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Somehow, Nadirah had found herself trapped in a tunnel. It seemed to have no end and there was no light, only the low hum of unintelligible voices echoing to her from somewhere in the distance. She tried to move toward the voices, drawn to the sounds, but the ground seemed to be covered with a thick and sticky mud that sucked at her hooves, slowing her down and sapping her of energy. Each step was a struggle, wearing her down until all she wanted to do was lay down and rest. The voices, however, continued to urge her onward. 'Just a little farther', they seemed to be saying, although she still couldn't make out the mumbling words. 'It's just a little farther and then you'll be out of here.'

"Wait! Wait for me!" The frantic doe cried, but her voice came out as a whisper and did not carry in the vast and empty tunnel. "I'm coming!" She tried again, but still could not seem to make her voice any louder. Holding on to a vague hope that she could not quite define, Nadirah forced herself onward, struggling to free herself from the clinging mud that had somehow risen up to her ankles and clung with icy fingers.

'Just a little further.' The voices taunted her. 'Just a few more steps and you can join us. Come join us Nadirah. We're waiting for you.'

She wanted to go on, drawn by the incomprehensible babbling that her eager mind translated into a siren song, but the muck was up to her knees now, and every movement was a struggle. Her head hung low and her breath came in heaves as she tried to wade through the thick and frigid obstacle. "Wait... for me..." She panted, stretching out her arm as if expecting it to be grabbed by the mysterious owners of those far away voices. "I'm... Al-...almost there." But even as she spoke the words, she knew she would never reach them. Once again, her strength had failed her and she could no longer go on. "Wait... for..." She muttered softly, taking one final step before stumbling and falling forward, into the icy, clinging mud.

She had expected to drown, the slimy muck flooding into her open mouth and nostrils while she choked, but instead she seemed to fall right through it like a bank of fog, and suddenly she was tumbling through empty air. All around her was still complete darkness, but she no longer felt trapped in a tunnel. Instead she somehow felt that she was falling through nothing but empty space.

The voices had followed her and were louder now, still urging her onward, although they still made no more sense than before. Now and again a garbled word would reach her intact and she felt that she should know what it meant, but the knowledge had somehow been stripped from her long ago.

As the tarin continued to fall, the strange voices seemed to rise in pitch and urgency, becoming a loud and insistent humming in her ears, growing louder and louder as she continued to fall uncontrollably to some unseen destination. She felt it coming closer and closer with each passing second, unable to avoid the inevitable impact, although she could still see nothing. All she could do was wait as she felt something solid coming closer and closer until...

Amber eyes snapped open and the doe gasped harshly before letting out an anguished scream, immediately tasting blood as it frothed on her lips. Her throat was dry and felt coated in dust. Her lips were badly cracked, blood leaking in drops from freshly rent tears. Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth. More pain soon flooded into her tired mind, reporting about her chaffed wrists and pulled shoulder muscles, her cramped legs, even the sunburn on her sensitive nose.

"Easy, be easy now child." A soothing voice came to Nadirah's ears, its owner unseen. The voice spoke in the ancient tongue of the tarous. "You'll be alright now." The voice continued. "Have some water." A trickle of cool liquid slid between her parted lips, pooling in her mouth, but she forced her numb tongue to push it back out again, stubbornly refusing it for reasons she no longer remembered. There was a soft sigh from the unfamiliar voice, then a cool, wet cloth gently dabbed at her mouth, soothing the soreness and clearing away the swiftly drying beads of blood. A hand gently swayed across her eyes, encouraging them to close. "Rest now, child. Recover your strength."

Too tired to fight any longer, Nadirah obeyed.

The young warrior came awake slowly by degrees. She was reluctant to open her eyes, so she let her other senses take precedence. There was a bitter taste on her lips and the strong scent of crushed herbs filled her nostrils with every breath. Her entire body seemed to ache dully, but there were no strong pains until she attempted to lift one arm, causing her muscles to give painful protest to the action and forcing her to lie still once more. Slowly and reluctantly, she opened her eyes, blinking several times to clear her hazy vision.

"Ah, good, you are finally awake." Came the stranger's voice, still speaking the tarous tongue. "You had us worried for a bit there, child." After a moment, the painted face of a tarin druid floated into her field of vision, smiling down at her. Nadirah opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a low croak. "Shhhh." The druid hushed her. "Don't try to speak, child. No doubt you have questions and they will be answered in time. But for now, simply know that you are safe, child. You are finally safe. For now, rest and regain your strength."

The druid smiled again, then moved out of her sight again. A moment later, a thick, sweet liquid was drizzled into Nadirah's mouth. It tasted faintly of mint and lemon mixed with honey. "It's alright." The voice reassured her. "It will help you feel better. Nothing I give you will ever hurt you, child." The druid's voice was soft and soothing, bringing peace to the warrior's fevered mind.

The nectar was followed by a bitter tea, poured slowly and carefully into her mouth, each bit swallowed before more was given. True to her word, Nadirah did start to feel better almost immediately, although she was being overcome by drowsiness as well. As the last of the tea was swallowed, the exhausted tarin closed her eyes and fell into a deep, healing sleep.

Time lost all meaning as she continued to slip in and out of consciousness, being given more of the sweet nectar washed down with more of the bitter tea every time she opened her eyes. She felt stronger every time she rose back above the blackness of sleep, but she could not seem to keep her eyes open for longer than a few minutes before she slipped off again. She still felt groggy and tired when she opened her eyes yet again, but although the smiling face of the druid was there to greet her, no syrup nor tea was offered to her. "How are you feeling?" The druid asked her softly.

Nadirah took her time in answering. First she flexed her fingers, which tingled from disuse, and tried to move her arms. Although her muscles were stiff, they no longer hurt and her head was swiftly clearing. "I think I'm fine." She answered earnestly, her voice a hoarse whisper.

"You are quite lucky then, child." The druid replied while gently dabbing at her face with a wet cloth. "I've done all I can to aide you in a swift healing, but you may need another day or two before you're back to full strength again."

Nadirah pushed away the healer's hand and sat up with a soft groan, rolling her stiff shoulders. She was in a small tent that was lit only by what sunlight leaked in through a hole in the roof. The rounded walls seemed to be made of woven grass rather than tanned hide. The dirt floor was covered in a simple mat of braided plant fibers. There was a single cot, which Nadirah rested on, surrounded with racks of drying herbs and small clay jars. "Where am I?" She asked with her raspy voice.

"In my home, of course." The druid replied simply before rising to her feet. "Your friend has been asking about you. I will let her in so that you two may talk. She can answer your questions for you." With that, the druid turned and walked to an unadorned wall where her fingers pulled open a hidden slit, seeming to disappear in a flash of brilliant sunlight that temporarily blinded the warrior.

Nadirah ran a hand across her face, pausing a moment to rub her eyes with thumb and forefinger while another flash of sunlight warned her that her visitor had come in. "You look like you were dragged through hell by your tail." Came a familiar voice. "Which is quite an improvement from when I first found you, actually."

"Where is he?" Nadirah asked calmly, lowering her hand to stare pointedly at the beast lord.

"Gone." Terresya replied, stepping closer. "Likely back to Ogmar Dour. Cowardly bastard didn't even put up much of a fight. Especially once that oversized mutt of his lost an eye. How are you feeling?"

Nadirah stretched her neck by tilting it to one side and then the other, causing it to pop loudly in each angle. "Well enough." She replied tiredly. "Hungry enough to eat a kordox, though. Horns and all."

Terresya laughed softly and held up her hand, gesturing for her to wait. "One moment and I'll get you a bowl of this soup Denali made. There's no meat in it, I'm afraid, but it's delicious." She turned away and disappeared for a moment through the curtain of grass, then returned a minute later carrying a large wooden bowl filled with something that filled the tiny tent with a delicious aroma.

As Nadirah accepted the bowl, she gave it another curious sniff, saliva immediately pooling in her mouth and her stomach growled loudly, declaring its need for sustenance. Without waiting for it to cool, the ravenous doe brought the bowl to her lips and gulped the soup. It scalded her tongue, yet somehow seemed to soothe her sore throat with each swallow. Once the bowl was empty, Nadirah handed it back to the waiting beast lord. "More." She gasped.

It took three more bowls before she was finally satisfied. "Told you it was good." Terresya said smugly as she took back the empty bowl yet again. "Denali knows her stuff."

Nadirah rubbed her full belly contentedly and laid back on the cot. "How long have I been out?" She asked drowsily, fighting the urge to go back to sleep yet again. Her throat no longer felt sore and gritty and she was relieved to hear her voice return to normal in her own ears.

"About two weeks." The beast lord replied calmly, kneeling down beside the cot. "That bastard did quite a number on you before I caught up. Denali had to call back your soul when I first brought you to her. Had I been just one day later you would have been too far gone for even her to help you."

Nadirah seemed to think this over for a moment, although her face betrayed no emotion at the news. "How did you find me?" She finally asked, breaking the settled silence.

"By sheer luck, to be honest." Terresya replied sheepishly. "I got back to camp and found that you were long gone but all the water skins I left for you were still there. So I followed your tracks to the spring. When I found your sword and the abomination I was sure that you'd been eaten, even blamed myself for not warning you about them, but then I found ork tracks, and they were deeper, as if carrying something heavy. It took me a few days, he was good about covering his trail, but then he started getting more careless when he thought he was far enough away. You were already unconscious when I got there and he was standing over you, shaking you like a dirty floor rug. Ran off like a coward, too. Probably back to whoever hired him." The warrior closed her eyes, remembering all that had happened and adding the details of Terresya's tale to her own account. "I tried to chase him down." Terresya continued. "After I dropped you off here, I tried to track him down again, but it was a full day's ride both ways and I lost him." She sighed and shook her head. "Beast like him doesn't belong loose. He needs to be put down like a rabid animal."

"He's mine." Nadirah stated calmly without opening her eyes. "Don't touch him."

"Sure." The beast lord agreed amicably. "I imagine you're wanting to tear him limb from limb after he dragged you across the badlands on the back of a horse, and then denied you food and water just so-"

"He didn't." Nadirah interrupted. He offered. I refused."

Terresya was silent a moment as she tried to make sense of her companion's words. "Refused what?" She finally asked. "To go with him?"

"The water." Nadirah replied calmly. "He wanted to keep me alive, it was important for some reason, so when he tried to give me water, I refused it. Food too."

A heavy and expectant silence settled in the room. Nadirah could feel the angry gaze of the other tarin, but showed no reaction. Finally Terresya was the one to break the silence, switching back to Common. "You WHAT?!" She exclaimed. "Did you learn NOTHING?! Do you have a death wish, you moron?! You don't turn down water when crossing a desert! Had I know you were this god damn stupid I never would have saved you in the first place!"

Nadirah flicked her ear as the beast lord ranted but showed no other reaction. "I put up with your attitude before because I needed your help." She said softly when the other was done speaking. "I don't anymore. Keep that in mind, because I don't like repeating myself."

Terresya gave a snort of disgust, then rose to her feet and stomped out of the hut, muttering more insults under her breath. Outside of the tent came a shrill whistle, followed by the clatter of approaching hoof beats. After a moment of silence, the hoof beats charged away. When Nadirah opened her eyes again, she was surprised to be looking into the smiling face of the druid, who must have slipped silently inside during the beast lord's tantrum.

"Have some tea. It will give you strength." Denali said kindly, offering her a small wooden bowl with a steaming liquid in it.

Nadirah was still full from the soup and was not particularly thirsty, but decided that it was easier to cooperate than argue. Sitting up, she took the bowl and sniffed, expecting the usual mint with lemon, but instead she smelled the sweet scent of flowers. Taking a tentative sip, she found the tea as sweet as it's aroma and quickly gulped it down. "That was good." She said, handing the bowl back. "Thank you."

The druid smiled and nodded as she accepted back the bowl. "Sleep now." She said, placing a gentle but insistent hand on her shoulder. "Tomorrow you will feel strong again." Nadirah once again obeyed, laying back and closing her eyes, falling quickly into a contented sleep.

She woke alone, feeling stronger and healthier, just as the druid had promised. The little bit of lingering stiffness was tolerable. Nadirah rose from the bed and stretched, giving a small groan of satisfaction, then walked to the wall that hid the entryway. Not quite ready to face the outside world and needing just a few more moments, she flexed her fingers several times before raising her hands to part the curtain of woven grass.

The sun was bright overhead and she had to blink away soothing tears before she could see. A short distance away, Denali and Terresya stood together, looking at her expectantly. She felt that they had been talking quietly together before they had seen her. Training kept the warrior's face from showing the surprise she felt at seeing the beast lord again. In one hand, Terresya held her sword, the point leaning down into the ground, and cradled in the other was the stolen raptrix egg.

Nadirah looked around before approaching them, surprised to find that the badlands had been left behind completely. The tiny tent was located in a lush green valleywith a tiny brook on one side and a thickly grown forest surrounding it on all sides. In the distance, the shaded outlines of mountains rose like the jagged teeth of a resting predator. She briefly wondered where she was and just how Terresya had gotten past the mountains in only a day, but forgot the question as she approached the other two tarous.

She greeted the druid first, giving her a nod of recognition as she approached. The healer's face was painted white, which seemed to blend with her dapple grey fur. Her forehead had been colored a dark blue, containing a crescent moon overlooking two multi-pointed stars to indicate she was a far-seer, while three black lines twisted their way down her short muzzle and over her upper lips. On one cheek were several curling spirals among stylized clouds, and on the other was painted a tree of life, branches spreading up the side of her face. Although Nadirah did not understand what most of the symbols meant, she knew that the tree marked Denali as a healer. "Thank you." She said softly to the druid.

"Take care, child." The druid replied with a sorrowful smile. "Your path is a long and hard one. But know that you are only alone if you choose to be." With that, she bowed her head and walked away, disappearing back into the small tent.

"Your sword." Terresya said curtly, holding out the weapon as if it disgusted her to touch it. "Figured you'd want it back after I found it in the water."

"Thank you." Nadirah said again as she accepted the sword and slid it back into the sheath hanging at her hip.

"I still think you're being an absolute idiot, you know." The beast lord complained irritably. "You refuse water in the badlands, travel during the day with no shelter, and I bet even now you're too pig-headed to ask me how to get out of here, aren't you?"

"Where's the most likely place that ork would head to?" Nadirah asked, ignoring her complaints.

Terresya snorted in irritation. "I told you. Ogmar Dour. If not there, then who knows. He's just some random trapper with nothing to distinguish him from any other gods-be-damned ork in existence." Nadirah simply stared blankly at Terresya as she spoke, waiting for a useful answer. Finally the beast lord waved her free hand dismissively and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine you ungrateful idiot. Ogmar Dour is a few days travel. And you have to go through kentaur country to reach it. Even if you do make it there in one piece, once you start asking around they won't likely tell you anything. Orks don't tend to be very cooperative folk to those they don't know."

"How do I get there?" Nadirah asked simply, once again ignoring the beast lord's jibes.

Terresya lifted her arm to point east. "That way. It's mostly a straight shot until you reach their lands. Can't miss it, everything's dead or in ruins. We can start heading there tomorrow if you're feeling up to it. You're in no condition to travel today. Not across the night peaks. Especially on foot."

Nadirah nodded to herself and turned back to Terresya. "I'm fine. I would prefer to make the journey alone. Stay here or don't, but don't follow me."

Terresya's mouth fell open in disbelief a moment before she spoke again. "What? Are you crazy as well as stupid, you gods-be-damned idiot?! You couldn't last one day in the badlands without almost killing yourself, then you damn near do it again as soon as I let you out of my sight, and now you want to go to the main city of the most violent war mongers in the world by your SELF? Do you even have any idea what lies between here and there? If you think for one minute that I'm letting you-"

Nadirah turned away and began walking in the indicated direction, showing no sign of hearing the beast lord's speech. Terresya followed and roughly grabbed her arm, pulling the warrior around to face her. "Hey! Just where in hell do you think you're going?!" She demanded.

With movements as quick as a viper, and a strike just as deadly, Nadirah snatched the skinning knife from the beast lord's belt, the blade shining brightly in the sun for but a moment before making its arc into the tarin's shadow.

The movement was so quick that no pain or shock registered on Terresya's face, just a look of confusion as her hand instinctively released the warrior's arm and rose to her severed throat, trying to stem the flow of blood before she was even aware that she was bleeding. The egg she had carried and so carefully nurtured fell to the ground and shattered, splattering their legs with yolk and tiny fragments of shell.

Without a word, Nadirah dropped the knife on the ground and turned away, walking calmly along her path. She did not seem to notice the wet choking sounds that followed her, nor did she pay any attention to the low thump of a heavy body falling to the ground. Terresya had already been pushed from her mind and she was focused on finding Rotuk.

The rolling greenery of the valley quickly gave way to dark and thickly tangled forest. Somewhere, Nadirah knew, was a path that the beast lord had not managed to tell her about, just as there was undoubtedly a path through the mountains as well, but it would take far too long to find it now. Pausing at the edge of the line of trees, she sighed and looked around her, hoping for an obvious road or pathway to appear, but all she could see for miles was more grass and even more forest. With no other palatable options available, she stepped into the forest.

It took only a few steps for the sun to abandon her, remaining only in the rare dappling of the ground or pooling across a wide leaf. The rest of the thick woodland was nearly as dark as night, and the heavy branches seemed to be discouraging her from continuing, weaving together in tight knots. Unseen roots reaching up from the mossy ground in loops to trip her, grasping limbs tangled in her mane or clawed at her face. It was obviously a wild and untouched area, and Nadirah had finally had enough of it.

Pulling out her sword, the warrior raised the blade carefully above her head, then swung down in a wide arc, slicing through the barrier of limbs and leaves as easily as cleaving the air. Another swipe cleared a tarin sized hole in the branches and she stepped forward, raising her sword for another swing. She paused, however, when a soft breeze brought a few faint notes of music to her ear. Confused, the doe looked behind her, wondering if someone was passing by in the grassy plains she had left behind, but all she saw was the dark tangle of forest that she had already passed through. Not even a glimpse of the plain was possible.

Giving a shrug, Nadirah disregarded the snippet of sound as her own imagination and turned back to her intended path. She raised her sword again, but just before she brought it down more faint notes reached her ears to distract her. She tried to ignore the sounds, they pulled at her, begging her attention and drawing her to find the source of the music that she could only hear now in faint snatches. When she raised her sword a third time and was stopped yet again by several random notes, she gave an annoyed sigh and lowered her arm.

Closing her eyes, the tarin strained her ears, searching for clues to lead her to the music. From somewhere to her left came a hint of a song and the gentle plinking of strings. It drew her to investigate further, drawn by an undeniable need to hear the rest of the song. "I really don't have time for this." She mumbled to herself irritably, yet could not stop herself from turning toward the mysterious music.

The limbs that had previously gotten in her way seemed to move aside, no longer tangling and clawing, no more upraised roots at the height of her ankle. Still moving forward with cautious slowness, Nadirah put away her sword and brought her ears forward, straining to hear more of the music that drew her in the first place. At first she didn't hear anything and she was just about to give up and turn back when it reached her again, echoing distantly.

A voice. Soft and sweet, it accompanied the notes, seducing the doe's ears and bringing a calmness to her mind even from so far away. Nadirah found herself wanting to run to the voice, hurry to the place where the singer surely rested and to sit at their feet, listening to their melodies, but some nearly buried instinct warned the doe to be on guard, something wasn't quite right. Yet the pull of the song was irresistible, so she continued onward slowly.

With each step the harmony grew louder, clearer, its pull stronger, the warning from her instincts growing more frantic before finally being buried beneath the calming reassurances of the strange song. Soon she was able to make out words, but they were in a language she was unfamiliar with and they were nothing but beautiful gibberish to her.

Finally Nadirah came across the owner of the voice that had so enchanted her. She paused at the edge of a small clearing, studying her surroundings a moment before going on. A single large oak tree grew in the center of the clearing, its long branches stretched out to capture the ring of golden sunlight that shone through. What appeared to be a young human woman sat leaning against the tree's large trunk. The woman had a strange instrument in her lap that Nadirah had never seen before, her long, slender fingers casually strumming the strings as she sang her enchanting melody. A few wildflowers grew in the clearing, adding small splashes of color to the grey of long dead branches and twigs that otherwise covered the ground. Turning her attention back to the woman, Nadirah took a step into the clearing.

The branches crackled loudly under her hooves as she stepped, causing the woman to open her eyes and look up at the intruder to her small sanctuary, her song ending, although her fingers continued to pluck lightly at the strings. "Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise before smiling shyly at the doe. "I didn't realize I had a visitor." Nadirah found herself as captivated by the woman's vibrant green eyes as with her music.

"I was just passing by when I heard the music." Nadirah heard herself say. "Please don't let me interrupt." She stepped closer, no longer feeling completely in control of her own body. She almost felt as though she had been reduced to a watcher as she slowly approached the young woman, the dry snapping of dead twigs beneath her heavy hooves nearly drowning out the gentle twang of the instrument.

The mysterious woman smiled again at the doe, reaching up to brush a bit of her long brown hair away from her face. "Then please, come sit by me and I'll play for you." She said invitingly.

Nadirah did as requested, brushing clear a spot next to the woman before settling down. The music was soothing and the woman was rather pretty for a human. Her long flowing hair framed a round and innocent face. Her large, deer-like eyes were the bright and cheerful green of a sprouting plant just emerging from its seed. Her skin was a deep tan that was almost the same color as the long leather dress she wore. She had no weapons and her frame was thin and wispy, certainly no threat to the warrior, and yet, something about her was wrong. Something the warrior could not yet define. "Is there anything in particular that you would like to hear?" The young woman asked, her long fingers stroking the strings as if petting a cat.

'The sound of me getting up and leaving this damn place!' The doe screamed inside her mind, the swelling of unease growing rapidly. "That song you were singing when I first showed up." Her mouth said instead. "It was beautiful."

The young woman nodded and began to pluck purposefully at the strings of her strange instrument, adding her voice a few moments later to bring about the same harmony that had first enchanted the doe. The woman's voice was soft, yet seemed to carry weight with the words Nadirah could not understand. The doe briefly considered asking the woman to translate them for her, curious about the story she was telling, but eventually decided against it, finding the exotic language interesting. The song itself was soothing, acting like a lullaby to the listening tarin.

She wanted to keep listening, but slowly her head began to droop and her eyelids began to slide closed. Fighting the urge to sleep, Nadirah would occasionally snort and shake her head, trying to shake off her growing tiredness, but it was slowly overwhelming her.

"You look so tired." The woman said, pausing her song. She moved the instrument out of her lap and set it down beside her, one hand still plucking lightly at the strings. "Come. Lay your head in my lap and rest." The young woman raised her other hand and pressed her fingertips to the tarin's chin, lightly pulling her forward.

Nadirah was unable to fight her drowsiness any more and leaned forward at her touch, stretching out with her head resting where the instrument had been before. "Just for a minute." She mumbled softly. "I don't want to sleep too long."

The young woman smiled and began humming softly, gently stroking the doe's mane while her other hand continued to play a soft tune. "Rest easy now." She said in a hypnotic voice while the music continued to play, washing over the warrior in gentle waves. "You have nothing to worry about. Release your stress. Release your fear. There is nothing left to fight here. Only peace. Just rest for a little while." Nadirah's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, her thoughts embanked in a fog of exhaustion. "Just a little nap is all you need." She heard the woman's voice as if from a long distance rather than right by her ear. She didn't really want to sleep, she had too far to travel and too much to do, every wasted minute put more distance between her and Rotuk. But she was so tired, and the need for rest was so hard to fight. The gentle hand stroking her hair felt so good and relaxing. Just a little nap wouldn't hurt really...

But even as she began sink down into sleep, the small voice of warning in the back of her mind grew louder and more insistent, refusing to allow her to rest easy. 'Who is this strange woman?' it nagged persistently. 'What is she doing out here alone in a dark and dangerous forest? What is that instrument she's playing? Why are you so tired? What has she been singing?' The warrior grumbled tiredly and tried to shoo away the voice like a pesky fly, but it refused to be silenced. 'Were those really sticks that crunched so loudly underfoot? Why can't you leave?'

The young woman continued to hum the lullaby, her slender fingers sliding down Nadirah's face and neck, occasionally swirling a bit of red fur with a fingertip. It was all so peaceful, so relaxing, and the doe wanted nothing more than to lose herself in rest and stay there forever. "Sleep well, brave warrior." The young woman whispered into her ear. "And never worry about anything...ever....again."

'Break the enchantment!' Nadirah's inner voice screamed frantically. 'Get up before it's too late!' But the soft humming was so lovely, and her limbs felt as if they had been encased in lead. 'Break the enchantment! You know what she is! Get up! Get up now!' A slight tremor ran through her arm as she halfheartedly attempted to move it, but then she was still again. She knew the voice was right, that there was something wrong with the way she had been drawn to the young woman and the way she had suddenly felt so exhausted. The entire situation felt wrong, but she wasn't sure why. The name of the threat was just beyond recognition. 'What are you, a weakling?' The voice berated angrily. 'Get up and fight, curse you! Fight the damn dryad before she kills you!'

Dryad. The danger was named. Nadirah knew all the legends about them, spirits that bound themselves to trees and would occasionally take on the form of a beautiful woman. Luring unsuspecting travelers and animals to them with an enchanted kantele, they then put their victims to sleep before killing them, their bodies used to nourish the dryad's tree.

Anger rose swiftly in the warrior, burning away the enchanted calm. She tried to move again, struggling to sit up, and her body quivered again with the effort. The dryad offered her more soothing words and continued to stroke the doe's neck, but now her touch burned the tarin's skin like fire and her words sounded hateful in her ears. Again she struggled against the magic that held her captive, her lips curling back to expose grinding teeth as she fought, refusing to give in to the weariness that had claimed her.

Noticing her change of mood, the dryad stopped stroking her black mane and began playing her lute again, both hands plucking the strings to strengthen the spell that would make the warrior sleep forever. But Nadirah refused to give in. Her body began to tremble more violently as she willed herself to move. "Why aren't you asleep yet?" The dryad asked in confusion. "Why are you fighting me? Just relax and sleep will come. There will be no more pain."

Nadirah knew just how easily it would come. All she had to do was give up, stop resisting and allow the peace to engulf her once more. It could all be over so simply, so quickly. She also knew that she couldn't resist for much longer, her strength could only hold out for a little while longer against the magic that sought to claim her.

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you." The dryad said, quickening the movements of her fingers across the strings. The new lullaby was just as hypnotic as the previous one, its swift-paced rhythm promising dreams of grand victories and pleasant adventures. Nadirah's will, already strained, almost buckled when faced with the new temptation.

"No!" She growled through tightly clenched teeth. "Not... yet..." Her fingers clenched into a fist and her arm shook in her effort to raise it. "Not... yet!" She repeated. Slowly, as if fighting against an invisible force, the warrior's arm began to shake as it rose.

"What is this?" The dryad demanded, confused by the tarin's actions. "Stop that! Why do you resist me? _How_can you resist me?" She continued to play, but a note of fear had crept into her voice, making her previously nimble fingers much more clumsy as they sought out the correct notes needed to weave her spell.

The magic was only weakened a little, but it was all the warrior needed. Giving a furious roar, she jerked her arm upward, then swung it down in an arc until it smashed into the kantele and shattered it. "Not yet!" The warrior yelled as she sat up, shedding the sleep spell like a blanket as she rose. "You can't have me yet!" She yelled, her eyes narrowing on the confused and terrified dryad. "I won't find rest with you!" Too late the dryad thought to flee, but Nadirah's hand had already found the hilt of her sword. Rising to her knees, the doe drew forth her blade and thrust it forward. The sword stabbed through the center of the dryad's chest and pinned her to the tree. "YOU COULD NEVER BRING ME PEACE!" She screamed at the dying dryad, spittle flying from lips that were pulled back in a rabid snarl.

The dryad cried out as she was stabbed, staring back at the warrior with wide and disbelieving eyes. "How.... did you..." She muttered before the blade was savagely pulled free, mangling nymph and tree alike before being swung again. The final movement severed the spirit nearly in half. The mortally wounded dryad threw back her head and let out a wail of agony, fingers clutching at her chest as if trying to put herself back together, but her efforts could not save her. Her wail turned to a ghostly howl as her body melted into smoke and was blown away by a passing wind.

The oak immediately began to shrivel up and die, rotting as swiftly as the vanquished spirit. Leaves rained down to the ground, brown and curled inward, followed shortly after by brittle, rotting branches, which shattered to dust as they hit the ground. The glamor of the meadow faded away, showing what Nadirah had first mistaken as branches to actually be the old and rotted bones of countless other victims.

The doe watched the rapid decay with cold disinterest, her leeched energy swiftly returning. "Why does everyone keep wanting me to sleep so much? I have too much to do." She muttered to herself, kicking at the rotted stump, all that remained of the large tree. Looking up from the mess, she briefly wondered if there would be any more dryads to face before she got free of the forest, but the legends had always said that they were territorial creatures and would rarely inhabit the same area. She could only hope that her memories were correct, every hour wasted allowed her captor to get further out of her reach. And she still had mountains in her way.

Nadirah briefly inspected her sword, making sure there was no damage to the blade, then looked up at the bright patch of sky to get her bearings. The trees no longer seemed to willfully bar her way as she continued east, but she had no intention of letting them try either. After only a few feet away from the clearing, the light was once more swallowed up by the canopy of interlocking branches, allowing her only glimpses of it if she looked back. Soon, even that was swallowed up by the darkness and Nadirah had no choice but to continue onward.

The swinging of the sword became an easy and constant rhythm, allowing the young doe's mind to wander as she made her progress through the woods. Occasionally she would have to deviate from her path when she came across a tree far too big for her sword to sever, and she hoped that it wasn't causing her to go too far off course. The hours began to drag on but still she had not reached the edge. The hollow thunk of the sword against wood and the hiss of falling leaves became background noise to the doe, who refused to stop and rest, despite the increasing weariness of her arms. Her tongue began to feel as sticky as the sap bled from the severed branches. The thief's name was again cursed under her breath for losing her flask, followed by another reminder to replace it at the first opportunity.

With thoughts of drink and rest, Nadirah finally caught her first glimpse of the sky. Fearing it to be another dryad clearing, she paused and tilted her ears forward, listening for the faintest hint of music, but all she could hear was the faint chirping of crickets. The small patch of sky was a dark crimson with a sprinkling of far away stars, warning of the approaching night. Encouraged, the weary doe doubled her efforts against the remaining barrier of forest between her and the space beyond, quickly freeing herself from the the grip of the trees.

What she found beyond it was a brief strip of grass before the mountains began. The Night Peaks, Nadirah thought as she studied them, were aptly named. Made of a course black stone, they could almost disappear against a night sky. The jagged peaks all rose high above Nadirah's head, the tips hidden in thick clouds. The tarin sighed tiredly as she considered the climb ahead of her. Knowing she needed rest before she would dare take them on, the doe finally looked away to search for shelter. For several minutes she walked along the base of the towering peaks, searching for a cave, but found nothing. As the darkness grew deeper, she finally gave up and gathered wood for a fire, trusting it not to rain.

It took only a few minutes to gather wood from the nearby forest and soon a warm and comforting fire was burning away. It was just warm enough to hold off the chill of nightfall and just bright enough to touch the edge of the looming forest, making the trees seem to dance and sway in its flickering glow. The occasional chirp of a bird joined the amorous symphony of crickets and soft rustle of wind-blown leaves.

Drained from her long day, Nadirah was quite ready to lay down and rest. She'd never catch up to Rotuk if she died due to carelessness. The weary warrior fell asleep watching the lazy dance of the flames. When she opened her eyes again, the darkness was all-encompassing, and the previously cheerful fire was nothing but a pile of glowing coals. The night was silent, not even the songs of night birds or the calls of hunting predators sounded out. Nadirah lay still, unsure what had woken her, but knowing that whatever it was, it was somehow a threat.

The soft rustle of a foot step suddenly reached her ear. It was a slow and cautious step, the step of someone wanting to avoid detection. Keeping her breath steady and slow, the warrior laid still as if asleep, listening to the cautious approach of the unknown individual. She waited calmly as they came closer and closer until they were only a few feet away. She then gave a snort and grumbling moan, as if bothered by bad dreams, before rolling onto her back. One arm flopped onto the ground and the other crossed her chest, leaving the hilt of her sword within easy reach of her fingers.

The silence was so thick that Nadirah could not tell if the heartbeat she heard was her own or her mysterious stalker's. With the slightest twitch to her long ears, she listened closely, convinced that the other was holding their breath. And then she was holding hers as he spoke. It was barely above a whisper and the language was unfamiliar to her, but the tone of the disembodied voice sounded like a question. A moment later, the same garbled language replied from a short distance away. Then came another, and another. She was surrounded.

A cold fury grew in the tarin as she began to understand her situation, her mind churning as she began to plan her next move. Calmly, she resumed breathing and continued laying still, waiting patiently for her intended prey to come within range. It was several silent minutes before any of them moved again, their footsteps slow and deliberate, approaching warily and trying not to wake her.

And then the time finally came. The one who had woken her came within reach, leaning down over her as if to see her face more clearly in the darkness, the double head of a war ax hovering just above her chest. The doe's hands moved swiftly and without hesitation; one reaching up to grab the thick wooden handle of the weapon and thrusting it up into the figure's throat as her other hand snatched at a long cord of braided hair that turned out to be the figure's beard. She gave the braid a sharp tug and drove the ax handle deeper into the throat.

"Shhhhh." She hissed quietly at the dwarf, giving another sharp tug on his beard but unable to see his face. The dwarf made a choked cough in response, both of his own meaty hands flying up to the wooden handle and attempting to push it away, but the warrior's grip was like iron.

Her large ears twisted and she tilted her head to look around. It was far too dark to see the other dwarves, who were still circling her like stalking wolves, but she could hear them. They didn't come any closer, but shifted uncertainly where they stood, waiting in confusion for orders from their downed brother.

The dwarf in her grip made another desperate choking sound, louder this time, and she heard the change in the others. They had heard it too and knew what it meant. Her cover blown, the tarin sat up, jerking the ax out of the weakened grip of the suffocated dwarf and clubbed him hard against the skull to send him crumpling to the ground. She then rose into a low crouch and scuttled a short distance away before raising the stolen weapon in preparation of making a stand. "Back off!" She shouted into the darkness. "Back off now and I won't have to kill you all!" The silence was deafening. The tarin's sensitive ears pulled forward, searching the night for anything, any sound at all, but there was nothing except the slow hiss of her own breathing and the heavy pulse of her heart. "Did you hear me?!" She screamed at the darkness. "Did you?! Leave now and I let you live!"

After several seconds, there was a low whisper shared between those remaining, their unfamiliar language grating against her ears, before the silence fell again. Nadirah readjusted her grip on the ax and strained to listen for any sounds of movement, but there was nothing. When an unfamiliar voice finally called out, it took Nadirah by surprise.

"You are the trespasser, spy! Surrender now and maybe we'll let YOU live!" One of the dwarves called out.

Nadirah snorted derisively. "Unacceptable." She growled angrily. "Leave me be and you get to go back home in one piece. By morning I'll be gone. Test my patience and you will all die."

The silence was nearly tangible, but it was soon broken by more whispered orders in the strange language of the dwarves. After a brief argument, she heard the rapid footsteps as they fled. No longer trying to hide their presence from the tarin, they did not bother to try to be quiet as they left.

Nadirah waited until the footsteps had faded away before she relaxed, allowing the stolen ax to sink to the ground. She sighed wearily and hung her head, relieved that they had left without a fight but knowing that her dealings with them were not over. She was not looking forward to the next encounter. The sudden crack of a branch from the forest made Nadirah jump. She spun around and reflexively raised the weapon she still clutched, but she already knew that it was too late. The dwarf had already leapt above her, his own double-sided ax raised high and it was swinging down swiftly, aimed right for her head.