A/N: VIOLENCE! The battle begins.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 21

Tor did not normally feel fear. But in the days nearing the battle his fear had escalated continuously, nearly overwhelming him. The knight threw himself into rigorous training to keep his thoughts from straying into darkness. But now, standing in front of the black forest of Shadowglen Woods, the time nearing five in the morning, he felt nothing but calm. He turned to the patrol behind him and met the eyes of Hubert. "It's time. Addison should be there by now. Once we enter the forest we'll split up. Arnie, Turk, Korbin, Aldwin, and Dumpus, you're with me. Ignatius, you need to lead the second patrol starting from the western side. My father and Bruce will help you to navigate." Tor looked at the two healers that were with them, two young aishas not much older than himself. "Daphne, you'll go with us. Ashlee, you're with Ignatius."

"Alright, Tor. And if my team sees the Assassin?" Ignatius asked.

Tor reached into a pouch hanging from his belt and pulled out a metal sphere the size of his fist. "This is a smoke bomb. All you've got to do it pull this pin out right here and it will release smoke. I'll have my eye out for it."

Ignatius looked at the smoke bomb curiously, it being a foreign object to him. "Where'd you get this?"

"I know a guy." Actually, Tor had gotten it from Rory, along with two more. He shady map seller had figured that he might find it useful in the battle. "Now, from this point on, no more talking. You have to work together. These creatures aren't all too hard to fight, but there's a lot of them. Keep Daphne and Ashlee away from harm. If you're hit, get to one of them before the poison spreads. We'll meet at the Northern tip at the big sycamore. Everyone ready?" When nobody responded, Tor moved forward, keeping his sword in his sheath. An air mote was already equipped, the strongest Tor could find in his store. Even in the sheath there was still a faint, silver glow, tinted with a light blue.

It was so dark in the tunnel that Tor was just barely able to see ahead of him. But when he turned a corner Shadowglen came into view, small amounts of light filtering through the trees. Tor looked to Ignatius and pointed to the west, indicating that it was time to split up. The neopets formed into two groups, moving to their respective sides. Tor slid out of the tunnel and moved with his group into the trees at the edge of the large clearing. He looked at Turk and hissed, "Keep your eyes to the right and watch through the trees. Aldwin, Dumpus, you do the same."

The three nodded and followed the order, fixing their eyes on their right side to watch for anything sneaking through the trees. Tor continued on, keeping his footsteps light and silent. The others copied his movements to keep quiet. Not a single plant monster could be seen though and soon Tor began to feel uneasy. Had the Assassin known of the attack?

There was a small sound out in the clearing and Tor came to a halt, holding up his right hand to signal his team to stop. The sound had been quiet and he barely heard it, but it had sounded like some low grumbling noise. Tor looked at his team. "Stay here." Nobody questioned the order. Tor knew better than any of them what he was doing. He slid silently from the trees, keeping his hand on his sword hilt as he crept forward toward the sound. He kept low, crouching behind boulders and crawling on the ground in the cover of a fallen tree. Now the sound was distinctly louder.

Tor peeked over the side of the fallen tree; just enough so that he could see what was on the other side. Two plant creatures were moving back and forth, passing one another just inches from where Tor was hiding. He dropped back down onto his stomach and waited, holding his breath before poking his head back up. He could see no other creatures in the area. The two that were pacing turned at the same time and began heading toward one another and Tor quickly hid again, waiting until they passed by him. Then, quick as a flash, he vaulted over the side of the tree, pulling his sword from his sheath, and sliced the head from one of the creatures. The other one turned at the sound of the head hitting the ground, but before it could make a sound, its head was also rolling over the ground, leaving a bright green trail of ooze. Tor grimaced at the mess.

Before Tor could begin to think about his next move, there was the drumming of footsteps, but it wasn't the footsteps of his team. He knew that. If it was them then he wouldn't hear anything at all as long as they obeyed his order to keep quiet. Tor ducked behind a particularly large mushroom that hid him completely in its shadow. A large group of all species of the monsters that resided in Shadowglen ran past him, there movement awkward, but at the same time in sync. Tor stayed where he was until they had gone and then he ran, still managing to keep his footsteps light.

He took a wide circle around the creatures and ran through the trees until he came face to face with the tip of a sword. He followed the blade up to the wielder's face.

"Tor!" Turk hissed in surprise, lowering the sword. Behind him was the rest of the group, still watching for attackers.

"Follow me. There's a group of them heading eastern corner it looks like. We can cut them off and get rid of them. Then we'll meet up with Ignatius at the Northern point as planned."

"Lead the way then."

Tor took the lead again, moving at a quick pace. He didn't want to lose the targets. But it wasn't long before he saw them, still awkwardly running, some with long arms that flailed around and some that hopped on all fours like large, leaved mortogs. Instead of fighting, or carried on past them a few yards around a bend to the right so that they were out of sight. Then Tor stopped and turned toward the others. "Just stay here. When you see them come around the corner, we'll jump out and attack them by surprise. Daphne, you take cover here."

"Ah, how we gonna kill them things?" Dumpus asked, scratching his head. Tor began to wonder why he put the drunkard on his team.

"You've got a sword. You swing it. Want my advice? Aim for the heads." He pricked his ears up and heard the sound of rapid footsteps, or whatever those creatures used to walk. He readied his sword. "They're here."

He leaped out of the trees just as the first monster came around the bend. Tor blasted it away with a gust of piercing wind. Three more were caught in the crossfire and ripped to shreds. Tor leapt to the side as monsters began spitting their acid at him. Unfortunately, Dumpus wasn't able to raise his shield in time and caught some of the acid above his eye. Tor sent him back to Daphne and sent Arnie to cover him back to the tree line. Already everyone was in full battle.

For Tor, the plant creatures were no challenge. He'd fought so many of them within his lifetime and he knew every weak spot they had. He could move far faster than them, and easily outmaneuver them. They were nothing. That was part of the reason he had put himself here when making the battle plans. He could take all of the monsters on his own, except for Roberta. The small army behind him wouldn't even be needed.

Just as the battle thinned out Tor heard the clamor of more of the creatures making their way toward the group, having heart the racket of battle. Tor looked over his shoulder at his team, seeing that they were all still locked into battle. Dumpus was back, the poison having been cleared from his system.

"More are coming!" He called. "Be ready!"

Just as the first rounded the corner, an arrow whizzed through the air and sank through its thin neck. Addison. Three more arrows sliced through the air one after the other and each one hit their mark. By then the second wave had already hit and Tor had already taken down three enemies with a clean slice. Tor raised his shield against the acid that flew at him as he ran toward another of the monsters. His sword penetrated easily and the plant creature didn't even have time to react before it was dead. Tor kicked the body from his sword and swung the blade again in a fluid movement, killing another.

It didn't last long. A short span of only a few minutes passed before a single arrow shot through the head of the last enemy and it fell with a small thud. Tor looked around at his team, checking them for injuries. Turk was back with Daphne, getting a remedy for the poison he'd been hit with. Everyone else was there, already showing signs of slight fatigue. Tor still felt the energy coursing through his veins.

"Let's get back to the trees, find Turk and keep moving." He said. "There's going to be more, so be prepared."

He led the way back to the cover of the trees and found Turk and Daphne. There was a burn mark from the acid on his left cheek, but he was otherwise unharmed. Tor felt a small sense of relief that there had been so few injuries so far. There wasn't much more land to cover before they reached the Sycamore tree.

…

Tor dropped down from the branches of the sycamore, having spotted Ignatius's group slinking through the trees. They'd already been waiting for several minutes, several agonizingly slow minutes. "They're nearly here," he whispered to Turk who had been searching the trees since they'd arrived at the meeting place. Probably worrying about Aryanna and his father. Tor hadn't worried about his own father once. Hubert was capable of taking care of himself.

"You saw them?" Turk questioned.

"I can hear them now."

Turk sighed with relief. "So that means that there was no run-ins with the Assassin."

Tor shook his head. "It's not over yet, but I doubt we'll be seeing him here. What he's doing here is most likely just a distraction from the real threat."

"Then why put yourself here in the plans?" Turk asked. "You ought to be searching for the assassin! If you think he's with the pack, that's where you should be. Not here fighting little pests."

"Now isn't the time to talk!" Tor growled. A split second later there was the slight rustle of leaves and Ignatius appeared. He raised his sword for a second until he recognized Tor. "See anything?"

Ignatius nodded. "We ran into a few groups of them. None escaped."

"Injuries?" Tor questioned, glancing over at the group.

"A few burns here and there. Nothing serious." Ignatius reported. Tor nodded. "What next?"

Tor pointed out through the trees. "There are sorts of dens that need to be cleaned out. Five of them. They're mostly hidden by vines so we'll stick together this time. I know where they are. Like before, this needs to be done quietly." He was about to lead the way forward but Turk cut him off, drawing his sword to bar Tor's way. Tor stared at his old friend incredulously. "Lower your sword Turk. What do you think you're doing exactly?" He glanced over at Ignatius who hand a hand on his sword hilt, ready to stop Turk from doing anything.

"You shouldn't be here Tor. You should be out trying to find the assassin to end all of this. We don't need you to help fight off a couple of plants."

"Lower your sword," Tor repeated in a low growl. Turk just held steady. Tor closed his eyes and faded into Smoke Step. The world around him was completely still. Tor stepped under Turk's sword and around him, raising a hand just inches away from the back of Turk's neck. And then he ended the spell, reappearing in a cloud of smoke. He quickly put his hand on the back of Turk's neck while his friend was still confused by what happened. Turk immediately went rigid. "I told you that I was done talking about this, Turk." He lowered his arm and stepped away, letting Turk turn to face him with a defiant expression.

"Tor he's right," Hubert spoke up. Tor looked over at his father, annoyed. "You should be where you're needed. That isn't here. We can handle this fine. You ought to be out trying to find the Assassin and being somewhere where you will actually be useful."

Tor knew that they were right, but he was still reluctant to leave. And it was all for selfish reasons. Even Roberta had argued with him about his decision, but she eventually gave in without Tor ever even giving her a reason. Now he shook his head at himself and his stubbornness. "I know that." His shoulders slumped slightly before he stood straight again, his voice commanding. "Ignatius, work with my father. You're both in charge."

"Where are you going?" Aryanna asked.

"First to Cogham. Then to the coast." He pulled a scroll from his belt and handed it to Hubert. "This is a map of the woods. It's got every little corner, tunnel, anything you would need to know. You shouldn't run into too much trouble. When you've finished unis will be waiting for you outside of the woods near the river. They'll take you to the base."

"Tor, we know all of this," Hubert reminded him. "Go on. We'll see you in a while."

He nodded once. Before he could even try to get out of leaving, he disappeared into a cloud of purple, concentrating hard on Cogham village, just near the mayor's residence at the top of the waterfall that overlooked the village. The typical setting for a leader, somewhere in which he could look over his people, watch over them.

Jurgin himself was just outside the door, completely still, his eyes trained on the entrance into the steps. He had no way of knowing that or was right there, because really, he wasn't. Not in the normal sense anyway. Having a moment to spare, Tor stepped closer and studied the older man's aged face, lined with worry for the neopets of his village who were fighting.

Satisfied that those left in the village were safe for the time being, Tor instantly moved father into the steppes, where signs of battle began to grow frequent. There was the occasional body, comrade or foe. Tor faded out of Smoke step upon seeing the fallen body of a tribe member, his spear laying a few inches away, russet fur stained with blood. Slowly he kneeled down and closed the ixi's eyes gently with his fingers.

And then he continued on, choosing to go by foot from then on. He could hear the sounds of battle already; the clash of metal, angry, pained cries, sounds that Tor knew well and they weren't far off. If he were to look hard enough he could even see the archers lined up strategically on the cliffs, right when he placed them in the plans. In a second he had transported himself up next to Laertes who was pulling back the string of his bow. The guard jumped in shock, but quickly recognized Tor and lowered the bow.

"What are you doing here? I was told—"

"Change of plans," Tor said quickly, cutting him off. He turned his eyes to the bloody scene below them. Bodies dropped every second, only to be dragged away by the healers and then sent back a few minutes later. It wasn't something that could be kept up for very long. "It seems that you could use some help here."

"It's rough," Laertes admitted. He aimed his bow steadily and let an arrow fly. Tor watched it sink right through the arm of an ixi archer on a separate cliff. "We've got our work cut out for us, keeping the archers at bay. There's many more than we expected."

"I'll see what I can do. The Assassin?"

"No sign of him."

Tor nodded curtly, suppressing a small growl of annoyance. "Very well. I'll take out a few of the archers and then help out below."

"Good luck Tor."

"And you."

The first thing that Tor did was move himself to a position behind one of the ixi archers who was aiming down below. Before the archer could release the arrow, Tor kicked out with his foot, startling the ixi and throwing off his aim. The arrow flew to the left and snapped in two against the rocks. Tor ducked under the bow that was swung at him, the sharpened stones that were tied to it just barely missing his ears. He blocked a second attack with his sword, angling the blade so that it went between the bowstring and the limb. He wrenched his sword back and pulled the bow from the ixi's grip with his sword. Then, in one fluid motion, he tossed the bow to the side and sliced his sword. His opponent dropped.

Tor averted his eyes from the mess and picked up the bow before reaching for the quiver of arrows. He put an arrow into place and drew back the string, taking careful aim on another archer. The ixi went down moments later. Tor carried on with the process, taking out as many archers as he could until he ran out of arrows. Then he strapped the bow to his back, deciding it was time to enter the close combat battle. His eyes scanned the battlefield and landed on a body that was strewn across the ground. Master Torak was barely recognizable under the blood that covered his body. Even though Tor knew that it was just an image, that his mentor was still very much alive somewhere, his head reeled for a few moments at the sight.

Wrenching his eyes from Master Torak, Tor saw that Grayson was being overcome by a group of ixies right below him. He leapt down from the cliff, a knife clenched into his fist as he dropped on top of an ixi. It fell from under his weight and Tor killed it quickly. He dodged a spear, twisting to the side just in time to side-step the point and grab the weapon. He jerked it back to throw his opponent of balance and finished him off in a heartbeat, pausing to give his remorse. Grayson sent the other two ixies bounding off in a different direction moments later, looking at Tor in shock.

"Thanks, for that. What are you doing here?"

"Searching for the Assassin," Tor answered, raising his shield in time to block an incoming arrow. "Laertes told me he hasn't been seen."

"Nope. Not that I'm aware of anyway."

Tor cursed. Suddenly his legs were swept out from under him and he hit the hard ground. He rolled onto his back to see a spear coming down at his chest. Luckily the magic in his armor was able to hold against the force and it merely rebounded away, sending vibrations up the shaft. Tor kicked out strongly at the ixi's front legs which buckled down immediately. Tor punched him, the connection creating a metallic sound as the ixi slumped, out cold.

Grayson was engaged in another battle but seemed to be holding his own well again, despite his wounds. Tor moved deeper into the fray where the fighting was thick. Dawson was fighting viciously, keeping up with the fight well even with his wounds and little training, his he was obviously weakened. Tor fought his way over to the squire. "Dawson, go and find a healer!" he ordered.

"I can still fight!" Dawson protested stubbornly.

"Follow the orders given to you! This fight will not last much longer! Go seek medical attention and then you can come back!" Dawson looked furious and ready to argue but Tor didn't give him any time. He just turned away and parried an attack with his sword, using the ixi's momentum against her and tripping her with the spear she carried. Glancing back he could see Dawson darting away from the midst of the battle to go and find some cover to be healed. Tor once again focused on his opponent who was picking herself up from the ground.

Tor got a good look at her, something he didn't normally like doing when faced with enemies. She was young, maybe even younger than he was and behind the brave front, Tor could see the terror in her eyes. He lowered his weapon slightly. "I will give you a single chance. Leave this fight. You have no chance of winning."

To his surprise she took a step closer. He raised his sword in his left hand and his knife in the other, ready for an attack. And then she bowed low to the ground, laying her spear at his feet. "Thank you."

Her muscles tensed as she prepared herself to run, but Tor stopped her, a sudden thought coming to his mind. "Wait. Do you know the whereabouts of the Assassin?"

Her eyes turned fearful again and she looked around quickly as though searching for the dark figure. "Check the mines. I have heard that he has set up a base there. It may only be a rumor however." And then she left, taking of in a run before Tor could ask another question.

The mines. The confusing network of tunnels that ran deep below Neopia's surface. Tor had hoped that he wouldn't have to venture down there again. He hoped for many things though, few of which ever happened, some of which did. He glanced around for a couple moments at the battle that raged around him. With the number of archers diminished, the fight would go more smoothly for the allied side. They didn't need him. With a great amount of concentration, he began smoke step, finding himself in that separate dimension that he controlled by his own will. With a bit more concentration, the scene of the battle was replaced with the darkness of the abandoned mines.

The magical process ended abruptly, sending Tor down to his knees panting from the exhaustion. He had used the technique too many times for his body to handle in such a small amount of time, far more than he had used it previously and over longer distances. He was pushing his magical core too hard. Any harder and he was completely drain it and render himself helpless. He waited for the discomfort to fade away, just sitting there for several minutes to recover.

"I can't do that again," he told himself as he got onto his feet again. "Not for a while anyway." He looked down the passageway in thought. How was he supposed to find the Assassin by himself? There was so much area to cover in little time. It would be far too difficult to sniff him out. While Tor had an incredibly strong sense of smell, that meant nothing when one was underground. With Roberta with him she could sense the Assassin's magical signature, but Roberta wasn't there with him, one of the faults in their plan.

With a sigh, Tor began his journey through the mines.