Lac nodded to Ceolwulf , and followed him down the ladder. After he had spoken to Ssinjin and Tiphereth, Lac placed his hand on both their shoulders."May the Gods go with and protect you, m,ay they bring you safely back, my trusted friends." Lac then leaned close to Ssinjin's ear and spoke so that only she could hear him. "Come back to me, gaurd against Verin, he will not be far from these vermin. Remember my home and people await you." Lac then lightly kissed her ear and whispered "My heart will be with you."

Lac then smiled at them bouth and turned to Ceolwulf with a determined look. "Reinforce the gate, send your archers to the wall." Lac thought a moment then smiled as an idea blosomed in his mind. "Have your archers and swordsmen polish thier shields to a high sheen. Light fires along the wall and here in the courtyard. ..... These undead must remain in the shadows, they shun the light, it is harmful to them. ........." Lac stopped short of speaking further. Something kept gnawing at the edges of his consciensness.....what it was was just out of his reach, but a question was forming in his mind.

The Deithir was a strange being indeed. When he appeared to suspend himself from the unseen force from the cliff side, Jalisa tilted her head slightly to the left and furrowed her brows. She had just taken a few steps to get a closer look when he suddenly stood back before her as though the earth had moved to right him. The look in his eyes caused her breath to catch in her throat and she held it there. There was something about the look in his dark eyes and the expression on his face that told her he had a sudden revelation. By the Gods….please don’t let him figure out what her secret was!

He was about to say something and the fear of his possible knowledge of her true nature nearly consuming her, Jalisa swallowed visibly and waited for the words he was about to speak and make her a slave to him for as long as he held the earring pendent that belonged to her. But if that were the case, the moment was quickly replaced by something else.

About the time Tiphereth saw the Gorrinvul party approaching, the dragoness caught a whiff of the decaying flesh of both man and beast. Whirling around to see the party emerge from the darkness and ride in search of the living. Her brows furrowed once more and Jalisa cursed under her breath for two reasons. If Tiphereth knew what she was, she’d not find out any time soon now. The decaying flesh she was smelling was reminding her it had been a while she had fed properly. She would have to somehow sneak away soon and find a meal without the others knowing she was even gone.

When the Pharie mentioned he was certain she could find her way down from their perch, Jalisa wanted to smack the back of his head and make him confess to her he was quite certain of what she really was. Still unsure if that were the case of not, she decided to do the only possible thing she could and that was nod. As she saw the Deithir leap from the cliff side, she cursed under her breath and glared at the Gorrinvul.

”Of all the times for YOU idiots to appear…..if I thought I could get away with it, I’d eradicate you for good right now.”

Turning on her heel, she walked back towards the rear of the cliff and with the wave of her hand in an irritated gesture, she disappeared form the cliff side and a few seconds later appeared in the dark shadows back in the inner bailey of the keep to see what, if anything, she cold assist with.

Jin saw the way the Druid looked at her and could almost read his thoughts. Men, no matter what race they were, were all the same in some basic areas and admiring a female form and thinking lustful thoughts while doing so was one of them. Still, she nodded to Augustine when he let her know he would remain close to Brianna. As she watched the Druid’s retreating back, she called out softly to him once more with a teasing tone.

”Let me know if you should ever require a demonstration of my other abilities, my friend.”

Catching the glance Augustine gave her, Jin laughed softly again. The Druid had lived the monk life too long. He really needed to find out what it was like to know one of the most primal of all physical contact.

As Augustine disappeared into the stables, Jin caught sight of Tiphereth landing next to Lac and Ceolwulf then gesture beyond the keep. After a few more words were exchanges, she saw the Rohirrim Lord raise his hand and a series of bell ringing alarms alerted the others to what she quickly deducted. The Gorrinvul have emerged.

She was getting ready move to another location when she saw Ceolwul, followed by Tiphereth and Lac’Nala, coming her way. When Ceolwulf reached the wall she was standing on and spoke to her in his authoritative tone, she knew what ever he was about to say was not going to be good news for her.

Jin expected him to say anything but that she was not welcomed here as well as Tiphereth. Immediately Jin’s pride and feelings were hurt, but it was nothing she wasn’t used to. Still, the sting of his words were getting ready to be met with some of her own when he raised his hand and let it rest on her shoulder to quiet her strong retort. Biting her tongue, but glaring at the Horse Warrior Lord, Jin let him have his say as it seemed it was very important that he did.

As Ceolwulf explained why they needed to leave, Jin glanced around at the warriors as they prepared for battle and saw the wary glances she and Tiphereth were receiving even as the men worked like a well oiled machine. Her race had always been one of suspicion and rightfully so. Jin could not sway the mindset of people who had been crossed and killed by her kind. It would take time to try and change their thinking as it took time for their suspicions to develop.

As Ceolwulf relayed his vision to them, Jin blinked when she heard the name Kallus. She thought the ancient Drowess was nothing but a myth, a legend to be revered. To find out she may actually be real was something Jin never really expected. As Ceowulf showed them the way to the UnderDark, Jin’s eyes glanced at the barred gate then back to the Rohirrim leader. Not expecting anything less than the gate to be locked behind them, she merely sneered.

Jin didn’t like the idea of leaving the group when a battle was getting ready to take place but knowing the Rohirrim people were fine warriors, and not favorable of her and Tiphereth being here, the Drowess reluctantly agreed to Ceolwulf’s plea.

”Very well…..I will do as you request, Lord Ceolwulf.”

When Lac rested his hand on her shoulder, Jin turned to let her soft, glowing eyes rest on his gaze. As he leaned closer, Jin moved closer as well. The feel of his warm breath passing softly over her sensitive ear caused the Drowess to close her eyes and shiver slightly. When his lips touched her ear and he let her know his heart, Jin whispered in kind and let her lips gently touch his cheek before he pulled away.

”And mine with you, ‘chev (beloved).”

Opening her eyes, she let her gaze linger a little longer then nodded to Ceolwulf and looked to Tiphereth and smiled.

”Shall we, my Deithir friend?”

The Deithir stood as stone while lord Ceolwulf spoke and remained so while the Drowess and ranger exchanged a chaste embrace and bid their good bye. Only when she spoke to him, did the statue re-animate and consciousness seem to return to his glassy black eyes.

Sorrelwind responded with a blink and followed, only pausing briefly to look over his shoulder and bow his head to the ranger. There was nothing to be said. It went without saying that the Deithir would not let anything happen to Lac'Nal's beloved. If it were in his power, he would protect her, but where they were going they would equally need to rely upon one another to survive.

They passed by the stables on their way to the dark gateway and the Deither spied the tell-tale robe of the druid flash by.

"Augustine!" he called out, and ran to meet him, "Jin and I once more descend into the darkness." told him then he gestured slightly to the small silver lantern of 'faerie-fire' that he had given him that hung beneath his robes.

The Deither said nothing else. The choice was his and he would not pressure the druid to journey deep into the world once again. It was not for him to decide the fate of others, especially when it might lead to their demise. Looking to Jin, he stepped back and waited. The, Gorrinvul had yet to discover the fortress and they had much time before the attack to prepare for their descent.

Jin stopped with Tiphereth when he caught sight of Augustine. When Tiphereth was done speaking with the Druid, Jin stepped up then and looked to both Augustine and Brianna both.

”We journey to find a way to destroy this plague. Stay with the Horse Warriors. They are good men who know how to fight readily. Use every ounce of knowledge you possess to aid them and know we shall return as soon as we are able.”

Giving Brianna another quick glance, Jin then stepped up to Augustine and embraced the Druid for a small moment and whispered in his ear.

”Take care, by trusted friend. Be sure to remain vigilant for Verin. This is no coincidence these things have emerged this night.”

Stepping back, she clasped forearms with Brianna, giving the human woman a small embrace as well.

”Malar l'bwael malar (fight the good fight)”

Seeing the puzzled look on the woman’s face, Jin nodded to Augustine knowing he would, somehow, know what she just told Brianna. With one last glance towards Lac’Nala, Jin looked to Tiphereth and nodded.

”Come my fair skinned brother. Let us see what mischief we can find within the world we are so comfortable in.”

Jin and Tiphereth headed for the locked gate and were just about to open it when the warrior Jin confronted earlier stepped up and unlocked the gate and opened it for them. His blue eyes seemed to bore into her now glowing red ones. With a nod of thanks, she stepped through the gateway and took a few steps into the darkness. As soon as Tiphereth cleared the gateway, the warrior closed the door behind them and locked them within the dark, dank world of tunnels.

The sound of the door closing and locking behind them sounded so final and echoed throughout the area that it took Jin a few seconds to regain her sharp hearing. Turning her white head to look back at Tiphereth, she gave the Deithir a smile and nodded towards the awaiting tunnels. She couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. Tiphereth’s height made it difficult for him to stand up straight right now without hitting his head on the tunnel ceiling.

”I will guide us from here on.”

As Jin and Tiphereth traveled into the tunnels, it was obvious they were headed down, at a rather steep incline at that. The blissful of the silence of the underworld greeted Jin like a lover with open arms and she almost forgot how quiet and peaceful it was beneath the surface. When they finally reached a part where the tunnels opened up more and allowed for Tiphereth to stand upright. Several tunnels branched off from the one they were in and Jin needed to know which tunnel to take.

Closing her eyes, the Drowess began to whisper words in her native language. Withina few seconds, the tunnels began to glow faintly where foot steps had fallen in the past. Of the five tunnels that branched out before them, three had so many footsteps to them there was no doubt they were the three main tunnels the Gorrinvul used for moving below ground. One tunnel had a few footprints in them and Jin wondered why only a few but one tunnel, the one immediately to their right, had only one set of footprints in it. Not only that, but there was another strange glow coming from the entire circumference of the tunnel. A sign a spell had been cast and was still quite active. Grinning, she looked back to Tiphereth.

”Care to wager this is the tunnel that belongs to Kallus?”

No matter how graceful one was, a bipedal creature moving in a cramped space was a clumsy thing, but the Deither was able to compensate for this. Before they entered the tunnels he held his sword-staff before him and whispering a magical phrase, the weapon shrunk to that of a knife. A trick he do not use often, as reversing the spell was not so instantaneous. He then trailed behind the small Drowess in weightless manner, pushing himself off of the sides of the tunnel with his hands or feet, moving as if underwater.

He followed close behind the Drowess, never considering for one moment that he would attempt to guide them through this maze. While all was revealed to his Phaerie eyes, he was attuned to the perpetual black of woodlands rather than caverns and though the environments bore more similarities than differences, this was the Drow's realm. He could only hope to keep up and noiselessly follow so as not to betray her presence, a feat he was able to perform expertly.

The Phaerie saw the world in a similar fashion to Jin's spell, although with far less detail to the passing of others, what he saw was left more up to interpretation but there was no doubt which was the way to Kallus.

The Deithir nodded. "Lead the way cousin."

The passage continued its descent. A much taller one to the Phaerie's relief, and he wondered just how deep they would go as from, Ceolwulf's description it sounded as if they would have to journey to the center of the world itself to find the prophet. How many days they would remain in the underworld was unknown to him, but the enclosed darkness had little effect on the Deithir kind. It was natural for them to dwell in blackness, even though Tiphereth had been born and raised in an Aethiad world, much like the world of Men in this realm.

"I will keep the lantern at hand my friend, just in case." Augustine said to the Phariekin.

"I know you see more than I but keep your eyes open to this world and all others, be safe."

The druid set his eyes on the Drowess.
"Watch for our familiar enemies, they seem to be never too far behind us. I will remain with Brianna and help the horse masters in any way I can."

"Brianna on our journey here I saw many types of thistles and brambles, will you venture back outside with me to collect some of these weeds? If we can collect enough I think I can help to fortify the keep in a way that will surely slow the Gorrinvul in their approach.."

Augustine was walking as he spoke, he was looking for Sighere again, he needed the man to open the keep for a short time and let he and Brianna out.

Brianna nodded to Sighere after he'd told her who the great, black steed was, who he belonged to, and then introduced himself. He reminded her somewhat of Thorleif, the rider she'd admired from afar back at her village. Her green eyes turned sad once more as she wondered if even he was alive...knowing that more than likely he wasn't.

"He is a beautiful animal, m'lord. I had a steed in my village that was almost as grand. His skin was light colored while his mane and tail were dark. My father told me that he was a perfect steed for me....the dark Rohirrim."

Again, the smile that had started at the mention of her beloved horse disappeared at the mention of her adopted father who was no more.

When Augustine came in and greeted them, she simply nodded her head to him in respect. Then he mentioned meditation and she was puzzled. Her....meditate....why? She didn't feel the need to meditate, she felt the need to spill the walking dead's blood.

Leaving the stables with the two men, one warrior the other a monk, Brianna again thought of her village and it's demise. She so wanted to go somewhere to scream and cry out her grief and rage, but knew that would help noone right now, least of all her, so she kept her grief tightly held within her, just below the surface. As they stood before Tiphereth, Jin, Lac, and Ceowulf, she knew that Tiphereth and Jin were leaving to go hunting and as badly as she wanted to join them, she knew that she would only endanger them with her presence. When Jin gave her a brief embrace, Brianna returned it with her own then looked confused at the words she said to her.

She heard Augustine request that she accompany him to go gather thistles and brambles with him and again, was puzzled by this. But, she needed something to do and decided that helping the druid just might be what she needed right now.

"You will have to show me, Augustine, what it is you are looking for, but I will be happy to assist you."

She was walking with him as she spoke back to him, noticing that he was looking around for someone or something.

Hap was just dozing off, the reins of his faithful steed had slipped from his sleepy grip and were now dragging on the ground between his wagon and the beast pulling it. The halfling began to snore as the large brown pig pulling his wagon started to trot faster and faster. The pig had been waiting for a chance to run for hours and with his halfling master drifting off to dreamland his chance had come.

As the pig pulled the small wagon over the top off a small hill it came to a small dried out creek bed, the pig did not bother to slow down as it crossed the dry gully. The wagon bounced violently as it's wheels dropped into the dried clay, the snoozing halfling was launched from his small wooden bench. Hap turned head over heels as he flew from the wagon, his sudden landing on the dusty creek bed putting an end to his afternoon nap.

"I'll have more cake please..." The confused hobbit mumbled as he rolled from his belly to his back. The pig had stopped it's running and came around to the small being lying in the dirt and began to lick his face.

"Have we arrived at our destination?" Hap asked the pig as if it would answer. The pig snorted a bit and turned around to face the direction they were traveling again.

Hap dusted himself off, and climbed back into his tiny wagon. The hobbit took the reins in his hand again and gave them a gentle tug.

"Here we go now Fazz, that's a good boy, steady as she goes."
The pig began to walk again, slowly as always, biding it's time until the halfling chose to nap again.

Looking up at the darkening sky the hobbit was suddenly aware of the time.
"I do believe we will make the Gap of Rohan by next sunrise Fazz ol' boy."

The pig snorted his indifference as it pulled the wagon to the bottom of the hill and up to the top of the next one.

Augustine walked with Brianna to the entrance of the keep, the soldiers had secured the massive wooden gate with a good deal of effort.

"I realize that the creatures are coming here, we only need a few moments outside to gather some needed provisions. You need not even close the door behind us, we would only be a few short moments."

The two men in the gilded helmets stared at the druid for a moment, their straight faces revealed nothing.

"Please, give us the time that I ask of you, it will be of great benefit when the Gorrinvul come."
Augustine stood his ground, hoping that the Rohirrim would trust his wisdom as a druid even though to these warriors he was a stranger.

After a few quiet moments the men relented and ordered the gate be lifted and Augustine and Brianna be let out.

Augustine walked quickly outside and began to look to the ground for his quarry.

"On our journey here I saw a breed of bramble growing, it is the color of ash with long black thorns. If we can gather a few handfuls I can do something good to help us fight these creatures."

"Make hast druid, we will wait only a few moments." One of the men said.

"Come Brianna, let's be quick about it."

Brianna said nothing as she helped Augustine look for the type of brambles he needed. She heard the guard and hurried her search when she spotted a large clump of it, about 25 yards from the gate.

"Here....here it is Augustine!"

She rushed over to it, carefully pulling the bramble from the ground, heedful of the thorns. She spotted a couple more plants nearby and carefully pulled those as well, quickly drawing her hand back as a large thorn was shoved deep into her palm. Her breath sucked in sharply as she grabbed the thorn and pulled it from her palm, blood welling up from the puncture wound. Rubbing her palm on her pant leg, she made her way over to Augustine, carefully holding the 3 plants.

"Will this be enough?"

"That will do fine," Augustine said. He had found a few small vines of the tough plant also and was holding them carefully.

"We need something to help them grow when the time comes."

Augustine looked at Brianna, her long dark hair was stirring in the slight breeze. That was the answer, her dark hair, something that she had learned to be ashamed of might now make all the difference.

'Your hair, cut or pull several long strands, we will make several small bundles of the plants and tie them with your hair."

The druid set his small pile of the plants down and separated them into two smaller piles.

"Tie the bundles up, then we will place them all around the front of the keep."

Brianna looked puzzled at the monk's request about her hair, but did as he asked, taking her dagger and bending over, flipping her head over. By feel only, she grabbed a small handful of her thick hair and cut it, enough strands to tie off the small bundles and yet not enough for anyone to notice that she is missing some hair underneath the thick mass. She begins to tie off the bundles as Augustine instructed. She then followed Augustine's instructions and placed the bundles she held where he told her to. Once they were finished, she looked away from the keep, wondering how much time they had before the Gorrinvul reached them.

"Is this all, Augustine or is there more we can do?"

"We have done enough for now, it is time to get back inside."

The druid walked quickly back to the soldiers, they called to one another and began the process of lowering the gate and sealing the keep again.

"You've made magic today Brianna, your hair holds a kind of power, a power we will use against your enemies when they come."

Augustine was not aware that the Gurrinvul would be so desperately attracted to the scent of the warrior woman's hair, this would just be an incidental benefit when the time came. But Augustine was aware that having Brianna help with these tasks would only make the magic all the more potent.

Brianna didn't understand what the monk meant about her hair holding a power, but she accepted it as it came from him, a trusted monk and one she'd begun to respect.

"If you have need of me, Augustine I will be in the stables for a short while."

Brianna walked back to the stables, knowing there wasn't much time. She needed to calm herself for the upcoming battle. It would do her no good to be filled with so much rage before she faced these demons...that would cause her to make mistakes.

She enters the stables and heads to Ceowulf's black steed again. He whinnies at her as she draws near, his head over the half door of the tall. As she comes closer his massive head bobs up and down as if he's happy to see her.

"Hi beautiful. Not much longer now and there will be a battle. You keep yourself and your friends safe okay."

Standing there, her head resting against the horse's, she felt a few tears escape and slide down her cheeks. She quickly and angrily wiped them away. Now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time to kill as many of them as she possibly could.