[Yals/Lucc/Cari/Lawrince]

::It looks like we might be able to present both the murderer and the
envoy,:: Lucc sent to Alexandrin and Yals. He decided it wasn't worth the
arguement of refusing to go - that would lose them too much time on the
hunt.

[Alexandrin]

	::Both alive?:: Alexandrin answered with a glance towards the
other four.  It was obvious that none of the searchers was particularly
concerned about bringing the quarry back alive -- nor could he honestly
say that it was a concern of his own, Legentor ideals notwithstanding.
Still, to the extent there were those in Montfort who aspired to at least
the facade of a rule of law and reasoned judgment, he would hope that the
man would try to avoid giving his hunters reason to kill him.

[Yals/Lucc/Cari/Lawrince]

Yals continued crouch by the mound, murmuring wind-soft words. Then he
stood and foxes crept from the woods and encircled the mound. "None shall
disturb her," the red-haired man said, "Till it is time to take her home."

Cari moved towards the portal, and cautiously stepped through.

::It's safe enough....,:: she said, signaling through the opening, but she
didn't sound convinced.

Old memories burned in Cari's mind as she looked at the blasted land that
not even time had healed enough to send green to cover the scars. ::We may
have trouble,:: she commented, nodding down what had been a road, ::If he
went to the ruins of the citadel we may have problems tracking him - the
magical fall-out is still wild here.::

Even after all the months, and the change of seasons, the air still felt
charged with disturbed power, and Cari could remember a time when it had
also been charged with Sh'aljien's reborn essence - though he now rested
in his Temple. And possibly in the form of Semareth, or at least some of
the god did.

But remained here was the results of a firefight that nearly revivaled the
False Dawn.

[Eric/Lovvorn]

"Oooo!" sqealed Lovvorn as he beheld the scorched landscape.  "Now THIS is
interesting!"

Lovvorn walked around, studying some nearby craters.

"Lots of interference here... residual whatchamacallit.  If he teleported
out, I might not be able to find the trail... not without a few more
beers, anyway."

"Hopefully it won't come to that,"  said Eric.  "We're close to the
killer."

Eric began his trademark twirling of his dagger between his fingertips.

[Cari/Lawrince/Yals/Lucc]

::If anything, he's probably walking,:: Cari sent, ::He's been doing a lot
of work tonight - and unless he has a hell of alot of stamina teleporting
out of here will be rough.::

While the others had been talking Lucc and Yals had begun to search the
barren ground; for the most part the soil was hard, but there had been
enough rainfall to provide puddles. After a careful search, seeming
untroubled by general lack of light - as they moved away from Lovvorn's
globe, both men were able to point out places where Fillip had carelessly
stepped in water and have left a few partial tracks.

Cari moved to look at the muddy prints, which indicated that the murderer
had had a rough time moving through the broken terrain of craters and
burnt tree stumps, and sent, ::He's moving towards what is left of the
Citadel.::

"What is the Citadel?" Lawrince tiredly asked, squinting into the
darkness.

::It was a hidden stronghold of the Church's,:: Cari sent, ::And the
battle fought here occured shortly before the False Dawn... and though
inconclusive as to the winner - it destroyed the complex.:: Her tone had
become thoughtful as she remembered her own running battle with Its'shyn -
the serpent mage, the nightmare of magic that filled the battlefield, and
the knowledge that a reborn Sh'aljien had briefly favored her with the
strength to survive.

"You sound like you saw it," the envoy said, noting the glance that Yals
gave her.

::I did,:: Cari answered, ::But that knowledge will do us little good in a
mostly collapsed building.::

"And not to be impolite," Lawrince said, "But may I ask whose side you
fought on?"

Cari looked back at him and gave a quick grin, ::I was a Refuser.:: That
was safe enough to say; though the old king had been corrupted by the Dark
One's Proctors the new king had no use for religion. And while he might be
on the mad side - at least he had a good staff to keep a tight rein on
him, and to see to the proper running of a kingdom.

[Eric/Lovvorn]

"All this talk about fighting is making me thirsty.  What are you people
talking about, anyway?"

"Before our time, but just barely," said Eric.  "No need wasting breath on
it now."

"Perhaps our lady-friend here will re-tell the tale over dinner and a few
tankards of ale when this is done, hmmm?  Or maybe a more private
setting... unless His Envoyness has already staked a prior claim-"

"You know... if this guy is hiding out here somewhere, he's likely to
start lobbing fireballs at the first person he sees... or hears."

"Oh. Really?"  Lovvorn's mouth snapped shut...

[Cari/Lawrince/Yals/Lucc]

::The fireball part I can take care of,:: Cari sent raising a matrix
around the group. She added, with a smile, ::And I'll happily buy a round
for all - once we catch this guy.::

She looked at the dark and torn terrain, and sent, ::Might want to walk
carefully - who knows what got left.::

With that thought in mind Lawrince moved closer to Lovvorn's light, and
Yals and Lucc spread out with their weapons ready.

[Alexandrin]

	The plainly-dressed blonde elf waited a moment as the others moved
forward, listening.  A wild and twisted place, this.  But when he moved,
he stepped easily over the rough land as if untroubled by its roughness.
Occasionally, as the edges of his cloak moved with his steps, a glimmer of
that sword could be seen.

[Cari/Lucc/Lawrince/Yals]

Cari's own night vision had always been decent, probably as part of her
questioned heritage, and she began to head forward.

And though they still had over a half mile to travel the lack of trees
made it easy to see the broken remnants of the citadel on the horizon.

[Fillip - in the depths of the citadel]

Fillip cursed as he caught his toe on some obstacle and went down on one
knee - scrapping it against sharp stone.

"Damn you woman," he hissed, once again thinking of Denlira - even in
death she was to blame. If he hadn't had to kill her and waste precious
energy in teleporting her, plus burying her and erasing his aura, he
wouldn't have ended up in this ruin. Somehow, when he had tried to
teleport from the woods his spell had gone wrong and he had found himself
in this desolate stretch of land, with no strength to teleport clear of
its wild magic. And when he had sought the ruins in hopes of a night's
shelter his wanderings had only led him to a weakened spot of flooring,
and quick, but mercifully short, fall into the dark.

A ruin of what he wasn't sure, and he felt like he had been hours
wandering in it, though he knew it really hadn't been that long. And his
rational mind told him that when daybreak came he would be able to clamor
out.

But there was a sweet, decaying smell that permeated the air in the dark
passages, and Fillip's imagination had ample room to work. For some reason
he kept having the horrible fear that he would turn a corner and fall over
Denlira, and get a lungful of the decay that would have already begun in
the moist soil.

He struggled to his feet and once again cast a light spell, but the glow
was pale and tired, and only let him see a foot or two ahead. Just enough
to see rats scurrying away.

Or occasionally to catch a glimpse of a skeletal hand amongst the rocks,
which left him with room to wonder at what was still giving off that
smell.

[Eric/Lovvorn]

"Looks like the woman was right... the footprints lead to those ruins."
Eric pointed to the shattered remains of the Citadel that loomed before
them.  "Is there anything nasty in there we should worry about... besides
our murderer, that is?"

[Cari/Lawrince/Yals/Lucc]

Cari shook her head, and sent, ::I wish I could go you a more thorough
briefing, but I hadn't actually planned on being part of that battle - was
having my own problems with Church personnel that night. So I wasn't
around in the beginning to get a good look at all the players. I can tell
you that at least one Dark Guard - demon that is - was running
head-to-head with an old dragon; they slung around enough firepower and
that's not counting all the lesser mages. Nor a god a dying and being
reborn - though that wasn't right at the Citadel.::

Her mental laugh was chill when she added, ::I did count at least two
leashed banshees, and know for a fact that most of the dungeons got blown
to the hells. In other words, who knows what got left.:: She sounded like
she had enjoyed the challenge.

The nearer they got to the ruins it was obvious that there had been enough
power to fuse soil and ruins into gleaming slag.

[To be continued.]