just in case the man decides break his fingers.
He slowly extends his hand toward the wound with his index finger extended.

Elither looked up from his feet, to see Harufu walk around the boat trying to find the captain. He looked back to see the woman that was with Harufu, and noticed she was staring intently between he, and Assish. She does not trust me. That's fine. Elither thought. He bowed his head back down, knowing that she was still watching him. He didn't really like people staring at him for it agitated him so very much.
Elither Watched as the island they were currently on dissappeared within the night, as they slowly made their way to one of the other islands of Outer-Rim. He didn't like the boat ride at all, it was making him more nauseated. Looking over Elither saw Assish staring at his wound. He wasn't sure why Assish was staring at it, but all the staring was extremely irritating him. The boat hit violently against waves, rocking it slightly causing atleast Elither to slide on his seat. After a while, Elither finally started to doze off and his dreams starting to come in, though they were slightly cloudy. Then his keen hearing heard some footsteps, and he snapped out of his doze. Elither looked up to see that Harufu had returned from the captain's cabin, and went to say something, but was cut off by something. Elither found out shortly enough for his seat had slightly creaked from someone sitting down beside him. "This should get interesting." Harufu said under his breathe, though Elither could hear it due to his keen hearing. Then he felt something brush up against him, and looked over to see Assish go to touch his wound, to annoy him further.

Harufu was right--Assish was doing the dumbest thing possible at the time. Elither quickly used his left hand to unsheath his Flashblade, and bring it quickly up to Assish's throat. "You are getting on what nerves I have left boy" Elither said. He used the blade as a distraction, and used his shoulder to slam violently against Assish. Though it may hurt, Elither thought it was worth it. Assish was sitting down right in front of Elither, and the edge of the boat was right behind him, there was no possible way to get away from it. Assish would have to swim atleast half a mile to get to shore, if he was knocked off into the water.

Watching as Assish was proving that there was someone who could not even stop with his strange actions, Haru stands up to address both of them before anything else continued. It was not really something that he wanted but it would have to be done.

"We are close to where we land but I must inform both of you what may come." Slowly Haru reveals everything he knows dealing with the cursed tree and what it has done to him. There was more that he could have told them, but no matter what he does, there would always be something he could not remember.

"I am not sure but we may need to search out in two different groups or by however you may feel. We can stay together but what comes from it I am not sure will be good." Haru continued not really knowing what to expect. Land was coming up closer and soon they would have to make the choice. Any way he looked at it, Haru knew that they would soon have to depart for some time, even if it meant risking the quest.

Looking towards the two and watching them continuing to fight, a slight chill ran down his back. Something was on the land that he would have to face, and Haru knew it deep down inside.

Assish was backed up to the edge of the boat, if he fell in he would have to swim quite a distance to get to land.
Suddenly, the lancer stood up and revealed everything he knew about the quest. Assish got bored of it very quikly, and decided to keep trying to poke the wound, but the cloaked figure would not let him get in range. Assish soon tired of trying and tried to get away to poke the lancer some more.

"We are close to where we land but I must inform both of you what may come." Harufu said while Elither jabbed his shoulder into Assish's chest a bit roughly. Wincing Elither sheathed the Flashblade with his left arm, and brought it up and put over the wound on his right shoulder. Elither cursed under his breathe about the wound, but looked up to Harufu, to listen to what he wants to say. Elither looked past Harufu for a moment, to see that shore was slowly creeping up unto them, and a shadowed island was barely seen.
"I am not sure but we may need to search out in two different groups or by however you may feel. We can stay together but what comes from it I am not sure will be good." Harufu continued on. Better put me with someone else besides that annoying boy Elither thought, glaring at Assish. Yawning slightly Elither looked back to the island to see that it was approaching quickly. If he faced anything on that island he would not be at a hundred percent to fight, so things may be slightly difficult.

Elither decided he could sit down no longer, and stood up. He looked around the boat, to the calming waters to the island once again. His hair fluttered out behind him as the breezes advance on them. His cold red eyes peer out into the distance, gazing. Something breaks his concentration on the island, as he looks down. Elither sees Assish go back to prodding Harufu, annoyingly. Elither smirks slightly wondering when Harufu will do something about the annoyance. The boat had finally slowed down as the bottom dragged on the sand and rocks on the bottom, and dug its way into the sand on the shore giving off crunching sounds. Elither leaped out of the boat, and land a few feet away. Looking around he smirked.

This may prove to be interesting.....

Finally they had reached land. Feeling slightly better about what was to come, Haru begins to jump down from the dock of the boat and looks towards Elither and Assish. Soon it would be the time for them to follow their own paths. Haru knew that they would soon met up once again, but each of them would have to find their own paths. Sooner or later, each of them would be of a great help to Haru. It would just have to be time to wait for that to happen.

"Right now we have the choice to go in our own different directions or just go together. With what happened on the boat, I think it would be best that we find our own paths and meet up later. If you wish not to do so, or just leave, then that is going to be your choice, but no matter what happens, I will not stop with this quest." Haru waited for a response from the two. Looking to Assish, Haru was only really waiting for him to continue with his actions of poking both Elither and himself.

The wind blew mercilessly against Elither, as he approached the edge of the dense forest. Very eerie it was, you could almost hear the wind howling in there like a large pack of wolves hungry. But Elither was not afraid, he was interested. The Tournament had fueled him to get even better, though it caused a fury inside him. He would not easily forget the embarassment of losing in the second round of the tournament. He had easily blew passed the first round mercilessly slaying his opponent, though the second round he spared the Mage known as "Crest” life. True he had taken the life of a king, but if he knew he would have lost the round, he would have taken Crest's as well. He felt ashamed, he himself had a very large batch of confidence that he would take the victory, and the prize of the tournament. He had proven himself wrong, and it had left a large scar on the inside.
The wind had blown his hair from the grasp of his hood, his hair now slapping against his face. He felt pure hatred towards everything in that Kings chamber in the dwarven city. Not being able to help himself, he yelled out in fury. Something had snapped inside of him for the shameful loss. Whatever good that was still grasping itself inside seemed to be overrun in the darkness. All Elither felt was hatred now, overwhelming hatred for anything that was in his presence and he did not care if he hurt, or even kill something, or how he would do it. A fork of lightning flashed across the darkened sky, splitting it in two. His face glowed brilliantly in the light that was cast upon him from the lightning, his eyes a deeper red than before. Inside Elither was struggling with himself to keep calm, trying to keep himself from slaying everything in sight. Staring up into the sky, his face contorted with anxiety, and pain. Then something had brought him from the odd emotion he had. Harufu’s voice seemed to slowly drill into Elither’s mind. First it was cloudy, barely recognizable as someone talking, but then it seemed to sink it much clearer. Harufu had been talking about splitting up into the forest, to cover more ground to search for the object in which he desired. Managing to pull himself together, Elither looked to the three members of this little group that had formed. None of them seemed to know if it was the best choice to make or not, one of them didn’t even care—Assish. He went right back to his annoying poking and prodding to Harufu. The woman seemed to think it was a good idea, but then again not so good idea. He could only imagine what she had thought. Elither seemed to be thinking the same thing as her. It would be a wise choice to make, cover more ground, find that object much faster. But yet, it would leave this group very vulnerable. Easier for attack. I’m not sure about how well Assish will fair on his own. Harufu seems to be able to take the task, as am I. But what about Assish and the woman… Elither’s brows had furrowed in thought, When the hood was finally whipped off his head from the howling gusts of wind. His hair had almost immediately lifted from his back, and fluttered out behind him like a sail. Then rain started to pour down, and thick. Splattering against his pale complexion, Elither was annoyed by the rain. It might prove to be difficult in the forest now. The wind, rain, and every other element of nature that will be thrown at the group would hurt Elither’s hearing which would make him a lot more vulnerable to be attacked if he was not very careful though he planned to be as careful as possible. Harufu had finally grown silent, and Elither had a feeling he was in thought. “You three better make a decision about how we will search for the object. It will not let up anytime soon, and we are clearly in the open for an attack. We need to head into that forest right now, and it would be much better if we did stay in a group, even if we had to split into two smaller groups. On our own some of us will be very vulnerable for an assault.” Without any further words, Elither began to walk towards the edge of the forest, the wet sand crunching under his feet, and his cloak swept along the wet shore. His arm felt numb, which might just be a good thing if he had to battle because he would not feel all the pain that he should while using it. Elither looked back just as he stepped in between two tree’s of the forest, to see if the group would follow, or split up.

“You three better make a decision about how we will search for the object. It will not let up anytime soon, and we are clearly in the open for an attack. We need to head into that forest right now, and it would be much better if we did stay in a group, even if we had to split into two smaller groups. On our own some of us will be very vulnerable for an assault.”

Haru was a little worried about what was to come. He knew what Elither was talking about but he could not really come up with an idea. Turning to see Elither walk into the forest, Haru still could not find an answer. Looking towards Nienna and still feeling him poking against his head, Haru takes his weapon and begins to slowly follow behind Elither.

Thinking to himself "It would be best if we stick together" Haru looks back to see Nienna right behind him. Not really worried about what they would face as a group, Haru felt that something was wrong, like something was missing. Then with the continuing of Assish's poking, Haru just sighs as he accepts the irritation of Assish.

Turning to Nienna, Haru caught a quick glance of a smile on Nienna's face. He felt like he knew what she was thinking but then again, there was still something on her expression that brought confusion to Haru's mind. Finally grabbing Assish's arm once again, Haru turns to come face to face with the unending irritation.

"You need to stop with this. You may have your reasons for it but I have had enough. One more time and that will be that." Haru knew that Assish would not stop, but maybe the warning would at least give him some time to think about what was to come.

Elither looked into the forest, his vision in the night slightly better than humans. His ears twitched slightly as the sounds swam over them. The thick raindrops were splattering upon the leaves of the trees, there were howls of the night by wolves, roars from what seemed to be very large bears. Something did not seem right though. There was no other noise. Hoots of owls, scratching of anteaters and everything else were all missing, it was as though something had scared them away. And the roar of the bear didn't seem right either. Why would a bear roar... Elither thought, as a noise of something scraping against leaves made it clear to him that at least one member of the party had followed. He stepped in between two tree’s, and made his way further into the forest, before stopping. He heard anger from Harufu. "You need to stop with this. You may have your reasons for it but I have had enough. One more time and that will be that." It seemed that Harufu was finally fed up with Assish’s annoying poking. “Harufu, just make sure the pieces of him are big enough if you get too fed up with him. We could use them to lure beasts in the forest away from us.” Elither spoke, and continued into the forest. His hand gripped on the hilt of his FlashBlade, just incase something would attack. Something caught Elither’s eye, which made him very alert. It was a shadow, though it was moving and it wasn’t near the group. Then the shadow appeared just in front of him, as a form appeared from it. His eyes had widened, he had not seen the creature in years. Izarus’s sleek black coat shined beneath the moonlight that was beaming down through the canopy above. Elither was not sure if the beast remembered him, but he would prove to be a very reliable beast. Closing his eyes, Elither began to mumble to himself. “With this beast I declare my friend who will aid me in thy journey. He shall be very loyal and very brave, he is thy friend.” Opening his eyes, Elither watched Izarus stand on it’s two hind feet and place it’s front paws on his shoulders. “Hello there Izarus” Elither said, smiling some. He felt somewhat secure now that he had Izarus back with him. Looking back to the group, Elither pointed ushered them to the left, as he went. They would have to start using signs to point out things, to be able to get through the forest without much trouble. A small ripping noise rung through the forest, while Elither looked down, he hadn’t been paying enough attention to notice that he had trudged threw a thorn patch. His cloak had been ripped on a thorn. He cursed under his breath, and tugged the cloak away.

Pushing the thorns aside, Elither waited for the rest to walk passed him. Elither had something on his mind, and he would not keep it to himself. “Harufu” Elither said, calling Harufu over. “Myself and Izarus are going our separate ways, you three can decide what to do. I will find my way to you later in this journey. Farewell.” Without any further word, Elither sprinted in one direction with Izarus at his side. It was around an hour later when Elither stopped running, and took a break. He breathed deeply, looking down to Izarus. For some reason, he could not think about losing Izarus again, for he had practically been a gift from the Elder. Elither smirked slightly, wondering if Assish was slain by Harufu or not, but did not dwell on the thought for very long. He could not take the break for very long, he had to continue the search for the object. Instead of running, Elither walked though at a fast pace. He kept his hand on the hilt of his FlashBlade just incase something crept up on him. And something did creep up unto him. A bear stalked up behind him, swiping away the small saplings that were in front of him. Elither quickly sliced his Flashblade into a much larger tree, and grasped his bow with his left hand, and an arrow with his right. Placing the arrow upon the bow, he took aim. But he wasn’t done there, and arrow alone would not take a bear of that size down. He closed his eyes while backing up, and focused his own element slowly into his arrow. The arrow cast an odd glowing purple around the tip, as Elither felt his hand burn slightly. Opening his eyes, Elither took aim. The only weakness that would take the bear down in one shot was his eyes. Elither aimed for the right eye, and waited until the bear had charged. The bear swiped away a few more saplings, then took it’s charge, running straight at Elither like a large boulder. Elither let go of the fletch of the arrow as it cut wind. A loud muffled thud rang in the forest, followed my a painful growl. The bear had landed on Elither as it fell dead, swiping Elither’s chest. Three deep gashed covered his chest, which soon stained the dead bear’s fur red. Knowing that he would have to roll the bear off him, Elither dropped his bow before it snapped under the bears large powerful leg, and pushed as hard as he can on the side of the bear. A few claws had sank into Elither’s skin and ripped they’re way out as the mighty bear rolled from Elither’s body. Using the element, it had weakened him some, so it had proven to be very difficult to push the bear from his body. “Damnit..” Elither thought, running his thumb across one of the gashes, it hurt badly. Izarus slowly prowled around the bear, pawing at it. Pulling himself onto his feet moments later, Elither gathered up his Bow, and pulled his wedged Flashblade from the tree. He wondered how Harufu and the other members were fairing as he staggered onward into the forest.

Hearing his name called by Elither as he passes by, Haru turns to see what was on Elither’s mind.

“Myself and Izarus are going our separate ways, you three can decide what to do. I will find my way to you later in this journey. Farewell.”

All Haru could do was nod as he watched Elither and his beast friend run off in another direction. Haru felt the silence return to the forest as nothing but his breath disturbed the forest. Turning to face Nienna and Assish, he just nods again as he sees the questions on their faces. Holding onto his lance a little bit harder, Haru moves passed Nienna and Assish to continue on with what needed to be done.

“We will continue on, Elither has chosen to find his own path and we must accept his choice. “ Turning to Assish Haru continued with his last thought, “If you wish to do the same we will met somewhere around there.” Haru pointed deeper in the forest to a formation that looked like a mountain or something like it. “If you are not there within three days then we will just continue on.”

Turning away from Assish waiting for the answer, Haru feels Nienna hold onto his hand as the group begins to move farther into the forest. It seemed that Assish’s answer was clear to Haru, but that was only apparent because of the poking Haru could feel against the back of his head.

“ This is going to be a long day.” Haru commented under his breath, hoping no one was able to catch it. But with the kiss, Haru knew that Nienna either heard him or felt the same way. A smile came to Haru’s face as he continued to thank life itself for letting him be with Nienna.

Narrator:

It has been a few days since the group has made it to the strange island. The quest in which they have accepted seems to only be as clear as fog. There was more to the search than any one of them could have thought. Currently, the group has been split in two; Harufu and Elither seem to be the main leaders of the groups. While there is more for the groups to discover, some things are best to be left unknown. Maybe this is one of those times…

Walking seemed to be the only thing they could do at the moment. More and more forest was all that they would be able to see. Haru could still feel Assish poking the back of his head and knew that nothing would have changed. He would just have to wait and see if anything would change. If Assish didn't have a change of heart, then Haru would have to change it from him.

"We should be coming up to a clearing some time soon. We will meet there if anything happens." Haru turns to see if Assish and Nienna agreed and with a nod from both of them he knew what their answers were. Moving again through the forest, Haru used his lance to clear a small path.

It felt weird but soon Haru realized that Assish was no longer poking him. He thought something was wrong and turning to Nienna he saw that she was be his side. Turning to look back, Assish was no longer in view.

"Nienna, Do you know where Assish went?"

Nienna just shook her head, as she did not know as well. Calling to him, nothing was returned. It just seemed that Assish was no longer there.

"At least if he is alright he knows where to met us." Nodding to Nienna, both begin to move on in search of the quest. The forest was becoming more of a problem but they would just have to deal with it. For now they were are on their own.

After a long time walking and poking through the dark forest, Assish notices a shiny, green beetle on a tree, and decides to poke that for a change. As he walks towards it, it spreads it wings and flies away, and Assish begins to chase after it.
As he's running through the forest, he is startled by some growling behind some large bushes. As he stops and looks towards the bushes two large, gray wolves creep out from behind it.
"Hurray! Time for a fight!" is the only thought going through his head as one of the wolves lunges towards him. Assish barely manages to hop out of the way, and the wolf misses by a hairs breadth.
Assish pulls out his trusty old rapier with his left hand, and assumes a fighting stance. The second wolf races towards him. This time he's not so lucky, and the wolf manages to grab a hold of his right leg.
Assish begins hacking at its neck, with blood and and hunks of flesh flying everywhere, the wolf's neck snaps, but the teeth are still locked on to his leg. Then the first wolf leaps towards him, but he is able to knock it aside with his fist, but it won't stop attacking. It launches at him again, but this time he slices it's throat before it reahes him.
After bandaging up his wounds, all he can do is laugh as he limps of towards the meeting spot.

Searching with each minute only seemed to be nothing but a waste of time. There was no way that Harufu would be able to find the tree that once cursed him. Seeing the tree burn into flames brought comfort to Haru but there was still something he could not truly explain. Something about the tree still brought nightmares to him, even in the depths of his mind. Nothing could bring comfort to Haru as the days past even more. The idea of the tree still would plague him.

"Damn that stupid tree!" Haru yelled as his lance connected with yet another empty and odd tree. The hunt for the cursed tree seemed to take its toll on Haru. Even with his love, Nienna, by his side, there was something that couldn't be removed from his mind.

"Another one Haru, please let us just make camp for the moment and have something to eat and rest." Nienna commented walking up behind Haru. Moving the broken pieces of trees in front of her out of the way, Nienna places her arms around Haru as she moves to lean against his back. Both seemed to be tired but for the moment, the two just stood there enjoying the company of each other.

"All right Nienna, we will rest for awhile," replied Haru as he accepted that he did in fact need some time to rest. He knew that if he were to fight, it would not do him any good to be tired. Finding a place to rest and relax, Haru and Nienna just talked top each other as they got something to eat. All the while, Haru knew that is was not wise to let his guard down in a place that was still new to him. Looking around, trying to find something wrong, nothing stood out from the forest. Then a strange silence came across everything. Nothing was making a sound.

The sense of warning struck Haru as he continued to listen to the forest. Yet again there was nothing. Not even the wind was making a sound. Becoming more worried, Haru began to rise from the ground to see what was going on.

" Nienna, please stay here for a moment." Haru requested as he began to move around. As Haru through the forest, there was still nothing to be heard. Knowing that Nienna would be safe, something suddenly catches Haru's attention. There was a strange, light glow coming farther down the forest. Thinking this would be his only lead; Haru begins to travel to find the strange glow. Moving closer and closer through the forest, Haru couldn't even think about what could happen. The strange glow seemed to bring back memories of his past. Finding himself even more worried for what was to come, Haru was finally able to reach the strange glow.

" It can't be" commented Haru as he looked at what was now in front of him. No matter how long he looked at it, he was still confused about what he was looking at. The wind begins to pick up as dust and leaves begin to blow between Haru and the strange object. It was what Haru was looking for, but there was something wrong. As Haru stood in front of the cursed tree, he could feel the light around him start to fade away. The darkness soon covered everything surrounding them. All that was left in the area was Haru and the cursed tree. Nothing was happening between the two as the darkness continues to block out the light. His breath becomes short and fast, as the air seemed to only get thinner. Feeling that he may soon pass out from the lack of air, Haru still continues to stand his ground, even if it was only for a short while.

" Why are you here and what do you want?" Haru says as he looks at the cursed tree for the answers. The darkness slowly begins to return to where it came, but the light was not returning. Stepping back away from the tree, Haru attempts to turn to get away, but to no use. Something about the tree brought uneasy feelings to him but nothing was really new. Holding on tight onto his lance, Haru turns towards to face the cursed tree but yet again an uneasy feeling comes to him. Not really knowing if what he was about to do was the smartest of things, Haru accelerates towards the tree and drives his lance straight into the bark of the tree, all the while hoping that something good would come of it all.

A great amount of dust began to rise from Haru’s movements. His vision still became a blur as the light was returning around him. The tree that had been attacked, now laid in pieces all over the ground. A smile came to his face as he looked at what was done. Looking around to find his goal at hand, his eyes soon notice a small velvet pouch in the center of all the destruction. It was smaller than Haru thought it would be and had very little color to it. As Haru opens the pouch, the dagger to his side begins to illuminate once again.

“ So this must be it,” commented Haru as he reached down to grab the pouch. Holding it eye level, he began to doubt if any of this was worth it. Haru continues to look at the very dull pouch but still hopes that the memento inside is worth more to him than the pouch. Grabbing something within the pouch, Haru begins to withdraw the object. Firmly in his grasp, Haru looked at the object now in his view. It was amazing, Haru felt himself at a loss for words as he continued to look at the dagger in his hand. Without thinking about it, the pouch in his hands soon falls to the ground, landing with an earsplitting noise. The sound alone caused Haru to divert his attention from the dagger to the pouch he had just dropped. The noise continued to come from he pouch as the dagger in his hand begins to emit a strange glow. Leaving his hand, the dagger begins to float on its own, slightly above where the pouch lays. Drawing his own dagger from his side, Haru notices that both daggers were emitting the same strange glow.