"Alright," Skatha spoke aloud to herself as she sat in the Garden Pavilion, "too much time has been spent worrying about Marzan, he either will return or he won't, and events that needed your attention have been neglected for way too long now." She had come to this place to meditate, and in so doing, things became clear.

One last crystal tear fell from the corner of her eye, made it's way lazily down the side of her face and fell to the floor, shattering into what seemed a million tiny shards. She gathered them together, and went into the flower garden where she dug into the earth and buried them beneath the old walnut tree. " 'tis time to move ahead," she said; she straightened her shoulders, flipped her hair to fall behind her long, slender ears, and returned home.

"Let's see, the last i heard of Eowyna she was on her way to the Twin Oaks hostile, I must proceed with all haste, for i have tarried much too long." Skatha knew that the goddesss would not be pleased with her. She packed her bedroll, once again called on Pixel for a supply of arrows and the repair of quivers if needed; asked Starshine to fetch her best armor and vowed to make an effort to redeem herself in the eyes of Hanli.

Torn between searching for the badly wounded Maddux and rushing to provide protection for Eowyn, she asked her goddess for guidance, this night she would travel to Yew, for she knew where Eowyna had hidden there....... then on to the desert.......... maybe catching Eowyna before she departed for Twin Oaks. As she crossed the lands, she would watch for any signs of Maddux having passed through....

She bade farewell to Pixel and Starshine, asking them to be cautious and send word if they saw a black rider. Although she could not accurately describe such, she assured them they would be aware, for the black rider would bare the essence of evil.

And with a "sanctum viatas" she was away...... arriving at Yew with her mount sprinting forward from the tunnel. She paused often, peering into the distance for any sign of either Maddux or the riders........ discouraged, she found nothing.... only the empty house that Eowyna had recently occupied.. Her horse rose on it's hind legs, nearly throwing her to the ground -- then a high piercing whinny cut through the land...... it had picked up the scent of the Riders. They were not present here, but had been to this place. The danger grew greatly for they were following her now.

"To the desert, to the shack on Inu," she shouted. The horses hooves cut into the rich earth as he headed back to the tunnel that would take them to the desert.

"Why has my heart betrayed me once again, allowing me to ignore my duties to my mistress and my guild," she wailed....... waiting for a response from Hanli.........

None came.

He had learned all he could from these old tome and still found nothing that may help with these riders. All he could do now was leave the temple and await the ending of his quest. He stopped at the alter and kneeled before it, then offered a silent prayer to her. He stood once more and raced out of the temple to see if his raven had returned with word from Eowyna.


He scanned the skies without seeing his faithful familiar."*shakes his head* where is that bird? *brow arched* what is that I see in the distance?" He was suddenly rocked with tremendous pain as he watched the arrow pierce the heart of his raven familiar. The world slowly grew dark as he lost conciousness.

He finally returned to the lands of the green and eluded the authorites long enough to do his time. "*arches an elven brow* something seemd different here, I wonder what has happened since I left" he took to the moongates for Zento and the enclave. A sense of evil invaded his mind the moment he materialized in Zento. A bit worried he quickly made his way to Skatha's home. He found it empty except for her servents.

"Star, where is Skatha?, I had hoped to find her here but it seems she is not her nor anywhere within the enclave" *brow arches* she what?" He grabbed the reins of his trusted war steed and made haste back to the gates." she's not ready for this I can just feel it " He made a quick stop at the bank to retrieve a few items and to repoison his kryss. Hoping she hears his thoughts " I am coming love, and I will help protect Mistress Eowyna"

Ahh... there they were, two of them. Was there no where they would not follow her? The Oaks would not be a refuge for long then. Eowyna sighed. She could stay under the cover of invisibility until twilight. At dusk when the shadows grew long, and the chance to escape detection increased, she would risk a trip to the pool to scry. For the moment, she summoned a pidgeon and hastily scribbled a messeage to Skatha:

"Skatha, a trip to the Wisp Dungeon is necessary and I cannot get there myself at present. Please take as many Justicars as are available and explore this place. Gather all information that you can. I have also received word of an enslaved deamon. Perhaps his location can be discovered and information obtained from him as well. This request I send to you in the name of Heartwood."

Tossing the messenger pidgeon aloft, she settled to wait until the evening shadows fell.

Donning a dark hooded traveling cloak, Eowyna slipped out the door of the Twin Oaks Tavern and south toward the still pool across the road. Staying under cover of the shadows of evening, she knelt next to the pool and closed her eyes, focusing her concentration. After a few moments she gazed upon the surface of the pool. And the frision beneath the surface appeared.

Instantly images began to form and, since she was seeking Maddux, along with the images came the sensations as well. A beating of great wings surrounded her--the bright feathers of the great bird filled the entire space surrounding her with a blur of color, and the pain was overwhelming. She reeled, fighting to maintain consiousness. And then the sensation of falling, falling and trying to see, unable to see because the mind was giving way to the world of spirits.......it was no longer possible to draw breath....

She drew a great gasping breath, tears streaming down her face. And as the vision faded, she collapsed, the cloak billowing about her. And she lay there, sobbing still. No........no...............

It was full dark when she pushed herself up from the ground. Her priorities had just changed completely. The message to follow Armageddon had been sent to Skatha; it was in the hands of others now--theirs to discover the truth of that mighty spell, up until now, known only to the wisps.

Her own mission was to locate Maddux. Her vision had told her little of WHERE he might be, only forest. And that could be almost anywhere. The great bird could have been none other than a hiryu, but they were not native to any of the territory between the old keep near Trinsic, Fel, and her own home in Yew. So this could not have been a chance meeting between monster and elf--he had been deliberately intercepted.

Where to begin her search, then? Obviously, where he had begun. She would retrace his probable path. She couldn't stay here anyway; the black riders were circling close now. They would detect the travelling magic--she was sure now that that was within their power. But they hardly mattered. "Vas Rel Por" and a shimmering red gate appeared. Eowyna stepped through.

Skatha spent the night huddled in the corner of the empty hut in the desert. She tried to sleep, alert to the ever-present dangers, she realized after the moon was well on its traverse of the heavens that there would be rest this night. No sign of either Maddux, nor Eowyna.

Aware that Eowyn and Maddux had often visited the Twin Oaks Tavern, she set off for the Tavern..... stopping often and gazing into the distance to see if she can find any trace of either the Bandit King or Eowayn.

As she neared the tavern, she became aware that evil had somehow made it's way past the pixies, the unicorns, perhaps staying overnight in the reaper forest nearby. Quickly searching that area and finding no evidence of the black riders having stayed there, she returned to the tavern.

Nothing..... no evidence even that Eowyna had arrived... no empty cup, no slept in bed. Skatha paused long enough to buy a bit of food that she would be able to eat as she rode. As she left the tavern, she spotted Lissbet gathering flowers.

"Lissbet, i beg of you...... have you seen either Eowyna or the Bandit King," she asked "it is imperative that i find them quickly, for there is much evil afoot, and i fear for their safety."

Lissbet hesitated before she spoke, and it was evident that this innocent child was frightened. "Skatha, the Bandit King i have not seen for many a'day, but the fair Eowyna was here a night ago, and was watched by riders, they wore black robes and rode great black steeds."

"The lady cast a magic spell that they could not pierce, so they retreated, but i think they went not far, but waited. I went to the pond of the pixels, and sought thier protection for that night and through the day."

Skatha replied, "You should be safe now, for they have left this area in search of her. If they return, please leave a message near the pool, i shall check there soon and see if there is any news."

Spotting a dark raven in the sky, she drew her bowstring taunt and let fly an arrow, the bird immediately plumetted to the earth. It was not native to this land. Something was afoul.

Where are the Justicars? Why have none come.

Returning to her home in Zento immediately, she sent messages to the Justicars. "The time has come for all available to join in the hunt for the Black Riders that threaten our Lady Eowyna, and i fear they have somehow harmed the Bandit King. Leave messages at my home, i shall check here periodically for same."

The pidgeon sat quietly on the step. Skatha had dashed by it when she entered her home. Noticing it now, she retrieved the message it bore. "A trip to the Wisp Dungeon?" Surely some will come soon and help me solve this riddle, for I have not the ability to see as Eowyna, this path that must followed."

Skatha wept........

He slowly regained conciousness, a shake of his head to clear the fog from his vision. The pain still fresh in his mind, he stood on shaky feet and slowly made his way to where the raven lay still. He examined the arrow that pierced him. "what is this? an elven arrow? but who?" His mind raced with thoughts of who could have done such a thing. An animate dead spell slowly came to mind as he pulled the arrow from its breast. "come back to the living friend, and tell me who struck this blow" a shocked look crossed his face "Skatha? no she couldn't have" low growl emits from his throat as he pulled the black shroud from his pack, a black hellsteed materialized at his side. "I seek out these riders first, this I owe to the enclave and my goddess, but further vengence will remain to be seen for now" He mounted the steed and headed for the closest moongate and to Eowyna. He was a skilled necromancer and had her tracked as far as the tavern but lost sight due to the pixies who inhabit that forest. "perhaps I can use there pool to do some scrying of my own this night"

Skatha feels a spike of great pain, wincing, she laid a small hand over the ache in her heart...........

"The raven," she whispered, "it was a tragic mistake. I fear the black riders may be influencing my decisions. I have failed at each thing i have attempted these past few days."

Ignoring all else, she packs for a trip through the Wisp Dungeon.

He had reached the pool shortly before dawn, after a round about way to avoid the pixies. Dismounting he kneeled down before the pool, a touch of his hand to the water while words spoken softly. "Tell me where is Eowyna" the pool showed her course back to the dangerous lands of Felucia, "Why did she return there I wonder?, show me Skatha and her Justicars" Here was something, a glance at the note, "Wisps dungeon is it?, that is where I will head, perhaps I may be of some help with the creatures riddles". Flick of water and the image vanishes.

He turned from the pools and mounted his steed. He turned to the lands of Humility in Ilsh and the wisp dungeon.

POSTED FOR ANNWFN GWYDDEN:

"A small number of Justicars assembled under the command of Skatha, in an attempt to decipher the puzzles of the the wisp maze before the Black Riders arrived and gleaned the knowledge for themselves. We spent many hours wandering through the starry maze, finally arriving at our destination. However all our efforts were in vain, for the Riders had been there before us, the wisp was silent, the knowledge was lost to us.

Two of us proceeded to follow the next lead sent to us in the message from Eowyna. We made our way to the Fan Dancer Dojo in the Tokuna Isles, ever hopeful to make contact with the enslaved demon. Deeper and deeper into the depths of the dungeon we rode, past deamons and succubi. But the Seldarine were not with us this day, for when we arrived at the lowest point of the dungeon, we found the cell of the demon abandoned. Once again, we had let the Black Riders steal a march on us.

It is time, perhaps, for the Justicars to retreat to the Temple and make an offering to the Seldarine, for we seem to have lost their favor. I myself will offer a prayer to the great archer, Solonor." --Annwfn Gwydden

It appeared he had arrived to late to the dungeon to be of any use. The Justicars had been here and gone, as well as those riders. "I will head back to the enclave and await them there perhaps they will allow this dark one into thier company for the next hunt" He pulled the hood of his shroud low as he turned and galloped back to the moongate and Zento.


He seated himself in the enclave tavern and awaited the fall of hooves sounding the justicars return.