On the Road to Kanon... It was beginning to rain, soaking Kitain. He pressed on, watching the landscape change to something familiar. Only another few miles. Whisper was tired, she hadn't been able to rest all day, and she whinnied. "I'm sorry. Just a little longer, I promise." He patted Whisper's neck, the loyal grey horse continued onwards, slowing to a trot. Then finally stopped under a tree. "Alright, you've gone far enough today." * * * Kanon: Mercurial's Inn... The rain finally ebbed and Kitain convinced Whisper to move again. He finally reached the smashed village where Mercurial and his wife still held sway. He rode in, and collapsed at the door. Mercurial found him. "My friend." Strong hands dragged Kitain up and inside. Moments later, Kitain had recovered enough to speak. "Reaver, Quicksilver. There is a new evil in Lodoss. There needs to be a gathering of the Shadow Troupe. I know I said that there would be no more death, but this is a force of Chaos, a very threat to Lodoss itself. I would have the Shadow Troupe ride as heroes at least once. And may there song be glorious." Quicksilver spoke up. "As Solitaire you always bring danger behind you. I need a peaceful life now, more than anything. You gave us this, but now you want to take it away again. I am at peace, and the world can go hang." She swept into the other room. Reaver sat down, unhooking his battleaxes from the wall. "Some of us are thinking like that now. It hasn't been very long, but many of us like this settled existence, and are tired of war. Quicksilver does however, understand that, this evil she cannot walk away from. The proof is that only our strength kept this building from falling to evil, while the rest of the village collapsed around it. We will both fight. Someone else is also here. You two should meet." Mercurial/Reaver, showed him into another, small room. Kitain stopped, "Shadowpool." An area of darkness shifted. "Well, Solitaire. A final song. I will send a message to the Troupe. you have the rune." Kitain shivered, as he always did, and passed the Shadow Rune over. Shadowpool closed, his/her eyes. "All divergent paths return to the one lone path. Return wanderers, for the lone one must speak with you." The disk flashed. And Shadowpool passed it back. "Soon...Solitaire." * * * In Mercurial’s inn, the fire had long since burned out. Kitain sat, remembering. Who he was. Why, and what that meant. He laid out his mask, with the twisting Solitaire rune on both cheeks of the otherwise featureless metal. "The Solitaire walks the long dark road that leads to destruction. They will come, and I must convince them to walk with me awhile. Old master, grant me strength to do this and to choose the right course." He remembered the fire, and the burning. He remembered the screams. Those that were left now were those who did not die. And Karla, in all his time on Marmo, and serving with the armies, he had seen her once. She seemed lonely, when she looked out at the world. Kitain did not want to oppose Karla, but the Solitaire acted for his people. He stood up, and turned his cloak around, displaying the deep matte black coloring. The mask raised to his face, and there it stayed. The night it seemed, held it's breath as the Solitaire waited for his people. * * * Marmo... Spark never recovered from his coma despite all the healings that were tried. His elite guard thanked the inhabitants of the castle where they first encountered Blaze on Marmo, then they bore Duke Spark's body on a stretcher to his estate. Now his wife, Neese cried out in sorrow at Spark's condition! She vowed to find a cure for his injuries, and sent for Cecil to be brought to her. Near Roid... Meanwhile, the false Spark moved away from the fallen Roid and turned his evil gaze toward the North. He slew all who barred his way northward, the Undead and the Living alike. * * * Silent Swamp... Deep within the ruins of her castle, Karla stirred again. For long hours she had watched the movements of the Undead through-out the lands. She smiled to no one in the darkness, as the orb before her began to glow again, this time with the sigil of the Solitaire as the source of that glowed. "Come to me Solitaire! I will not bar the way. Come to me Solitaire. I await you night or day!" Karla's voice echoed across the silent swamp whispering it's way to its goal. * * * Mercurial's Inn... Kitain shuddered himself awake. He had fallen asleep, that was bad. The Solitaire had let himself fall asleep. It was still dark outside, so he couldn't have slept long. But usually when he slept, he slept. So what could have... He froze, a chill seeping through his bones. The type he got when someone called him Solitaire. There was a dark power in his name and he knew it, a connection. The Solitaire could always feel when it was spoken aloud. He withdrew into his cloak. Someone had said his soulname, worse, someone who understood the magic of names. He could feel the forces at work already. He couldn't resist for very long he knew. "Perhaps, long enough to tell the troupe what I need to. Sorcerer, whoever you are grant me that time." Kitain, the Solitaire, settled back into the chair, and stared out at the darkness, as though expecting to discover the person who had spoken in it's folds. Nafisa had been in Alania two days before when the undead began to rise. She had no idea what had happened, but she wanted to return to the security of her troupe. Like the rest of her comrades, she had separated at the end of the last war and went of on her own. Over the last couple days, she had traveled to Kanon to Mercurial's inn, hoping to find more of her old companions there. Night had begun to fall as she rode into the small village on her bay mare. She dismounted and walked to the door of the inn and knocked with the hilt of one of her swords. Kitain looked up, wondering if his thoughts had been heard. He adjusted the mask, drew Night's Caress, and advanced to the door. He opened it, and was faced by a battle hardened woman who seemed vaguely familiar. Nafisa smiled a little and just to be safe, pulled her cloak back to expose the mask at her hip. "Greetings Solitaire," she said, her voice was soft but clear. Solitaire’s eyes narrowed. "Steelstorm. I'm surprised. The Shadow only sent out the message an hour or so ago. Yes, he's here too, and Reaver, and Quicksilver. Come in of course.." He stepped aside, and slowly sheathed Night's Caress. "What’s going on in the world...?" "I didn't get a message, I came on my own," Nafisa replied and came in, finding a chair at one of the tables. "I don't know what happened. I had made my way up into Alania and just a few days ago, there was an earthquake, then undead started rising everywhere. I decided to come here, I thought maybe I could find you or others from the troupe and find out what's happening." "You have found four of us then, Steelstorm. I will probably be giving this speech a lot. This is a Council of War. Someone, proclaiming to be a Knight of Chaos has arisen in Lodoss, and he, as well as several other rumblings, have caused a tip in the balance. Which is now polluting Lodoss, raising the dead. I have called the Troupe using Shadow, our resident mage, to discuss where the Troupe stands in this peril. Quicksilver believes that we should remain non-committed, Reaver advocates battle, Shadow has not yet voiced an opinion and I..." He paused and looked out of the window "...am very worried." Even in the distance, he could see the twisting Chaos clouds slowly gathering near the Forest of Mirrors. He rose and stared out. "This is too soon...The others aren't here...Witch...I needed more time. Shadow, tell me." The deeply cowled figure bent forwards. "Seeing seeing, Roid in fall and darkness from it, drawn from gates of hell." The figure chuckled and fell silent. Solitaire scowled. "Darkness, from ROID! Some sort of power source...I am Solitaire, I, for now, walk alone in this matter." It was his traditional ending that he would resume the meeting at a later time. "Reaver, Quicksilver, please entertain the others when they arrive. I'll need dwarf blasting powder and any of the Elven Hotwine, Winter's Fire. Shadow, I need 3 Mage Sigils, one of them flint. Steelstorm, please remain here." Shadow shifted a sleeve, and two Sigils on steel rings bearing the Shadow Troupe rune appeared. A third, unadorned one was next to them, flint, and shaped like an arrowhead. Reaver and Quicksilver slipped in bearing three flasks of hotwine and two small casks of dwarf blasting powder. "Solitaire, take this rope as well." "Thank you. Steelstorm, please stay here."