Once on the other side of the gate, Dan and I were halted by a stone gargoyle that was placed on a stone pillar. Giving it a polite nod, the gargoyle narrowed its yellow eyes at me for a moment before addressing us. "Much has changed outside the necropolis: roads and paths go this way, streams and rivers go that way. Agonizing deaths await around every corner, and over every hill. Good luck to you." it said as it went back to sleep.

Patting Dan's shoulder as he gulped, I led the way further down the dirt path, halting suddenly as a bright-blue portal formed itself in the middle of the trail. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dan smiled at me before gesturing to the portal. "Shall we then?" he asked as I nodded, before both of us stepped through the portal at the same time, eager to meet whoever wishes to speak with us in the Hall of Heroes.

After we had stepped off the pedestal, I decided to walk on the outside of the glass on the walkway, as to avoid a repeat of my last visit to this heavenly place. As I walked past the large table now-filled with many kinds of food and drink, I removed my helmet out of respect as Dan and I once again approached Stanyer; who was beckoning us to him.

Grateful that the other heroes had stopped their harsh whispers, I smiled and politely bowed to Stanyer in greeting, who gave a wide smile in return. Even though he hadn't said anything, I could still feel him taking in my scar before Dan wrapped his arm around my shoulders to make him stop. "Bravo Fortesque, bravo Stormhunter! Some of the other chaps around here had waged that Zarok would be using your ribcage as a toast rack while Lady Stormhunter would loyally be serving as his Champion by now, but I knew the two of you would emerge victorious." he said a I slightly hid behind Dan at the thought of serving that madman against my will while Dan stood straighter in my defense.

"No disrespect, but if you would refrain from saying such things, it will be much appreciated." Dan said as Stanyer suddenly coughed, as if he suddenly understood why I had hid. "My apologies Lady Stormhunter, I had not meant to admit such a thing, I was simply explaining the other chaps' thoughts on the two of you." he said as he bowed in apology before turning to Dan again. "Here, as a token of my sincerity, please accept this. It may aid you in your quest in more ways than one." he said as he pulled out a Harlech potion from his satchel.

"Unless of course you don't want it, will you accept this gift of mine?" Stanyer asked as I stepped out from behind Dan. "Yes please, I don't know how you are getting these potions, but the ones from Harlech are the best. If only they would decrease the stinging factor a bit, now THAT would be great." I said while glancing at Dan, who turned away sheepishly.

Taking the potion and putting it in his satchel, Dan and I bid Stanyer farewell and returned to the portal, ready to be out of the graveyard and finally put a stop to Zarok's evil deeds. Stumbling slightly on the uneven ground, Dan and I found ourselves in a huge wheat field complete with scarecrows and an overcast sky. Taking a moment to actually find the right direction to go, I saw an old rotten wooden gate that cut the path in half.

Nudging Dan, we approached the gate and jumped over it, well Dan was far more graceful than I. 'Damn boots are trying to kill me.' I thought bitterly as the toe of my boot caught the top of the fence, causing me to face-plant the ground. Coughing out dust, I kicked a stone at the skeletal Knight as he snickered at my mishap. "Yeah? Just you wait Dan: sooner or later the same thing's going to happen to you." I grumbled as I walked past a scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern face.

Aside from the cries of the crows, I could've sworn I heard that creepy scarecrow laugh as we passed. 'Okay the scarecrows are alive, why am I not surprised? Better not warn Dan, his face will be priceless if one jumps out at him.' I thought evilly as the thought of his reaction would be the perfect payback for him laughing at me. Quickening my pace until I was walking next to him, I glanced mischievously at him out of the corner of my eye as I hummed a rather suspicious tune, causing Dan to stop walking and turn to me.

"You seem to be in a pleasant mood." he said with a smile, causing my own grin to widen as I saw one of those scarecrows slowly making its way over to him through the wheat. "Yeah, I feel better now that we are out of that graveyard and away from all those zombies." I said while watching the scarecrow stop directly behind the skeletal Knight. 'This is going to be GLORIOUS!' I thought as I bit my tongue to keep from laughing as Dan nodded. "Indeed, for I too am glad to be free of that place. However, that tune sounded a bit TOO happy Saphira. What are you hiding?" he asked suspiciously as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What makes you think I'm hiding anything, you don't trust me?" I asked with a hurt tone in my voice, making him immediately protest, just as the scarecrow raised its gnarled hands and dropped them over his shoulder plates with a dull clank. What happened next HAD to be the most rewarding revenge of all time: stopping mid-sentence, he slowly looked down as the scarecrow's wooden fingers flicked toward his face. Gulping, he looked over his shoulder and came face-to-face with the scarecrow before his eye sockets widened to an almost impossible size as his top jaw drooped.

As he started trembling in fright, he let out the most feminine scream I had ever heard a man make in my life before he spun around and fainted in the dirt. By that point I had fallen over laughing my ass off as the scarecrow hopped out of the wheat on its pole. Reaching under my helmet, I wiped the tears from my eyes before sitting up just in time to have the scarecrow swipe me in the face with its branches, not that I had felt it through my helmet.

"Now that was impolite of you Mr. Scarecrow, I was just about to congratulate you for scaring my friend after he had laughed at me. Now I'm going to have to kill you." I said as I stood up and grabbed hold of its arms and pulled, exposing the stuffing inside its body before I yanked its arms off completely, killing it for good. As I glanced at the wooden arms in my hands, I decided to hold onto them in case I felt like messing with Dan again, or needed to reach something.

Crouching down next to him, I gently shook him as he starting coming around from his faint. Shaking his skull, he looked over at me just as I had started laughing again. "I take it you knew it would do that." he stated as I nodded with a snicker. "I told you that was going to happen: I told you right after you had laughed at me that it was going to happen, not my fault you hadn't listened." I replied as I helped him up and dusted him off. "Indeed you did, now I have a reason to punish you for your insubordination." he said in a darker voice as his face split into an evil grin of its own, causing me to involuntarily gulp as he slowly crept closer as I backed up.

Closing his eye, he approached me with two empty eye sockets and a malicious smile on his face, making him look like something even Zarok would be scared of. "C-come on now Dan, i-it was nothing personal, j-just good fun. Oh shit!" I squeaked with wide eyes as he slowly drew his faded crimson-stained sword with a sinister chuckle that had almost matched Death's own laugh. 'Almighty gods! Who knew he could be THIS frightening?! This is getting too much.' I thought as I suddenly found myself backed into a corner of the fence as he kept walking towards me in a threatening manner, his steps slow and deliberate.

"A-alright Dan you win, you win!" I yelped as he suddenly swung his sword right where my head was and would've taken it had I not ducked and rolled out of the way. "Where are you running off to little Jabberwocky? I thought we were having fun!" he cackled as he swung at me again, this time grazing my side pretty good. 'He's gone MAD!' I thought in panic as he used the opportunity to stomp down on my chest, pinning me down and unable to escape. Even though I cared for him dearly, I was NOT going to sit there and let him kill me: just as he was about to finish me off, I wrapped my feet around his ankles and tripped him, causing him to fall over on his back as I jumped on top of him and pinned him down.

As he struggled under me, I looked into his eye sockets and discovered the reason behind Dan's insane behavior: within the depths of his hollow eyes, was the faintest hint of bright-green magic. 'I KNEW it!' I growled to myself as I glared into the empty eyes of my beloved Knight. "Zarok you bastard! You knew that scarecrow would transfer your evil magic over to Dan so you could possess him! That's low, even for you and luckily for him, I know just how to free him from you." I snarled as he suddenly tried even harder to escape, causing me to pin his thrashing limbs down so he couldn't reach his sword.

Ripping my helmet off with one hand, I held his skull still and kissed his jaw, causing Zarok's magic to disappear in a small cloud of green mist as I climbed off of him and pulled out a Harlech potion from his satchel to heal myself, hopefully before Dan got back up so I wouldn't need to explain how I became wounded and further strain our already-complicated relationship.