Although the sky was clear, there was not enough light from the moon and stars to see by. It was only his elven heritage that allowed Daeghun to find Georg in the darkness. Georg gave a small start as his human eyes finally spotted Daeghun, but he quickly recovered. "Ah, Daeghun. Miserable night, huh? There's really no point to standing watch when I can't see anything coming, don't you think?"

Daeghun's reply was monotone. "So long as undead continue to roam the Mere, someone has to be ready to raise the alarm."

Georg sighed. "You're right, of course. Speaking of roaming the Mere, you're leaving again tomorrow, aren't you?"

Daeghun nodded sadly. "She's out there, Georg. I'll always keep searching, no matter how long it takes."

There was a silence between them as the two stared out at the Mere. Georg ended up breaking the silence. "Is it just me, or is it getting lighter out here?"

Daeghun signaled for him to be quiet. A sound, like an all too familiar laugh, was playing on the wind. Turning, the ranger's eyes went wide. Georg turned to see what was wrong. "What in Chauntea's name..."

A comet, blazing brightly and hurtling towards the forests near West Harbor, was rapidly descending. Daeghun just kept staring at the comet, still able to hear the laughter. "It can't be..."

Georg didn't catch the rest of Daeghun's muttering as the hurried off to gather some supplies. The night was still young and what was looking to be a grand adventure was just beginning.

-Break-

The comet crashed noisily into the Mere, sending up a cloud of dust as it hit a piece of relatively solid ground. As the dust cleared, the laughing got louder. An oddball group was scattered about the crater in various states of consciousness. In the center, amid the debris, lay Tahlith Auvreaneldth, former Kalach-cha, former spirit eater, Lady of Crossroad Keep, hero and knight of Neverwinter, and participant in the Third Crusade. She was laughing, unable to contain her relief and elation. ''We did it, guys!'' She announced to the group, though it was already obvious to them. ''We made it back! We're home.''

-Break-

Daeghun dashed through the murky, familiar paths of the Mere, searching for where the comet had crash landed. Georg was hurrying to keep up as best he could. Why Daeghun had felt the need to bring Georg along was beyond the human, but follow he did. As they ran, Georg began to worry about Daeghun; the ranger had muttered numerous times about laughter and the comet. This was definitely not the time for the elf to finally lose it.

When Georg finally caught up, it was only because they had reached their apparent destination. Bits of rock were everywhere, having crashed into trees and swamp water. Daeghun was examining the dirt around the crater carefully. "A bear... Humans... A wolf..." Georg listened to Daeghun's muttering carefully, curious as to why the ranger was searching for tracks. When Daeghun reached the center of the crater, he stood up, a dangerous look in his eye. "It's her."

"What… you mean Tahlith?" Georg asked, clueing in to the subject of the pronoun immediately. "No offence, Daeghun, but are you sure? Why in the Nine Hells would Tahlith be here now, of all times? Sure, a comet just crashed here, and that's something pretty spectacular, but if Tahlith was around, don't you think she'd have come to the village by now, or have crossed paths with us on our way here? "

Daeghun shook his head as he followed a set of tracks around the crater. "She came with the comet; don't ask me how. I would recognize the way she walks anywhere. Look." Daeghun pointed at the ground. To Georg, the confused tracks meant nothing, but Daeghun was determined. "Here she changed her gait she from a relaxed pace to a more battle-ready one. Only a shadowdancer or a rogue would walk like this into a battle, and even then Tahlith's tracks have always been unique."

Georg sighed, "Alright, but why didn't she come towards West Harbor? She knows the Mere as well as any ranger or druid would…"

"Not anymore…" Daeghun sounded almost sad as he looked around the area. "The Mere has changed. Last Tahlith knew, West Harbor was destroyed and left to be swallowed by the corrupted Mere. There's little chance she'd know where she was." Daeghun motioned for Georg to follow. "Come. She went this way, and in a hurry. The others followed her."

-Break-

"Little one, why do we run if they are friends?" Tahlith kept up her fast pace as Okku questioned her. She and her companions were dashing through the swampy land at a speed that some of them had trouble maintaining.

Looking over at the bear god, Tahlith grinned. "Daeghun, my foster father, would not ask questions before shooting certain members of our party. We need a place to regroup, reequip, and plan before he reaches us. Besides…" Tahlith smiled as she recognized a set of ruins up ahead. "I want to see whether I can actually surprise him for once."

-Break-

"Stop." Georg almost ran into Daeghun as the elf stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" The fighter asked, his hand drifting to his sword.

Daeghun frowned. "I'm not sure." Why did she come here? Before him were two ruins. One he knew all too well to be where he had hid his sliver shard, all too long ago. The lizardlings had never returned after the King of Shadows's defeat, so the ruins were empty now. To the right of it, a short ways away, was the building Elanee had pointed out to him once as the location of one of the Statues of Purification, as well as a portal that could occasionally be opened. Is she trying to get through the portal? He pondered.

Motioning for Georg to stay put, Daeghun carefully followed the tracks to, surprisingly, the lizardling hideout. Daeghun was about to open the door when he heard a rustling noise from the bushes nearby. Whirling around, Daeghun drew his bow and knocked an arrow all in one smooth motion, immediately suspecting a trap.

Out of the bushes came the strangest looking bear that Daeghun had ever seen. Its fur was primarily blue, turning white as it spiked up on its back like strange flames, and shifting red around its neck at parts and around his paws. It was as tall as an adult human, and it was staring straight at Daeghun. Georg drew his sword and looked ready to defend when, suddenly, the bear spoke. "Call off your friend, ranger. I mean neither you no harm… yet."

Daeghun glanced over at Georg and gave him a short nod. Georg relaxed his stance, and Daeghun lowered his bow. This seemed enough for the bear, for it continued. "You have been following us. Why?"

"I seek my daughter." Daeghun announced clearly. A small noise, like the faintest of gasps, reached his ears. Is she here? Why does she not show herself? To the bear, he asked, "Have you seen her?"

The bear made a grumbling noise akin to laughter. "I have seen many females before, and even traveled with them, but I have never traveled with a woman of elf kin."

"She's not an elf," Daeghun replied, "nor is she truly my daughter. Her name is Tahlith Auvreaneldth, a tiefling and a bard, and I have reason to believe she is in this area."

The bear turned his head to the side, as if thinking. "What is your name?"

"Daeghun Farlong, foster father of Tahlith." He replied. "Please, if you have had any news…"

A voice rang out through the clearing, seemingly from all directions. "Okku, you've done marvelously. Thank you."

"Tahlith…" Daeghun's voice was almost inaudible. He scanned the clearing, desperate to see where the source of the voice was.

"Right here, father." Daeghun turned to see a figure in dark, padded armor step out of the shadows of the second building. At her waist was a sheathed sword with a very familiar looking hilt; attached to her wrist was a beaten up, small wooden shield with numerous painted symbols on it. Her step was casual, yet hinted that she could pounce like a cat at any time. Her pale skin and icy blue eyes contrasted her dark red hair in an almost eerie way. Despite the few new scars barely visible as they peeked out around her armor, Tahlith could have stepped straight out of Daeghun's memory. Dropping his bow, Daeghun crossed the distance between them in a few short steps and embraced his foster daughter.

Tahlith grinned widely as she hugged him back. "Hey, dad. Guess where I've been."