Quetzal – I will admit I did just go 'fuck it' on the trial in here, I got half way though and I was just fucking done with it, so it's partly kinda talyn musing on it after the fact rather then a play by play, sorry but it's the reason this is two months late. Hopefully both the first and last part make up for it. (the editing is also gonna be kinda lacking, I DID run it through spell check though so theres that much)

Also on a cool note, I will be official trying to become a silver smith, my teacher says I'm kinda at the point where I know most everything I need to know and its just a matter of practice barring extra techniques, but I could go off and do halfway decently right now if I wanted, which is kinda awesome. Its just…silversmith is the sort of profession one expects in a fantasy novel, not as their actual carrier. I'm kinda fangirling about the whole thing at the moment.

XXX

Chapter 20 – One Night In Bangkok – Murray Head

XXX

Somewhere in northern Russia

Ah, Snow – His worst enemy. And in such fantastic amounts too! Daniel liked to think he was a bit above average for a Snow Point graduate. His class had finished with 17 students, having started with 21. Slightly better than the average year. That and he had graduated near the top of his year. Not too bad.

There was however one thing he had never gotten the hang of dealing with in all his years at Snow point, and that was the fucking cold. So why exactly he had ended up on a team that was freezing their asses off in the farthest reaches of Russia following the hint of an echo of a signal, he wasn't quite sure.

Personally he figured whoever had organized this shit didn't like him.

At least they were flying instead of walking. That would have been many orders of magnitude worse. Currently they were skimming along some low ridges so buried in snow and ice as to almost disappear into the smooth plains of tree specked snow. There were far north of the old Ice Wall Mountains, in what had once been home to the northern tribes. Far to the south and west hidden by masses of ancient spellwork that nearly sealed them into other dimensions were the ancient lands of Valdamar and Karse. Hardorn didn't really exist as itself anymore, neither did Rethanwell. The first was what had actually expanded into Russia after taking over the remnants of the fallen Empire over the centuries, the other had merged with Valdamar about a thousand years after second cataclysm. Russia's magical society still heavily reflected the military nature of the Imperial mages, not that the normal side didn't.

Daniel sighed and pulled his heavy jacket closer and prayed that the heating charms layered into it didn't fail. They should have left checking this fucking area to the damn Russians! But noooo, this was a Snow point issue, they didn't need any help. Bitch. "I think I've got something!" Someone yelled from the front of the group.

"Hallelujah, " He muttered darkly, turning his broom in the direction of the yelling vampire. The woman was hovering over an indentation in the ridge. Frowning down at it in concentration.

"It's faint, but definitely coming from here" she said as the team pulled in from their search pattern. The team leader, a truly ancient Naga in human form (and wasn't he probably having just as much fun in this weather), nodded and cast a spell at the ground. Eyes closed as he took in the information it sent back.

"There's a cavern below us, nothing living, although there appears to be some kind of structure to it. Lets go. Karin, Ava, clear the snow, there" he pointed about ten feet to their left. "There's an entrance, its iced in but it shouldn't be too much trouble to melt through. "The two nodded, and set to work. They certainly looked more comfortable out here than him, Daniel though enviously. The two Fox-kin were partly transformed, keeping their human forms but having grown in a dense coat of white fur. Arctic foxes, they were probably from this area actually. Each team was supposed to have a local graduate with them. It was relatively quick work to clear the entrance of snow, and even less time to melt through the ice sealing it.

"Daniel! You're up!" Daniel grimaced but dropped off his broom, shrinking it and putting it away. He knew he would be going first. His specialty was shields and wards. Both making and breaking them. He eyed the dark tunnel for a moment then created a small mage light, the baseball sized ball of light floated ahead of him casting a cold blue light over everything. He crept forward, keeping a careful eye on his surroundings and checking every nook and cranny for enemies. About thirty feet in the tunnel widened out. Daniel stopped dead and stared.

"Holy shit." He hissed, and directed the mage light up to the ceiling. The light fell over a scene of carnage. Bones littered the floor, nearly covering it completely. Death magic had never been a skill of his, but now that he was practically on top of it even he could feel the poisonous magic and old pain embedded into the very stones. He sent the signal back up, and in moments the other five were crowded behind him.

"Shit."

"Are these ours?" the Naga asked flatly. One of the foxes crouched down, her hand hovering over what looked to be the skull of a gryphon. Eyes closed tightly as she read the magics. After a moment she stood again, frowning.

"No, and these are old. Maybe two hundred years." She scanned the room thoughtfully her eyes narrowing slightly as she took in the bone yard. "Look at the way their laying." She said nodding to the far side of the cavern. They glanced down and followed her gesture.

"They were trying to get away from something. " Daniel observed quietly. He followed the pattern and began picking his way across the room, trying not to step on the bones. Another tunnel led deeper into the mountain. He heard the soft scuffles and crunches as the others followed.

"So, who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" the vampire, Moria, snarked. They all looked at her, Moria looked away. "Sorry" she muttered. The Naga snorted.

"Ava, I want you to go back topside and send a message, I want the Headmistress to know what we've found. We'll go on ahead and see if there's more. "The fox nodded and headed back up. "Right then, Daniel?" He nodded and stepped forward, but paused.

"I think we should kill the lights and go with night vision spells instead." The others considered, glancing down at the bones littering the floor.

"Maybe for the best." The Naga agreed. The mage light flickered and faded away, plunging them into darkness. Daniel cast the spell on his eyes, the cavern fading back into sight - all deep blues and grays. With that they headed down into the darkness, the distant howl of the wind clawing at their backs.

Back up on the snow covered hillside Ava prepared to send her message, it was hundreds of miles to even reach one of the Mindspeech relays that peppered the world, this was going to take an annoying amount of power. She was so focused on her spell she never sensed the white serpentine creature sliding through the snow behind her until it was far too late. She heard the soft crunch of snow and spun a dagger in one hand, a glowing gauntlet on the other. She barely even had a chance to comprehend the glowing violet eyes of the beast before her mind was snared in its magics. She couldn't even scream as the crystal fangs of the Cold drake cut through her with ease. The drake swallowed her in a single bite before creeping back to its hiding spot and resuming its guard. Leaving behind nothing but a fallen dagger and a small patch of bloodied snow that was quickly covered by the wind driven powder.

X X X

January 5 – White Gryphon

The team of six Aurors was practically vibrating in glee. Frostlight looked up from the letter at them once more; he couldn't decide whether or not the ministry was joking. They honestly thought he would just hand over one of his citizens? Let alone the exasperating little sorcerer? He looked down once more, reading the letter again, it was like they had handed this off to someone and said "write the most morally offensive letter you possibly can." Even If he had been inclined to let the boy go, the phrasing ensured he would never do it. Referring to any sentient being as "beast" was a bad sign. He knew they were backwards, but really?

To the leader of the 'City' of White Gryphon.

It has come to our attention that the 'City' of White Gryphon is currently harboring a dangerous beast responsible for the murder of one of our esteemed citizens. One, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. It is demanded by the Ministry of Magic, and the citizens of Brittan that you turn this creature over to the Department for the Control and Destruction of Dangerous Dark Creatures for immediate destruction.

Failure to do so will be seen as an act of ill-will against the British Ministry of Magic, pending termination of all treaties and agreements. The beast is too turned over to the accompanying team of Aurors for removal.

Delores Umbridge

Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic.

He turned his attention to the photo accompanying the letter as 'proof' of Talyns guilt in the murder. The shot was surprisingly well taken given whoever had done it had probably taken it through a window from a fair distance away. The moving photo showed Talyn picking himself up off the ground, an enraged snarl on his face, then glowing and sending a shockwave of death magic at Dumbledore before being tackled and vanishing in a portkey.

Frostlight looked up silently once more, and then magically signaled the guards. Four Silvers appeared from under their cloaking spells in the corners of the room. Blades drawn and smiling dangerously. The two behind him seemed a bit more blood thirsty then the others. Had probably read the letter over his should again, brats. "I think it's time for you to leave, boys." He said with a deceptively mild voice. The Aurors blinked, shocked.

"Are you going to turn the beast over?" The leader demanded. Frostlight snorted.

"No, Talyn is a citizen of White Gryphon. We do not turn our citizens over to foreign powers for summery execution without as much as a trial. Now get the hell out of my city." the Silvers edged forward making the Aurors bunch together warily.

"Now see here! You have no right to deny our people justice for this murder!" the man blustered. Frostlight shrugged.

"Now why would I do that? Justice will be had, I'm sure. Now the ICW will contact you with the time and place of the trial in good time, so get the fuck out of my city."

"The Minister will hear of this!" the wizard snapped. Frostlight snorted, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sure." He drawled and signaled the Silvers again. The Aurors were hauled, cursing, out of the office. A few minutes later, his second in command stepped in.

"They've been sent back to the British ministry." He pointed out calmly, a faint glint of amusement in his eyes. Frostlight nodded, not looking up from the photo he was once more examining.

"Get me the legal department and the representative for the ICW, we have work to do."

X X X

January 10th

"Stupid hatchling! Trouble again!?"

"I'm not the stupid one this time Hedwig, it's them," Talyn answered tiredly. Hedwig stared at him suspiciously for a long moment before clacking her beak.

"ALL stupid" She announced and began to preen her feathers as though that was the end of it. Talyn stared at her, a bit bemused.

"She's just a fountain of wisdom, isn't she?" he said to Vera. The gryphon snickered.

"Yesss, they ussaually are." She agreed sagely. Talyn sighed and turned back to the headmistress with a wry smile. She had arrived while Vera was teaching him how to talk to Hedwig, finally, after all the chaos of the last few weeks he had almost forgotten the owl could in fact, talk.

Unfortunately the headmistress brought nothing in the way of good news. He wasn't sure what to think. He….he had killed Dumbledore? A few months ago the idea would have been horrifying. But now….. he was just relieved that it was over. Dumbledore could never threaten his family again. There was of course still Voldemort to contend with, but he'd been oddly quiet the last few months. Maybe getting the horcrux removed had done something to him. Or maybe he was scheming again.

This last month was just turning into an absolute shit storm. First the horcrux and the transformation, then the rescue and landing in the forest. Meeting death. Something he still refused to so much as breath a word of to anyone. That was the sort of attention that was best avoided. And the strange woman in the other dream, who after this run in with Death, he was nearly positive was a goddess or something. Now he had two research projects given to him by 'higher beings' finding the Heart of the Earth and figuring out what was so damn special about his cloak.

This was just a level of absurd that was so far above and beyond the usually bullshit of his life. And now he was going to be on trial for the murder of Albus Dumbledore. He just really really wanted to go curl up in a corner and cry.

"Right so, when is this trial?" he asked running a hand through his hair, the feeling of feathers interspersed in it giving him pause as always. The Headmistress sighed looking just as annoyed as him.

"In three weeks time at the ICW headquarters in Egypt. White Gryphon is fielding a lawyer for you. You are considered a citizen of the city even if it's not completely official at this point. They aren't about to give you up to those bigots. They would do it just on principle, but with you being a Sorcerer Adept you get even more leeway due to the attempted blackmail. It should be easy to get it declared self defense.

"What the hell does my being an Adept have to do with it?" he asked, a little bit offended. The idea of getting some kind of special treatment just being he was an overpowered idiot didn't sit well with him. Made him feel like he was pulling some kind of Malfoy level bullshit on the legal system. The headmistress gave him a sardonic look.

"I don't think you get just how much everyone panicked when they learned that someone had almost managed to successfully blackmail you. Whether you're trained yet or not, you are currently nearly the most powerful mortal on the planet. There are perhaps three others on the planet that equal or exceed a sorcerer adept for raw power, Talyn. One is a millennia's old Fay, and the other is a demigod, the last is a time traveler that everyone is fairly certain is actually Merlin." At the stunned look on Talyns face the headmistress sighed and added. "That's only raw power Talyn. There are many people who could take you apart easily, you're not really trained, and even when you gain control over your magic there will be those with hundreds if not thousands of years more experience then you. Don't let it go to your head. You're a long ways from being considered in the same league as the ancient Adepts." Talyn hissed softly cursing under his breath in parseltongue. Fuck his life.

"Right, that….ok." he muttered switching back to English and looking up at the headmistress. She smiled faintly.

"You'll be fine. They're going to ask you some questions, have you describe the things Dumbledore has done, and what happened that night. Things like that."

"This is going to suck." He finally answered with a heavy sigh. His wings drooped. The headmistress laughed.

"You think this is bad? You still have to go buy something appropriate to wear to the trial. The vests and pants you've been wearing since your transformation may be fine for classes but this is going to be a bit more formal. I'll tell the city they need to send someone to help you out with that, it going to have to be custom whatever it ends up being." She added, eyeing his wings and tail thoughtfully.

Talyn whimpered.

X X X

January 24

Talyn tried not to fidget, but even then couldn't quiet control his tail which twitched slightly, the tip flicking and betraying his nervousness. His current getup didn't help his nerves any, he had never worn anything quite like this. In place of his normal vest was a long sleeved top made of what seemed to be tiny scaled chainmail with slits in the back for his wings and in an iridescent greenish black with silver edges. He couldn't believe how flexible it was, nearly flowing like silk. His pants were nice and simple in comparison, just dark green silk with a hole for his tail. The scaled shirt was cut in such a way as to fall just past his hips in the back and hid this.

His hair was what was making him really worry he looked like an idiot. He'd been ambushed by a pair of 3rd years that morning. A Talyadras mage and a Tervardi (a kind of humanoid bird person with startlingly red feathers) he'd gotten tied to a chair while they braided dozens of tiny strings of crystals and bells into his hair. Apparently they hadn't wanted him to 'embarrass the school' with his wild mane of black hair and feathers. The headmistresses approval of the look after he went to her for help when no amount of magic would remove them had only calmed him a bit. Once he thought about it, he did remember how both of the Talyadras mages that had helped him in the hospital had done their hair similarly and that he looked positively tame compared to that one guy in white gryphon. Sadly he wasn't likely to be able to shake his European ideas of how males were supposed to dress for a while yet, so he was going to have to suffer.

Egypt was proving to be fascinating at least. He had portkeyed over with a group of four Silvers earlier that day. The ICW headquarters was in what looked like an ancient temple or something, but so well preserved it might as well have been brand new. He wasn't really sure, his knowledge of Egypt was limited to that one time Dudley had watched 'the Mummy'. The massive white marble columns, gilded with gold and brilliant colors certainly made an impression though. The spells necessary to keep this place hidden must have been extensive. The reason it was the head quarters was that quite simply it was the oldest magical establishment in the world. Dating back thousands of years. Before even the cataclysm.

"Right kid, you ready?" Talyn looked up, started. Standing in front of him was an absolutely massive gryphon. It had to be nearly half again bigger then Vera, with a much stockier build. Unlike Vera with her sleek feathers and short sharply curved beak. This gryphon looked almost fluffy with a massive beak like an eagle. "What, never met a gryphon before?" he asked. Talyn shook his head.

"Uh, no – I mean yes. I have. My roommate at Snow Point is a gryphon, although she doesn't look quite like you." The gryphon nodded.

"There are a few varieties of us." He agreed. "Now I am to be your lawyer. My name is Kelvar. My assistant is Genki." He nodded to the side. Talyn only now spotted the Hertasi that had been nearly hidden behind the gryphon's massive bulk. The bipedal lizard was carrying a rather normal brief case and was wearing a tunic made of a material similar to his own shirt. The Hertasi nodded to him.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Potter-Ashton, I hope the trial goes well." Talyn nodded, a little surprised at the use of both of his last names.

"That whole secret identity thing went out the window really fast." He finally said. Kelvar chuckled.

"They do tend to do that." he agreed. "Now, I believe it is time to completely destroy these bigots. Shall we?" Talyn smiled back a little shakily and followed the Gryphon down the pillar lined hall. There was a fair amount of activity going on, and even at Snow Point he'd never seen so many different species.

"What else is going on today?" he asked, curious as to why there were so many people running around. Kelvar glanced back at him, one great golden eye considering him.

"Most are here for the trial." He answered, Talyn froze.

"What?" he demanded, more than a little bit of a hiss working itself into his words. The feathers of his wings fluffing up in reaction to his alarm. Kelvar sighed.

"Kid, those idiots are so sure of themselves that they demanded that the trial occur before a full council. They forget sometimes that everyone hates them. All they did was hurt their already slim chances of winning this. Will there be a lot of people there? Yes. But just remember, they are on your side. This is mostly a formality." Talyn shuddered, little green sparks of magic flickering along his wings. This situation just kept getting worse and worse. He hated attention, why the fuck did this have to turn into a fucking circus? "Do you need a calming potion?" Genki asked, eyeing the sparking wings with trepidation. Talyn caught the look and forced himself to calm down. He couldn't afford to go blowing up the room right now. He wished he could have brought Hedwig or Argos. The headmistress had nixed that idea though, Hedwig was an arctic owl, she wouldn't do well even short term in the desert. And Argos, well, that was pretty self explanatory.

Talyn sighed heavily and gave the two a weak smile. Kelvar nodded sharply and continued on.

XXX

Two hours later and everyone had filed into the massive room where the trial was to take place. The room was set up marginally like a modern court room, either that or this place had come up with the set up first. But in place of the normal benches was an amphitheater like series of raised bleachers. Bleachers which were now nearly packed. Apparently only the first 5 tiers were the actual representives, the other 10 were just spectators. There was easily a few hundred people there.

After seeing the size of the room Talyn had asked for that calming potion that Genki had previously offered, much to the unseen relief of a number of people who knew him. and weren't some of them a surprise.

Hermione was sitting in a lower bench, below the representatives, with her was two people I didn't recognize, Neville, and Remus, along with Luna and Vera. The gryphon was all but lounging at the end of the bench. Her short crest feather adorned with gold chains and crystals, with jeweled golden gauntlets on her forarms. She fit right in with the décor. Hermione for her part looked like she was trying to see everything at once. A magnified voice cut through the chatter suddenly, making more than one person jump.

"The Trial of Hadrian Talyn James Potter-Ashton versus the British Ministry of magic, Potter-Ashton is accued of the murder of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Everyone had shut up at this point – their attention pinned on the speaker. The contingent from the ministry looked shocked, muttering together now. Fudge looked positively gleeful. The man was dark skinned, and dressed in what Talyn could only say was something that he would expect an ancient Egyptian priest to be wearing. There seemed to be a great deal of gold involved in the ensemble, maybe…ok yeah he had no idea who this guy was supposed to be, maybe the judge? All he knew was that he looked very serious.

"How does Potter-Ashton plead?" the man asked, looking at him and Kelvar.

"Not guilty of Murder." The Gryphon answered promptly. The man nodded and turned back to the group from the ministry. Talyn recognized Fudge, along with a oddly toad like uh..person. Dressed In the most horrific shade of pink, and two Aurors.

"State your case." He said flatly, eyeing them with distaste. The toad like woman smiled viciously.

"hem hem. Deloris Umbridge representing the Ministy of Magic." she said, her voice disturbingly sickly sweet. "Hadrian Potter is accused of murdering one of our esteemed citizens. Albus Dumbledore, in cold blood on the night of November 4th." November 4th? Talyn blinked at that a bit surprised, when it had happened he would have bet his firebolt it was another Halloween fiasco as usual. Although, he supposed Dumbledore found out where Hermione was about then…so maybe it was.

"Defense?" the man asked. Kelvar clacked his beak, a smirk showing at the corners. Reading a gryphon's expressions could be hard sometimes, but he'd been getting the hang of it.

" On November 4th my client was accompanying a team of elite Silvers to Hogwarts school of witch craft and wizardry to rescue one Hermione Granger, a citizen of White Gryphon who had two days previously been kidnapped by Albus Dumbledore. This kidnapping occurred in broad daylight in front of many witnesses. My client was necessary for the rescue as the building is heavily warded and only those who had been there can find it. Miss Granger was retrieved without incident but my client and the team were confronted by Albus Dumbledore before they could exit the grounds. In the ensuing fight Mr. Dumbledore cast a killing curse at Miss Granger to which my clients unstable magic reacted badly to, resulting in an explosion of death magic and the death of Mr. Dumbledore." Kelvar inclined his head to the man, who nodded and went to say something only to be interrupted by Umbridge.

"So you admit that Mr. Potter killed Albus Dumbledore?" she asked sweetly. The man glared at her as Kelvar gave her a lazy look.

"Self defence." He answered, the woman wrinkled her nose like she had smelled something nasty as she eyed the gryphon.

"But none the less you admit he killed Dumbledore? I see no reason for this trial to continue when Mr. Potters guilt is so obvious!" she pointed out haughtily. Kelvar and the man exchanged looks.

"Obviously you have no idea how a trial is supposed to work." Kelvar put in in a oddly wise tone. Umbridge scowled. The man heaved a sigh and glared at her.

"Wait your turn or I will be dismissing this trial on account of you inability to actually participate in a proper manner." The glint in his eyes suggested that he really wanted her to keep interrupting. Umbridge scowled darkly, but backed off. Talyn smothered a snicker exchanging amused looks with Genki.

"Right then, let us continue." The man drawled, smirking. Umbridge and fudge exchanged worried looks.

X X X

In the end Kelvar had utterly demolished the ministry. He'd gotten it so far as to accuse fudge as an accomplice to the whole incident, than asked him to prove otherwise under truth potion. Talyn had never seen someone back down so fast before. Umbridge looked like she was about to have a stroke. As the trial had gone on it had become abundantly clear that she considered anything that wasn't human to be a mere beast. Kelvar had taken gleeful advantage of this and drove her halfway insane.

In the end the charged had been dropped, and the death of Albus Dumbledore declared to be self-defense. He was a little uncomfortable that Kelvar had used his status as a Sorcerer Adept to make the attempted blackmail even more serious.

The minister and his cronies had eventually been forcefully portkeyed back to Brittan in the end when they refused to accept the decision, which had been unanimous from the watching representatives. That at least had been amusing to watch, less amusing when Fudge had declared that he, and all his witnesses were permanently barred from entering the country, with automatic execution if they were caught.

Neville hadn't reacted too badly to this, merely shrugging and saying they had been planning on leaving anyways. Luna had just smiled without saying a word. Remus had looked a little worried at first before Hermione had started whispering to him and he had relaxed a bit. No doubt he would be talking to someone about Sirius soon.

Talyn was making sure to stick close to Kelvar as the trial broke up. Far too many people wanted to talk to him and introduce themselves. He was familiar with the bullshit. Although he had to admit that these people were far more polite about it. A tap on his shoulder made him twitch, wings flattening against his back as he turned. Fully expecting another dignitary of some sort to be standing there. He blinked, taking in the form of Luna. Her silver eyes weren't distant like normal. Instead he was pinned by a laser focus. He very quickly decided he liked it better the other way. Luna studied him silently for a long moment before holding out her hand. Talyn hesitated but reached out as well, taking the tiny box from her. She continued to watch him, not saying a word. Talyn hesitated for a moment before opening the box. Inside was a light chain necklace with a pendant of a small silver caps vial. A clear liquid filled the vial three fourths of the way. He stared at it, confused.

"Phoenix Tears." Luna said after a moment, Talyn shot a look at her, startled. She smiled faintly. "You'll need them in a few months. I will give you this advice to go along with it as well. What actually happens matters little in the face of what people think has happened." She smiled again and held out a note. "Read that when the truly absurd happens." She added. Talyn stared.

"My entire life is absurd Luna." He finally said, case in point, he thought. Luna smirked, the expression was strange on her face.

"If you are questioning if it is the right time, then it's not, you'll know when to open it." with that she darted back into the rush of people leaving the court room. Talyn stared after her, uncertain. Looking down at the chain he took it out of the box and put it on, tucking the vial of Pheonix tears out of sight under his shirt, the note went into his pocket, and there it would stay. He wasn't likely to have a chance to grab it out of his trunk when 'the truly absurd happened'

X X X

Somewhere in northern Russia

The tunnel seemed to grow even darker as they descended, it wasn't a physical darkness though. Through the spells they wore they could see clear as day, if not in color. No, this was a different kind of darkness. The kind of dark that hung over you like a physical weight. The kind where every breath of wind was a monster breathing down your back, and every shifting shadow a demon.

Even for a group of people as dangerous as them this darkness was beginning to ware. Most of those from snow point were disabused of any notion of superiority by their second year. No matter how strong you were there was always someone stronger, and they damn well knew it. Daniel resisted the urge to cast wards around himself, they couldn't afford much beyond the ambient magic of the tunnel. The night vision spells were pushing it anyways. Shields and wards would all but paint a massive neon sign over their heads. He really didn't want to personally meet whatever had killed all those people. Their magics suggested civilians, but there had been at least five gryphon's among the dead. And even grounded, and in confines like that, five desperate gryphon's could deal a massive amount of destruction before you even added magic into it. Anything to manage that had to be packing one hell of a punch, and really wasn't something he wanted to meet down a dark tunnel at the ass end of nowhere.

A slight shift in the atmosphere was there only warning before the tunnel abruptly opened up into another cavern. They all froze and shifted to the walls at the sound of movement. Sharp hisses and screeches echoed from the space. There must have been a dampening spell on the entrance for them to not have heard anything until they were practically on top of it. The Naga signaled sharply, Moria nodded and all but dissolved into shadows which slithered forward creeping up to the edge of the tunnel to get a look. She remained there for a long moment before sliding back to them. The vampire reformed and gave the all a look, she was shaking slightly, her eyes a little too wide. She shakily signaled retreat.

They exchanged a look, before glancing back at the tunnel entrance.

The Naga nodded after a moment and signaled the retreat, he didn't know what she had seen, but she could show them her memories later. Whatever it was must be bad, he'd never seen a vampire of her age act like she'd just seen hell itself – they tended to be made of sterner stuff then that.

They made it a few hundred few back up the tunnel when an evil sounding hiss issued from somewhere ahead of them. They all froze. Three sets of worried eyes looked to the Naga, he grimaced.

Knowing he would set off ever ward in the place he sent a magical scan out ahead of them; he paused and growled before straightening. "Two lesser Basilisk." He said flatly, forgoing stealth. There was no point now. The vampire hissed out a curse.

"Still better chances then what's back there." She said nodding back the way they came. Daniel huffed. Fucking lovely.

"Maybe." He agree darkly. "But do we want to get stuck in the middle when whatever back there comes after us? Better to be able to get our backs to a wall."

"That's probably the plan." The Naga agreed sourly. "The basilisks cut off the retreat and they pin any intruders in the tunnel. We need to go back; this tunnel is a death trap."

"I think this whole place is a death trap." Daniel muttered tartly. Moria and the fox kin snorted in agreement. The Naga rolled his eyes.

"Right, kids. Make your peace with death, you'll probably be meeting him soon." He cut in dryly. "But let's take as many others along for the ride that we can." The slightly crazy grins he got in response made him huff out a dark chuckle. "Right. Moria you've gotten a look at the layout already – you're behind me, break for the best cover you can find, I'll bring up the rear. Daniel I want you to try and crack the wards on this place, if we can manage a portkey we might just get out of this alive." Daniel perked up at that, he had pretty much resigned himself t dying dramatically in the middle of nowhere.

"Alright." He agreed. The Naga shifted his form his serpentine body nearly two feet in diameter and what had to be 30 feet long. The human half was easily half again larger than the average person, well in proportion to his snake half. The bristling spines of his hair had stiffening into razor sharp poisoned spikes. The frill protecting his neck and back. With a flick he conjured a massive axe. Daniel moved to the middle of the group, if he going to take the wards down he would need to concentrate, the others would have to try and keep his ass in one piece till then.

"Moria, whats back there?"The Naga asked. The vampire chucked darkly.

"An army of monsters." She answered with a smirk, the others gave her a look. "You think I'm joking?" she snapped. "At the least I saw Wrysa, Coldrakes, a few dozen of what looked like change beasts, and something that I will bet my life was a fucking Makaar." They all stared at her.

"Cold drakes?" the fox echoed. Moria smiled grimly.

"Makaar?" Daniel said, remembering that story from history class. Monsters created by the Dark Adept Ma'ar to fight Gryphons. They looked superficially like gryphon's, if gryphons had be created to star in a horror movie anyways.

"Right, this'll be fun. Hit the drakes first if their by the entrance and keep your eyes on the ground." He ordered before turning and slithering rapidly down the tunnel.

They came upon the exit just as a pair or white Wrysa stepped in. White Wrysa while smaller than their black cousins by a significant degree, were highly poisonous in exchange. The Naga didn't even slow down, or bother resorting to magic. Just twisting as he reached them and throwing a coil of his massive body forward. The Wrysa went flying like rag dolls. The massive vaguely spider like change beast behind it was knocked over. Change beasts were odd, they could look like anything. They were what happened when normal creatures were caught in powerful magic and warped into something other. Most creatures didn't survive, but those that did were a different sort of monster entirely.

Once the Naga had cleared the entrance the rest of them came pilling out behind him, following Moria as she cut left, blasting back another Wrysa back at the same time. Within moments they had their backs to a cleft in the rock, the Naga parked in front and using his magic resistant scales to take some of the wild magic being thrown their way.

Daniel took an instant to survey their opponents and felt his heart sink into his boots. They were fucked, simple as that. There had to be a few hundred magical monstrosities in the cave. Some were recognizable monsters, like the Wrysa and the colddrakes, others were just a mishmash of nightmares. He turned his attention to the wards and felt himself grow even grimmer. There was no chance he could break these down enough for a portkey. Not a fucking chance.

But…they couldn't afford for news of this place to not reach someone, anyone, at this point he didn't care about snowpoint security. He had to get a message out. With a single thought he transmitted this to the others via mind speech, no words really were needed. They didn't falter but he sensed their agreement. With single minded determination he began picking apart a specific section of wards. They were strong, but not as strong as the ones blocking every form of magical transport. Next to him the ground was torn apart as Moria ripped a change beast resembling the unholy child of a scorpion and bat apart. He was halfway done when the fox went down under the talons of a Makaar. The creature's jagged beak ripping her head clean off. The Naga twisted a spell blasting from his hand and hurling it into the cave wall, shattering every bone in its body. Daniel tried to work faster but the wards were trying to heal themselves even as he tore them apart. The only reason he was getting anywhere with it was because he knew better then to just try and blast through and picked apart the threads connecting the layers before attacking each one separately.

Another dozen layers broke apart as Moria finally went down in spray of blood. Nearly thirty Wrysa tearing her apart. Daniel split his attention casting a shield between himself and the Wrysa even as the Naga backed up to try and defend all three sides. Luckily these were all the white variety so shields worked.

"Daniel." The Naga hissed warningly as a massive colddrake shoved other monsters aside to get closer to them, Daniel ignored him tearing through three more layers. The last layer collapsed just as the Naga was torn off the ground by the colddrake. The old Naga didn't go that easily thought, putting a long dagger through the drakes eye and straight into its brain even as its fangs punched through him. They both hit the ground with a heavy thud, dead. Daniels shield shuddered as another change beast hit it, a second right behind it. Without looking up he focused not on his magic, but on his life, pulling hard. The shield wavered and died as everything he had was directed into a single spell. The amplified mindspeech blasted outward like a shock wave. Carrying with it not words, but images. The memory other everything since they had landed. The power of his life fueling his mind magic far beyond what he was naturally capable of. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

People with mindspeech as far away as china were seized by a sudden horrible vision of the battle in the cavern - watching as one by one as the fighters fell and Daniels desperate gamble to get a message out.

Pandemonium erupted across the continent.

X X X

Back in the cavern there was only silence and the occasional soft hiss. The corpses lay where they had fallen, having been abandoned the moment the last one fell. A feminine form walked across the cave. Every monster and beast hastily getting out of her way. The woman looked almost human, but warped ever so slightly, inhuman traits putting her apart. But there was no doubt that she was far more than merely another beast here.

She paused at the pile of bodies, studying them intently before heaving a sigh and taking in the shattered wards. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "And here I was hoping to have a bit more time to deal with the situation." She sighed, thoughts turning to the young Sorcerer Adept who had appeared only weeks before. She hated it when she had to rush.

X X X

Quetzal – my thoughts when I finished this chapter 'fuck, finally' on another note a number of pictures I hunted down from Larry Dixons original work for the valdamar series are now up on snowpoints tumblr. This includes pics of both kinds of gryphon, a makaar, and a Wrysa. Just search snow point on tumblr its one of the first ones that comes up.

Now following this in a few hours, sometime tomorrow morning with be a short interlude, it is already written so don't worry about delays. If you're curious about our new friend we just met stay tuned, it's time for a bit of backstory.