Steadying his breathing, Sungival deftly navigates a steep rocky trail with some effort. The sky is clear with plenty of humidity, causing him to sweat profusely. Tree shade is a welcomed respite from the constant sun, he is glad the mountain side is well forested.

"Almost there." He tells his companion behind him, a young woman who is keeping pace with what appeared to be little difficulty. She nods in response. Sungival continues his trek, thinking how wearing men's clothing and tying her dark hair tied in a bundle did little to deter his attraction to her. It suited her well. He catches a beam of sunlight in eyes through the parting of leaves. It's a windy day; he thinks to himself, it should help mitigate the heat of the open sun.

Before long, they find themselves before large boulders- cliff side rocks. "This is it!" He shouts excitedly as he begins to rapidly ascend the steep rocks on all fours. His companion follows closely behind. "Careful now, follow my lead." He grunts as he pulls himself up a steep rock face. After pulling himself up, he offers his hand to his companion, but she ignores it and pulls herself up with ease. "Huh. Well done. You're in better shape than I gave you credit for Phyllis." She smiles. They're atop of a large jutting rock on the side of a mountain- breaking out of the forestry and exposed to the rays of the sun. They can see the opposing mountain across the valley, and below is the city DramBridge, its magnificent castle in full view.

"My, this is quite the sight, Sungival." Phyllis says with taking in the view, approaching the ledge.

"Yes. Yes- I. . . I often come here to meditate alone" Sungival replies hesitantly. "Getting out of the city and seeing it all from the outside helps me . . . get out of my own head so to speak."

"You mean telepathically? It helps you attune your psionics?"

"What? No. I mean, it just relaxes me and gets me out of the routine. Sticking in that city, doing the Court's Psion's bidding- it gets to me at times."

"And here I thought you were fond of your telepathy." She says, sitting down, legs outstretched before her.

"Oh I am," he responds, sitting as well, crossing his legs "But it helps me to remind myself that I'm just a man, and there's more to life than court business."

"But we are already so far beyond this city and the business of the royalty and courts." She says looking sternly into his eyes. Sungival returns the gaze, brow furrowed, mouth agape. "So much so we may never be able to return."

"No, hold on." Sungival gets on his feet, yet remains crouching. "Wait- I." He searches for words, ruffling his wavy brown hair with his right hand. "I feel like you're on to something there. Haven't we already left this city?" he scrunches his face as he tries to recall something vital.

"Well," Phyllis breaks her gaze and returns it towards the city. "Say you have the freedom to do anything in world- have anything in the world- what would you do?" Sungival ceases his ruffling.

"What I would want." He says blankly- all but forgetting his previous contention with his memory. "What do I really want . . . ?" He curls his lips in and looks at the ground. "I think it's quite indicative of my character that I. . . I think I can answer what you would want, Phyllis, easier than what I would want." Phyllis continues to gaze upon the city.

"Then what do you think I want." She responds in a low- almost sultry voice.

". . . You want fame and power. You believe that your position of royalty should afford you a status in the world, and under no circumstances should you be held back by responsibilities to your lineage. "He says with certainty; he looks at her intensely, as though he is pouring all his being into the act. She finally turns to face him, her yellow eyes lock with his. "You'll do anything to achieve what you want and despite my protest, and I know nothing I say can ever deter that ambition." He leans in- eyes burning with intensity; reaching past her head and pulling a pin out of her bundled hair- it felt all too easy for something he's never done before. Her hair becomes undone, she doesn't seem to notice. "Now you tell me what I want." He growls. He cups her chin in his hand and draws his face near . . . the moisture of her perspiration running down his hand, the warmth of her face, her breath pressing against this lips- all these stimuli felt magnified in the suspense of this moment . . . a suspense that is shattered with a loud voice.

"Hey!" shouts a familiar masculine voice towards the base of the jutting rock- piercing the rhythm of the scene. Sungival draws back and snaps his head to the direction of the shout. A large man in black armor, blonde hair and a full beard, next to him is a younger, short woman with black hair and leather clothing, bashfully covering her face.

"Oh my, how risqué." She mutters. There's a noticeable parting in her fingers, exposing an inquisitive eye.

"You've been ignoring us this entire time. It's like you couldn't see or hear us." The man says. Sungival is momentarily dumbfounded before his eyes light up in recognition.

"Dorian and Lakota . . . what are you doing here?" he asks hazily, pulling his hand away from Phyllis and pressing it against his forehead. "Wait; rather, what am I doing with-"He turns to face Phyllis again, who is suddenly being held from behind by a young man with a pale skin, pale hair and effeminate facial features.

"How cruel Sungival," the effeminate man says, caressing Phyllis' face. "First you take a lady knight's hand against her will, and now you're trying to seize the hand of royalty." Phyllis releases a small moan and the man's caressing hand reaches below her neck. Sungival jumps back and scrambles to his feet; his entire body trembling. "I never took you for a home wrecker though. "The man adds with a sly expression. Sungival feels a lump form in his throat. "What do you say, Kat? Is this guy the worst, or is he the worst?

"Kat?" Sungival asks when he notices Phyllis' hair is suddenly blonde, her eyes brown, her jawline fuller. It isn't Phyllis at all. Her eyes scorched with indignation.

"He's vile." The woman says in a low but resolute voice laced with disgust. Sungival turns pale and steps back in horror.

"Sungival, your footing!" Lakota shouts. Dorian is swinging a lasso on his side next to her, expressionless.

"Huh?" Sungival mutters in confusion as the rock directly under him- and him alone- crumbles and gives way. He falls back, arms flailing. "woah-woah-woah!" but before he can make much headway down the mountain, the noose of a lasso grasps his foot tightly. His plummet downward is stopped abruptly, as he hangs upside down from his foot, the noose so tight it seels like his foot might be severed at any moment. He's rapidly pulled up back to the top of the jutting rock, hitting the back of his head on the rock as he's dragged up. "Ow!" Lakota helps him orient himself, and begins to untie the noose once he reaches the top safely.

Sungival looks to his right; the couple disappeared. His expression is sullen.

"That was a close call." Lakota says, undoing the lasso on his foot. "Lucky for us Dorian had this rope with him."

"Of all the methods of teleportation I've experienced," Dorian says as he coils his rope. "Dream travel is by far the strangest." Sungival stares at him with an exaggerated frown when it all comes back to him.

"Oh, that's right: I'm dream traveling." He says blankly as he finds himself abruptly on his back, staring at tree branches and noisy birds.

In his peripheral vision he sees Lakota jump to her feet energetically. He sits up.

"Ahhh" She stretches her arms out and arcs her back. Patting her pouches on her hips she reviews her surroundings. "Well, judging from the flora and temperature, we're certainly in Northern Windoren at the very least, and better yet, no one seems to have robbed us."

"Middle of a forest." Dorian says, already on his feet, similarly reviewing his possessions. Let's start looking for landmarks so we can track exactly where we are."

"Scouting!" Lakota replies enthusiastically and walks away from Sungival and Dorian. Sungival is sitting on the ground, hanging his head. Dorian grabs Sungival's shoulder aggressively, who jolts his head up in response.

"Don't let it get to you, man. We all have our own nonsense we're sorting through. You transported us hundreds of miles in a matter of hours. Now we focus on the job."

"Yeah." He nods his head solemnly "Yeah, let's go." He stands and they follow Lakota's lead.