He was glad for the cold night to have come. During the day, there was little cover in these fields and the sun came beating down. Even when gray clouds were overhead, the heat still stuck to them and they would be forced to move. There were many moving tribes here and all of them looked to the three wanderers here as enemies. A drow and two shapeshifters that made the tribes' horses flee and their dogs growl and then cower. Now, they stuck to the nights to move as the tribes knew well there was great danger roaming this place in the cover of darkness.

He stood on a rock overlooking a long stretch of grass that in a league would hit a lush forest. That is where Amrich intended to bring his two students. There was a rumor of a dark, blood thirsty creature living at the far edge of Virens forest where trees met the sea and it sounded much like the grand atar of his female traveling companion. they would find answers there. He cupped his hands aorund his mouth and made the long screech of an owl to let them know that the way beyond was clear. And then he could hear them coming from the small gathering of trees upwind from him.

"It is still so far," the young man named Stefan said. Amrich saw him shift his bows rest on his shoulder.

"It is but it is all we have so far. We will not make it long in a place we have yet to understand. In DaeLuin I knew which cities would tolerate us and the ones that did not, I knew the back ways in. This is not true of Revaliir. These tribes, these cities and cultures are foreign to us all. The only constant that we may have lies in the hope that this rumor is indeed Dimitre. If it is, he will take us in. He can make us useful." He did not even let them muse on if the rumor spoke of someone other than the devil they knew.

"We would travel faster on horseback," Stefan said. It was the first time there was even a hint that Amrich's original plan might be manifesting in his companions.

Amrich looked to Brynn. "I know it is something that appalls you to do but your lover is right. We would travel a great deal faster if we stole horses. Of course, to these people horses are life. I know you do not want to kill anyone…"

"And I do not either," Stefan chimed in.

"But this may be the only way to find answers. I promised Tari and Rhylana I would look after you two and keep you safe. If it takes the death of a small tribe of horsemen, that is a small price to pay. I remember once your grand atar told me 'there is no good or evil, only choices and consequences', and he was right."

Brynn hated the heat. She had always hated the heat, as she had grown up in coastal cities, she had never been in the flush of it until this time. It made her resentful of being here, and often shooting the most wicked, and Knight like, of looks to her trainer. Brynn knew Amrich’s thoughts, and while journeying from one end of the world to the other sounded like a grand adventure, she had so hoped it would be in a more temperate climate. Amrich had forced his charge’s through the portal that had appeared at near the point of a blade- taking no excuse or fear. He had said he knew it was time, could feel it, and his duty to Rhylana and Dimitre prevailed. Right now she couldn’t give less of a damn about that duty, she wished to rest.

Apparently murder was on the night’s menu.

Brynn blinked, looking at her beloved, then back to Amrich, face falling as she rubbed her brow. “I PROTECT Amrich, I do not slaughter, you know this.” It was a protest in vain, she knew, as she would have to do this in order to get to the bottom of the strange events and where they stood in the world. Naturally, Brynn and Stefan would remain with Amrich as it was an arrangement they had made many moons ago, but she was not a fan of murder, but the people of this strange land were not fans of what they were…monsters, murderers rather the fact was true or not.

Her protests fell quiet, merely nodding at what must be done, running a hand through her hair as she cocked one hip, hand upon it as she tried to force this to reconcile within her mind. “You’re frightened of my mothers, Tari would surely slaughter you if she is not dead already, and Rhylana…if she survived, I know she would not mind to come to blows.” She shook her head and rose her hands in a gesture of concession, this would bother her profoundly later. “Let us simply get this over with, I do not want to discuss it, merely execute this plan and get the answers we need.” Her tone had steeled, locking away that which she was, entering into the quiet space, the white noise of her head to allow her to commit atrocities and lock away the inner voice for a time.

While Dimitre was right, she was not fond of slaughter, she was not one to revel in this. She half wondered if shifting would be more beneficial for this mission. Had her trainer had the blessing of the moon and the good fortune of a beast, they’d be there already. Though, Stefan and she could not just shift and run, leaving the elf to work it out on his own. “Do you want bade, or Fang Amrich?” The question came out cold, her eyes having lost their spark as she compartmentalised in preparation for the battle ahead. Many would lose their lives today, and she refused to be one of the ones that lost. He was her trainer, he called the shots, and he would keep them alive in this new and strange land. Though part of Brynn doubted those of her blood had survived, the other part hoped they had not, for it would be simpler to live without having two gods to answer to.

Brynn had a great deal of good traits to her including a code of honor that she upheld to, despite her atara and grand atar's backgrounds. But in their training and now in this new region, her morals were doing nothing but slowing them down. Amrich had long stopped caring about killing most humans as they would do so without any practical reason, only fear. If they knew what Brynn and Stefan were, they would do the same to them. At least Stefan did not pretend to be dominant to either Amrich or Brynn and did whatever the other two chose. That made him an ideal traveling companion for Amrich.

"And slaughter is exactly what they would do to me and even you two if they knew what you were. We at least will kill them for a practical purpose; their deaths will not be in vain," he said. And he knew, by the relenting and scared look in her eye that she would do this for he and Stefan tonight. She feared losing her entire family and Amrich feared starting over in a world he would have to spend an immense deal of time trying to understand. "And I am not doing this out of fear of your mothers. Yes, I swore to them I would keep you two safe but you two, even without parents, would be my charges. My own mentor was a selfish and evil shulteen but even he never left me behind or allowed me to come to harm. Well, in the beginning anyhow."

He pulled his canteen from his belt and took a long swallow of the cool water. "Not to mention they may also have some food. You two can hunt, true, but your human halves need more sustenance than meat and blood. As do I. Horses and supplies may get us closer to your grand atar."

And with that, the three of them went off into the darkness towards a fire they saw across the plains. Even in the night, they had heard the whinnies of horses and bellow of deep laughter.

———————————–

It had been swift and without any sense of mercy. Though Brynn and Stefan had, in their training in Minoc, been adverse to the idea of assassin skills, they found them useful as Stefan's arrows found the heart of one man and the other two were knifed and died before they hit the ground. No pain. No suffering. These humans had done nothing to them so they deserved at least that.

He rummaged through supplies and found a great deal of salted meat, dried fruit and nuts and other such foods that could keep for tendays at a time. There were bows and quivers and fresh pelts. The three men must have been doing one last hunt before the cold and snows came and the herds moved to greener lands. That pleased Amrich and he relieved the packs on the horses of anything that was unneeded and packed up what could be of to use to them. One of those items happened to be a map of the plains with routes marked off and what were safest to travel. This was invaluable. He tucked it into his jerkin. Money was little, as these nomadic tribes often traded, but he saw silver that was shockingly similar to the various types of crescents that Minoc had coined. This he found strange. Putting those into another pouch on his belt, he gestured to his charges.

"If you two have everything that can be of use and packed it, then we should be going. According to a map that man had, Virens Forest is not far at all from here and there is a route for this time of year for safest passage. Much like the rumors, there is actually some odd verbiage at the end of the forest." He gestured to them to come to him to look at it. "There is a road drawn in at the end portion of the forest. They labeled it 'The Cold Road'." Of course, Stefan and Brynn both knew the only road that had ever had such a name.

The one to Dimitre's Keep.

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Their pace was set steady but swift that night and the horses were exhausted within two nights ride when they got to the treeline that signaled the beginning of the woods. The tree and the cloak of shadow they would cover them in was far more familiar to the drow and his companions than anything they had seen yet. Actually, the moment they crossed into more compatible territory, Brynn seemed less nerved by her actions against the horsemen than she had before. Stefan seemed aloof but excited. Amrich was on alert but even allowed them to make a fire once they were a good ways into the trees. That night Stefan had shot a few rabbits and Amrich cooked them into a stew of coneys, dried cranberries and thin potato slices. It was the first good, flavored hot meal they had had since they came to this land.

When they finished, Amrich laid on the pallet on his side, breathing in the much cooler night air and basking in the heat at his front. He thought of Baeda and Shriafay and for the first time since he came to Revaliir, he felt their lack of presence keenly. Shriafay had been missing with Larren and Baeda had been on a mission in Lunaar for Dimitre. Two nights before the sundering had started, he and Baeda had made love before he had told her to be safe as she had left their tower at the training grounds to go to their cathedral. If she were still alive, and he had to believe she was, then she was searching for him and a way. Shriafay… he had known something was wrong when she had stopped writing them and now he would never know her fate.

And when he looked at Stefan and Brynn, the two of them seemed equally troubled but they had one another and they had the rumor of Brynn's grand atar. They sat with their backs to the trunk of a gargantuan tree, Stefan's arm around her and her cheek on his shoulder. Amrich and Baeda had never been affectionate in that way unless alone but he missed their dynamic.

The murder had been swift, Brynn having had to slip behind two gentlemen and with one swift movement slit their throats in congruence after to artery in their drunken sleep. They fell quickly, her beloved having landed more than one arrow true, relatively, it went quickly. Part of that disturbed and unsettled the girl, the other part was thankful that more had not had to transpire. Uneventful was the way she liked missions, and it was now she closed her eyes and sighed before taking a look at the map that held the fateful words that Amrich so dutifully pointed out. “It cannot be a coincidence.” Brynn said with renewed resolve, mounting a horse and following Amrich without further question.

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The darkness was tangible as they crossed into the forest proper, something about it settled the nerves that had previously plagued her, gave her hope. Surely no two creatures could fathom something called ‘the cold road’, it was so distinctly Knight that it truly gave her hope for the first time since landing in this strange world. She willingly turned to her lover, curling into his arms bathed in fire light and the welcoming warmth. The end of this was so near, so close to making it to the Keep, she was so certain of it. The stew was filling, pleasing and its heady flavours filling her stomach reminded her of just how poorly she had slept in the nights leading up to this one, reminding her of just how truly hungry she had been.

But would Dimitre want her there?What of the others…how many had been lost? Slowly her eyes closed and Brynn let the wayward thoughts fade to darkness as she gave her trust to the men with her, knowing that they would not let anything transpire without ensuring she was able to protect herself. The heavy breath of the horses frosted the air as the cool night pressed on, watching over them, reminding them of their mission.

————————-

The dawn did not seem to penetrate the darkness of the forest, another mark of the possibilities that lay ahead. Brynn had tracked a fox and cooked it over the fire for breaking their evening fast. They ate quickly before mounting up and pressing on, Amrich had said that there was no sense in dallying, they had a goal and that would be best pursued at full speed. The horses seemed to protest now and again as they pressed through the forest, Brynn hoping to push the horse to their limit to close the distance between them and the answers they sought. “Amrich, how close are we?” Brynn asked some time near high noon, her thighs screaming from having stayed upon her mount so long, despite having water the horses twice. Brynn had never wanted to see anyone so badly, except Stefan, as she now desired to see Dimitre. He held answers, he had to know more, and yet she was fearful that perhaps this Dimitre was not like their Dimitre back in Daeluin…perhaps it was some trick of the weave or the times…Brynn suddenly regretted not being blessed with magic.

Once the morning came, Amrich had already pushed his worries to the back of his mind. he had to for if he did not, he feared he would be unable to press on. And press on they did. He stayed at the forefront of the group for even with their wolven natures, they did not have his keen elven vision and instincts. Brynn had wood elf in her but Amrich was drow, ilythiir, and he was far more naturally skilled than his companions. But the further they moved in, he realized that they were getting into deeper and deeper forest.

They were moving slowly and he knew Brynn was getting anxious and ever more fearful. However, he knew that it would take time and time was what they had He looked back at her, havign been leading his horse. He stopped their line and went to she and Stefan.

"You need to be patient," he said. "Travel on foot, even with horses, is slow but we are getting closer. We have been lucky that it has been clear so far." He reached up and squeezed her knee in comfort. "Either your grand atar is there and we will be able to start getting answers or he is not and we… have to rebuild. Whatever creature is there is enough to warrant warnings on a map. A good partnership is something we need." Yes, he needed to find out about Baeda and then his daughter who seemed lost to him. Yet, he would not give up. "If you feel anything… wrong… you need to tell me. Your grand atar surrounds himself with planar creatures of shadow. You have his blood. You will know."

—————————————————

They were tired, worn and had many cuts and bruises from battling the creatures that stalked Virens Forest. Even once they were attacked by elves simply because he was drow. He had tried to interact but the dialect they spoke was different than what he knew from the elves of DaeLuin. It was then that they had been forced to fight and then flee. When the trees suddenly cut, they were at a road with a single dilapidated tavern. Its wooden shingles were old and many were falling off and the sign looked like it had been there for centuries. There were a few horses outside and Amrich knew this was definitely the type of place that people avoided. 

"This place looks like the fourth circle of hell," he said. But it was frigid outside now and he wanted a hot meal, a fire, and a bed regardless what it looked like. "But we need time to rest. Brynn, I want you to get us a room or two. Stefan and I are going to see if we can find any information regarding that road and what is at the end."