It was not until, Jin's voice shouted above the wind and rain that Sorrelwind realized that the boulder was actually not tipping over but rather rising into the air. He wasted little time. The Phaerie sprinted down the side of the mountain. At one point, he seemed to be running upon the the rolling stones then leapt into the air and snagged the druid by the arm before the larger stones struck him. There was no where else for them to go but over the side of the crevasse but Sorrelwind trusted in the Dwarf's directions and sure enough was able to grab hold of the tree roots that had grown out of the side of the canyon wall.

Sorrelwind held fast to a root while gripping the druids arm tightly, dangling him over the abyss momentarily before they swung back to the rock face. The Elfling was strong and was able to easily to support the man's weight but before Augustine could take hold of a root and break free Tiphereth's hand, they fell.

The rock's began to spill over the edge of the crevasse and to avoid them, Sorrelwind loosened his grasp and the two men began to free fall. As they plummeted, the Phaeirie kept a hand on the root and stared down at the druid with his black, expressionless eyes. Lifeless, like a doll's eyes. Then they stopped with a jerk, and Augustine could feel the tendons in his arm stretch as the Sorrelwind swung him out into the open air as he kicked hard off of the rock wall. They dangled precariously over the deadly fall, as small stones hailed down on them, a few stricking Tiphereth, but he did not let go. As they swung back, he then hurled the druid toward the canyon wall and used his momentum to carry them forward and right through a mass of tree roots that had been concealing a cavern.

Augustine could instantly feel the ground beneath his feet as he flew forward and behind him the Phaerie seemed to slow himself and hover in the air as they melted into the blackness of the unknown.

Jin saw the Pharie quickly move away from the trembling boulder and rush towards Augustine just moments before she could no longer hold the levitation spell on the boulder. Seeing Lac had Brianna in hand, literally, and away from the danger of the large rock, she released her spell and the boulder at the same time. The boulder crashed onto the side of the mountain and began to roll down the slippery slope.

Unfortunately, for Jin, when the boulder crashed to the mountain side, the ground beneath her gave way and she tumbled down the side of the mountain along with the loose debris, stones, a few trees and lots of mud. Her form became obscured by the large mound of mud that quickly buried her beneath its heavy mass

By the time the mud slide had stopped, Jin was no where in sight and her presence could not be felt by any who had the ability. Jin, it appeared, had succumbed to the harsh environment she was trying to save her companions from.

*********************
As Jin began sliding with the earth that let go beneath her, she knew she didn’t have the strength for another big spell after the levitation one had drained her. There was only one thing she COULD do. With a quick rush of words, she cast one final spell. As she felt her body being pummeled by rocks, sticks and other debris, she sent a missive to the only person she knew could help her just prior to her passing out.

*********************
A harsh gasp intake of air awoke Jin followed by excruciating pain and a gargled scream slipping past the Drowess' lips. It was dark. No light penetrated where she was, but she could feel the presence near her and knew her message had been received. Now the question was, would she receive the help she asked for?

Jin’s body ached in some places and down right screamed in pain in others. Her breathing was labored and each time she took a breath she could hear wheezing. Not a good sign at all. She tried to move her limbs and was rewarded with such sharp pain she cried out in agony.

”P-please….I beg you…..let me…pass to…to the other…side or….help me….”

She heard the form move, a slithering like sound filled the darkness, and Jin felt the warm breath against her cheek. Whispered words were spoken and Jin felt tears spring to her eyes. Trying to nod her head as much as she could without hurting it, she swallowed hard and took a few more ragged gasps before she gave her answer.

”Y-yes….

Then….blackness.

Lac witnessed Jin slide down the mountainside with the mudslide. As she became burried beneath the debris he ran and slid down the mountainside behind the falling rocks, mud and trees, fell to his knees and began to dig with his hands. Throwing tree limbs, rocks and earth as he dug frantically. As the mud filled the hole he had dug as quickly as he removed it, Lac knelt in the mud anguish and dispair filled his face as he said "NO! This is not how it should be, it is I that should forfiet life. I have failed in my vow." As he continued to dig desperately.

It felt as if the whole mountain was was coming down around them, rocks of all sizes tumbled down towards Brianna and Augustine. The toad was no longer a threat, Lac Nala had seen to that , the half elf had killed the creature and snatched up Brianna in one swift motion.

Enormous boulders were heading down to where Augustine was, the druid shut his eyes and tried to use his powers but he could put the rock slide out of his mind. Looking around him Augustine could find no place to run, his choices were slim, jump over the edge of the ridge and onto certain death or wait for the boulders to come and destroy him. Fear was creeping into the druid's mind, he called upon his powers again, he could feel his mind connecting with the growing things all around him.

Before the connection was made the Phariekin swooped in and grabbed up the mud caked druid, they swung out over the edge of the ridge and away from the tide of massive rocks and mud. Tiphereth had Augustine in one hand and a tree root in the other, the black eyed elfkin let the root fall away and with a few fluid moves and a lot of grace he maneuvered the both of them into the obscured cave entranced.

Augustine was very pleased to be off the ridge and out of the heavy rain.

Many thanks friend, I was out of ideas in that last moment.
Augustine wiped his hands on his robes, the cave was very cool but it was dry. The druid came to the opening of the cave, it was on a sheer rock wall. The rain was still coming down in sheets, there would probably be no climbing down into flooded canyons and more mud and falling rocks.

I hope the others are safe, I did not see what became of Ssinjin did you? Did she get clear of the falling rocks?

Tiphereth shook off the mud that had accumulated on his low soled boots and peered into the darkness at the back of the cave while the druid studied the entrance, enshrouded by a wall of roots. When he thanked the Elfkin for his efforts, Sorrelwind was quick to bow and cordially responded with, "I am honoured to have been able to assist you." He then took note that the druid seemed curious of his behaviour as he inquired about the condition of the Drowess.

The Elfkin's, Deithrin eyes gazed beyond the cave and drifted across the muddy mountain side. "I do not see her, nor do I feel her." he announced with no sign of remorse in his mask like face.

Sorrelwind then moved to the back of the cave and found around a pillar of rock a passageway, descending deep into the mountain. He reached into his satchel and produced a small silver lantern. He whispered to it and it beamed with a soft bluish coloured light, more than adequate to see by. The Elfkin eyes turned a luminescent lavender in the pale glow of the lantern and he now saw as the druid did.

"Augustine." he called and pointed to the passage. He then motioned with a nod to bring to his attention to the hand carved stairs that descended into darkness.

Tiphereth then stood back awaiting the decision of the druid and as the silence lingered between them felt that it was necessary to explain some of his world to the Oak-man. "Where I am from, druids are revered. You are a Man of the Oak, the wisest of us all."

"Revered you say, well I am but a man, a grateful man. If it were not for you, today would have marked the end of my life and the end of my Druidic sect for I am the last one. There are no others that wear these robes left alive except for me. Take comfort in knowing that you have kept our knowledge, traditions and secrets alive for another day."

Augustine smiled weakly as he rubbed his chilled hands together, he kicked more mud from his boots as he walked with Tiphereth to the staircase. The druid descended the stairs with the Pharie, perhaps the way lead back to their friends.

" I pray the others have escaped the rocks and rain."
The druid wondered if these kinds of thoughts were crossing the mind of the strangely detached Phariekin as they walked down into the unknown. Tiphereth's eyes glowed in the lantern light but his face was blank as a dead man's.

Soon Augustine would need to meditate and allow his powers to grow strong again, he did this every morning and every night. This practice was necessary for the druid to maintain his connection with the growing things of the world. Augustine decided to wait a little while before he mentioned this to his companion, perhaps when they had reached the bottom of the mysterious stairs there would be time.

Brianna followed Lac, digging alongside of him, trying to get to Jinn. When he knelt back and yelled in anguish, her heart broke for him. When he continued to keep digging, she dug along with him.

"Keep digging Lac, I will stay until we find her."

Brianna felt a nail break off to the quick, but didn't utter a sound as she kept digging alongside Lac, determined to help get to whom she felt was the love of his heart. With each tear she watched roll down his cheek, she dug harder, breaking more nails to the quick and jamming the tips of her fingers into rocks, bruising the tips. But still, she dug alongside Lac. She knew Jinn didn't care for her, but she was a part of their group and apparantly, held a piece of Lac's heart. She said nothing as she stayed beside Lac, digging as fast as she could, trying to get the mud and rock out of the hole, even though it was looking like a lost cause, but she wasn't going to give up....she wasn't going to leave her friend to dig alone.

Sorrelwind furrowed his brow at Augustine's response then smiled. It was the most expression the druid had yet to see upon his placid face. He offered the man an understanding nod as he too knew what is was like to be alone the world. Unique and unable to find solace in familiarity.

The Deithir Phaerie did not believe for one moment that the druid would not have been able to save himself but acknowledged him, nonetheless, with a humble, welcoming bow.

Tiphereth handed his small silver lantern to the druid and the robed man's curiousity was satisfied to learn that the blueish light it provided had no heat. The Phaerie then took the lead, able to partially use his sensitive sight with the light behind him.

The followed the ancient stairway deep into the earth. The serpentine corridor wound's way along the side of the canyon wall and quite often it was impossible to see ahead due to the curvature of the passage. Twice they could feel the temperature significantly drop and as they passed through the second barrier of cool air a sound came to their ears. A strange noise, like the sound of something hard and hollow striking the hardened ground in a drumming pattern.

They were near the bottom of the stairs and the sound echoed through a vast chamber, created long ago by some subterranean dwelling people. From the left of the chamber, which they figured to be West, there was the slight flicker of lightening that reflected down the canyon. They could then make out the sound of trickling water, and smell the fresh scent of rain carried upon a cool damp wind being drawn into the cavern.

"What is this place?" Questioned Sorrelwind, intrigued by the architecture of the columns that framed the entrance of the passageway they had just descended. The ornate crowns of the pillars, possessed strange characters and were adorned with, of all things, 'spiders'.

Augustine took the lantern in hand, it was smaller than he thought and appeared to be wrought from pure silver. It's blue light was constant and gave no heat. Augustine wondered if Tiphereth had brought this from his 'world', was the druid now holding a rare treasure from another dimension?

Augustine smiled wide as he held the lantern, it's magic intrigued him, was this one of a kind or did all his kind carry such a thing? These were good questions for another time.

The druid walked just behind the Phariekin as they turned deeper and deeper into the earth. Augustine was hearing the strange thumping or drumming, whatever it was must not be too far away. The smell of the rain was strong now, they must have reached a chamber that opened out to the wet weather. As the two travelers entered the chamber Augustine could see Tiphereth marveling at the architecture.

Augustine held the lantern a little higher, the intricately carved spiders that covered the tall columns were visible to the druid now.

"We are trespassers now my friend. We have left one world and now walk in another. If any of the Drow that claim this place find us here we will be treated as enemies. They will show no mercy."

The druid seemed uneasy as he spoke, he then set the lantern down with care and sat on the cool stone floor. Augustine pulled his legs close to his body and tucked his hands in his robe.

"I must meditate and rest momentarily, I apologize it must be done..." Augustine said quietly as he began to even out his breathing, soon the druid's eyes were closed.

As Augustine meditated he could feel his powers renewing, the druid let his mind slip from his body and connect with all the green things that grew on this mountain. Augustine could sense them all, ancient gnarled trees, small bushy things that sprang from stony cracks, wildflowers that climbed up the rock faces, thorny vines that creeped everywhere, and even the rare and deadly things that grew in the dark places on this mountain.

As Augustine sat focused Tiphereth could see the druid's power renew, roots and vines in the surrounding chamber twitched and squirmed in the walls of the deep chamber. Even this far below ground his power was great.

Lac stopped digging, stood and looked down the side of the mountain to the valley below. "No she is gone, we must move on. The need to find and save those that live and those that still remain under threat is what matters now. We must honor her's and the young wizard's sacrafice . We must move on." ...... Taking a forlorn look at the whole they had dug Lac then turned and moved down the aide of the mountain........"We travel South thru the Misty Mountains thru the western Gates of Wellinghall, the cave Augustine and Tiphereth passed into, must lead to Wellinghall, we shall find them there. Then we shall pass thru the eastern gates, thru Fargon Forest, south to Dengdingle then to the Gap Of Rohan."

Eyes unseen by Tiphereth and Augustine watched the strangers with a mixture of curiosity and excitement. While the being watching the two men was no where near the place the males occupied, the vision they saw was as clear as though they were standing right next to Tiphereth and Augustine. From a distance, the being observed the travelers content to merely watch for now. However, if these males tried to reach beyond their boundaries and take things that simply did not belong to them, they would find themselves in a very bad predicament. One the watcher was uncertain an intervention would aid the strangers.

Curled near Loki a smaller form stirred when the massive green dragon was awakened. The smaller form was dark, in fact, it would have been mistaken for a shadow at first, but with the awakening of the massive form beside it, the form stretched languidly, stretching leathery wings to their full expanse.

Another dragon rested comfortably with Loki and as it awakened from its lengthy slumber it realized two things. One, it had grown in size considerably. While it was no where near the size of the giant green beside it, it was no longer the puny looking dragon it had been when Loki had found it, nearly dead.

The second thing it realized was that it was hungry. Down right starving, in fact. The black form turned it’s head and elongated neck to cast red, glowing eyes upon the massive green form beside it. While the smaller of the two scaly forms was not near as big as the green one, it was just as formidable looking. Perhaps even more so. What the smaller black form lacked in size, it made up for in down right evil looks.

Walking upon talon feet to the lair entrance, the black dragon sniffed the air then turned the hateful red glowing eyes to Loki once more. The voice that Loki heard in his mind was far from what one would think should be coming from the form that stood glaring back at him. It was gentle, and unmistakably female.

Jalisa, the gravely wounded black dragon Loki had saved after she fell from the sky as she battled a large black bull dragon had recovered from her injuries and had flourished. Just as Loki had said she would. While she was still youthful in age compared to Loki, it was obvious she had matured in both body and mind as they hibernated, waiting for the time they would be called upon. And now, as Loki had stirred awake beside her, she could only imagine that time had come.

~I shall return shortly with food for us.~

Flapping her wings a few times in preparation for using them after some time of dormancy, the black dragon took to the air easily and disappeared into the darkness. It wasn’t long before she returned with a large cow for Loki to eat. Her own hunger satisfied for now, the black dragon sat at the edge of the lair guarding the entrance while her green companion ate his own meal. When he was done, she looked back at him, tilting her head.

~The time has come?~

Loki finished his snack, then stretched his neck and spoke to Jalisa's mind. "Yes, it is time, I must stay here and gaurd these lands. The darkness draws closer and the threat closer. Go and find Lac'nala and his companions and watch over them. If you will do this I will be forever in your debt. Protect Lac'nala and tell him I and his people await his return. Preperations are are going foward as planned and we shall be ready. The alliance is strong those that stood before once more will stand and fight.

You have grown strong and your power shall strengthen, return safe to me and Oron_D_Narr my friend."

Loki stretched his neck and snout close to Jalisa and nuzzeled her cheek.

Jalisa closed her eyes and tilted her head towards Loki when he reached his snout close to nuzzle her dark cheek. Loki was the last of his kind and Jalisa was a bit of an anomaly. It was rare dragons could change forms, but she was able to and thus it made it impossible for her to live as a true dragon. Because of this, she knew she would also be the last of her kind. The burden placed upon the shoulders of her and Loki was a heavy one but one they knew would be theirs to bear.

Returning the nuzzle, she opened her red eyes and studied the wisdom in the depths of Loki’s eyes for a moment. Once more her mind reached out to Loki’s.

~The debt is mine to pay, Loki. If not for you, I would have died. This is the least I could do to repay you for what you did for me. I will return with Lac’Nala. This I promise you my dear friend.~

With one more nuzzle to the soft scales of Loki’s green cheek, Jalisa stretched her wings once more then launched her large, reptilian form into the air. The journey was going to be a long one but she was prepared for it. As the air currents lifted her high over the lands of Oron_D_Narr, it felt good to spread her wings and glide through the night sky as she was meant to do in this form.

When the time was right, she would take on a more pleasing form to Lac’Nala and his traveling companions but until then, she would remain in her dragon form. It was much safer for her that way. The only thing she hoped was that Loki would be able to fend for himself while she was absent. He was a mature, green dragon yes, but that didn’t stop her from fretting over his health and safety.