Section Six: Black Jade

            Fox stopped just before entering the forest, gaze growing distant. The convoy halted behind him, watching him.

            "Fox?" Falco finally asked.

            "This forest…" He trailed off, then strode ahead, almost double-time, vaulting off his unicorn even as it trotted.

            "Our ranger-trained leader is uncomfortable in the woods. This does not bode well for us." Peppy remarked as they followed. As they went deeper and deeper into the forest, the trees closed in around the path, branches growing thicker over them.

            "More true then not." Fara said, eyes watching what she could of Fox, reaching out to touch his mind, not surprised when an apologetic feeling touched her, then her mind was brushed away.

            After less then an hour, their path was covered with thick green moss, and the light that made it through the canopy above them was soft and green. The steps of their horses seemed muffled; voices seemed pressed down to a murmur. The wheels of the cart carved divots and ruts into the moss, iron horseshoes left half-circle indents. Only Fox and his steed left no mark of passing, walking twenty to thirty feet ahead of the convoy.

            "What magic fills this place?" Falco asked, uncomfortable in the 'silence' around him that seemed to press out his voice.

            "Nature is still wild here." Katt remarked, Rita nodding in agreement. "Man is not welcome here, but this path is at least mildly enchanted, or it would have been overgrown shortly after being made."

            "We are not too deep into the forest yet. By the end of the day, the leaves above us will seem nearly black." Said Julian. "There is evil here, but it is evil without intention." He looked at Rita. "I am glad you are traveling with us. Perhaps a Priestess of Obad-hai will help bring us luck…"

            Alan, riding his horse instead of in the cart, had been quietly singing a song to himself for the last while. He had quickly discovered the discord his violin had with nature, so started singing, weaving songs as he went. As time passed though he nudged his horse forward, listening to conversation, watching ahead of them as Fox seemed to pass like a ghost or a panther, focused on the environment. "Would you say that he is at home here?" Alan hazarded, trying to come up with words for a minstrel song about McCloud's journeys.

            "I think so." Bill shook his head in amazement.

            "I have grown to enjoy staying in Fox's cabin, but this forest disturbs me." Julian remarked. "Perhaps it is his Elven blood."

            The others agreed.

            'This forest is different from my own…'

            Fox crouched for a moment, pressing his fingers together, contemplating the area around him for several long moments.

            'This is a forest that I could get lost in.'

            His unicorn nudged his shoulder, and he stood and continued moving, tail waving.

            'This forest… there is something wrong here. Perhaps the touch of Andross never left?' He glanced at his unicorn and familiar, who looked back at him.

            Osiris blinked back, and images filtered to him.

            'Dire beasts? Elves too? I am not surprised. We must keep an eye out; we have no wish to anger anything that lives here…'

            "Fox?"

            "Mm?" He glanced back at his convoy, which seemed to be watching him closely.

            "Something wrong?"

            "No. Merely working out the magic around me. Many, many magical creatures live here… but I do not think we are in danger. Still, though, we should try and progress through here as fast as possible without disturbing the denizens."

            "Lead the way." Falco said. "I'm very uncomfortable here."

            By the end of the day, Fox had found time to remove his armor, quiver and bow on his back, seeming oddly in tune with the forest around them. None of the convoy was surprised, quietly setting up for a cold camp and going about their business.

            "So what makes this place so different from any other forest?" Slippy asked, flipping through one of his books, searching for any reference to the Black Forest. "There is magic here, I feel it."

            "Yes there is." Katt agreed, sitting next to him and picking up one of his other books.

            Fara sighed, sitting and opening up one of the other books laying around. Slippy seemed to carry an entire library in his bag of holding. Touching Fox with her mind, she only got a peaceful blank—he was meditating. "How many more days will we be traveling through this place?"

            "Two to four." Julian said. "Depending on weather, pace, and if the trails have stayed the same." He crouched next to her. "The shorter, the better, in my mind. Fox seems oddly unsettled."

            "I think we all are." She glanced toward Fox, who was sitting on the perimeter of the camp, cross-legged and head bowed.

            "You didn't think adventuring would be like this, did you?" Bill asked, also sitting.

            "I'm not sure what I was expecting." She admitted. "But I like it."

            "It's not going to get easier." Peppy sighed, looking at maps. "By far."

            "I'm sure we all know that." Falco said, laying on his back, glaring at the canopy of leaves above him. "What we do sounds like lunacy, you know that? Ten people on a quest for an artifact to help the world come back to balance…"

            "It will make a wonderful ballad." Replied Alan, scribbling on some parchment in demented shorthand that for all the others knew was Chinese. "Or a minstrel song."

            "I have no doubt." Fara smiled at him, and was rewarded with a blindingly bright grin.

            "I'm writing that song right now actually… I was going to talk to Fox about it, but…" Alan chewed on the end of his quill absently. "He's too busy listening to the sound of one hand clapping."

            "Be nice." Peppy shamed.

            "Too busy doing WHAT?" Falco asked at the same time.

            Alan laughed.

            "Is it my mistake, or does this group grow more … interesting with each passing day?" Rita asked, arms crossed and smiling.

            "I think they've decided to join me in my lack of sanity." Alan cheerfully replied.

            "Ok, that's enough." Peppy sighed. "We should get some sleep. We'll want to leave at first light…"

            Fox sat up with a gasp, chest heaving with heavy breaths, rubbing his eyes with a shaking hand, shaking with a cold sweat. After several long minutes he composed himself, shaking off and standing, bringing up a magical light over his shoulder very dimly.

            It was, he judged, about three hours until sunrise. His convoy was fast asleep, dreaming. He carefully walked to the edge of the camp, and paced, working his arms. Usually when he dreamed, it was either of his future or past, and usually pleasant. He very rarely had nightmares, and if he was, it was for a reason. He supposed it was one of the quieter ways that Heironeous told him things. Now he was completely sure that someone wanted him dead. He just wasn't sure who, or why.

            He froze in his pacing as howls echoed through the air, twisting an ear, listening carefully. His unicorn stirred and stood, blinking at him.

            "Dire wolves?" He asked his steed quietly, and the unicorn nodded once. "They know we're here, don't they?" When his unicorn nodded again, he hung his katana at his side, tied his tunic, and swiftly left the camp, listening to the howls as he went. His unicorn followed, also listening.

            After a few hundred yards, the path turned, and about a hundred after that it opened up into a clearing. Fox slowed his stride, then stopped completely, looking across the clearing. A pair of yellow eyes stared back at him.

            "You are one of them."

            Fox slowly stepped forward to the center of the clearing, and as he did, over a dozen dire wolves melted from the forest around him, surrounding him and his unicorn. The pack leader, which was the one directly facing him, stepped closer to him, staring at him. He returned the gaze, then slowly kneeled, dropping his eyes from the dire wolf's. The wolf stepped closer, and Fox didn't wince as he felt the cold nose snuffle over his shoulder and head, the dire wolf's teeth at once point glancing over one of his ears.

            "Why are you here, human?"

            "We did not mean to intrude on your territory, pack leader. We are merely passing through." Though he heard only growls, his unicorn relayed the loose translation to him, and he had a basic idea from his years in the forest. "We will be gone in the morning."

            "Why should I let you leave?! Your companions sleep, throats exposed. You would be easy kills."

            "Thus why I am depending on your mercy. My companions and I are on a mission that might, in the end, save the world. Save this forest. We mean no harm and will not hunt on your land."

            There was very long pause, and the huge teeth snapped at his ears again, one canine connecting. He felt the blood start to run, but didn't wince.

            "How can I believe you?"

            "I am a small portion Elven. I have lived my life in forests. I respect you more then I respect the human king. Also, I cannot lie, I am a direct servant of my god."

            Again, the nip, this time harder, his other ear. He inhaled slowly, closing his eyes, wondering if his throat was going to be ripped out even with his efforts.

            "You must believe me."

            The dire wolf looked at Fox's unicorn, who peacefully looked back, touching her nose to Fox's shoulder.

            "You put a unicorn in your servitude?!" The dire wolf snarled, knocking him over and pinning him on his back, more then ready to rip out his throat.

            "No!" Fox cried, swallowing hard as he felt teeth circle his neck, but did not struggle. "I am a servant of Heironeous! My steed came to me! I do not hold her to stay, she does so by will!"

            "Is this true?" The wolf looked at the unicorn, who nodded once. "Strange this is… Do you SWEAR you will be gone by tomorrow?"

            "First light."

            The dire wolf released him and stepped back. "Go back to your pack. We will let you live."

            Fara stirred and sat up. She wasn't sure why, but her rather pleasant dream had been disturbed by feelings of fear. As she tried to relax, still sitting, she saw Fox approach the camp, his unicorn following.

            "Go back to sleep." He remarked quietly to her as he settled back down, mage light dimming.

            She blinked and leaned toward him. "Are you bleeding?"

            "Go to sleep." Was his slightly sharp reply. "It is nothing."

            "I doubt that." Was the matter-of-fact reply, and she moved to sit next his bedroll. "Let me see."

            "It's nothing, Fara."

            "Fox."

            He sighed heavily, and the mage light reappeared, just bright enough for her to see the wounds. They were somewhat shallow puncture wounds on both ears, the blood having run liberally down his ears and cheeks.

            "These should be cleaned at the very least." She shook her head. "What happened?"

            He didn't reply, sitting back up and letting her wipe the blood away with a dampened cloth, allowing a few moments of idle relaxation.

            "What happened?"

            "I saved our lives." He replied very quietly. "A pack of dire wolves planned to raid the camp and kill all of us."

            She gaped down at him.

            "I negotiated with the pack leader, the alpha male. He did not like me much, but he agreed to let us go. The nips are expressions of his displeasure."

            "Nips?" She shook her head. "If these were any deeper, they would have completely punctured through, Fox."

            "Yes, nips. You've never seen a dire wolf, have you?" When she shook her head, he smiled gently. "If you ever see one, you'll understand."

            "That big?"

            "Perhaps eight feet long, some of them."

            She swallowed. "I see."

            "We must leave at first light if at all possible. I do not wish to displease them."

            "I think I understand why…"

            He yawned. "We must get some sleep."

            "I know. I think I managed to clean most of the blood away, you'll have to check at first light… Fox, how did you know that they were planning to kill us?"

            "I woke up and heard the howls. I knew they were dire wolves, and certain howls are specifically for hunts." He paused. "And why did I wake up? I was having nightmares, and they always happen for reasons. Thank you for tending my wounds. I will see you in the morning."

            She nodded, retreating to her own bedroll, sensing that by the time she was settled down, he was already asleep.

            "What happened to you, Fox?" Bill asked that morning as they packed up, looking at his bedraggled leader.

            "Long night." Was his only reply as he cleaned the few traces of dried blood from his fur and had Katt look at the scabbed-over nip wounds. "We must move out immediately."

            No one protested, and they traveled quickly, soon sensing that they were being watched. Fox disregarded it, knowing well what was watching them, and continued on.

            "What happened last night, Fox?" Rita asked, urging her horse forward to pace him.

            "I negotiated with some dire wolves. They had been planning on killing all of us." He replied loud enough for his entire group to hear. "Luckily, they were willing to spare our lives."

            "You negotiated?" Peppy raised his eyebrows.

            "Yes. I am not sure how far their territory goes, but they are watching us even now."

            "Were they friendly?" Slippy asked curiously.

            Fox half smiled. "No, not really, but that is their way. We are, after all, intruders upon their territory."

            "Are we even gaining on them?" Pigma asked, looking around the town they had just entered with a touch of disdain.

            "We are." Wolf replied. "They are a larger group, and therefore slower."

            "Ho, riders." A middle-aged man, most likely the mayor, approached them. "Are you belated members of a party that passed through here a few days ago?"

            "Perhaps. This party, how many were in it?" Wolf replied with a smile, leaning over in his saddle to look at the man.

            "Ten people, kind sir, and they did us a service before they left…we were having some problems with some local beasts…"

            "Indeed. How far are we behind them?"

            The man frowned. "Probably four or five days, good sirs."

            "Thank you." Wolf bowed from his saddle and rode by, gesturing for Pigma and Leon to follow.

            "Not staying the night here?"

            "No. Every moment off the road is a moment they can get farther ahead of us." Wolf replied. "And like it or not, we have been hired to do something."

            "Yes, we have. How are we supposed to 'interfere' though? I inferred that we are not supposed to directly attack them." Pigma glowered.

            "We can attack some of the members, just not Phoenix." Wolf replied soothingly. "And they are in the Black Forest right now, heading for the Wastes. We shall use the environment to our advantage. Leon, you have spent some time in the Wastes, correct?"

            "Yes, much." Leon replied. "You are our direct contact, why did Hextor agree to this mission?"

            "Because McCloud is a direct servant of Heironeous, Leon. That is reason enough."

            "Goblins."

            The group glanced around at each other as Fox and Julian dropped from the branches, having taken the risk and strayed off the path for a short time. It had taken them several minutes to get back to their party; eventually Fox's unicorn had guided them back using its connection to Fox.

            "Not a problem unless they're in large groups." Fox rubbed his eyes. "We saw about twelve, maybe eighteen…"

            "Are we going to run into them?" Falco asked.

            "Not sure at this point. Being we're a traveling party, they may attempt a raid." Julian said. "It's happened once or twice in my travels, but they're cowardly beasts the lot…"

            "We'll just have to hope against an attack." Fox said, and sprang into lead again, his party going into motion behind him.

            After a while, they got the idea they were being watched, and paused again.

            "The wolves again?" Katt asked uneasily.

            "No." Fox said quietly. "Everyone, move to ride around our last cart. Keep an eye out." He swung back on horseback, ignoring that he was riding bareback, and shifted his bow to his hands, eyes narrowed.

            The first move was made against them. A javelin, well aimed, soared right at Fox, who had turned to speak to the others. He snapped his arm up and moved as he did, grabbing it out of the air. He turned and narrowed his eyes, then suddenly threw the javelin. A pained screech echoed as the javelin hit its mark.

            "I do believe they have announced their intent." Peppy said sourly, notching an arrow to his bow as others also drew weapons. Alan dismounted and drew his sword, capering ahead.

            "I don't recommend that." Fox remarked.

            "Don't worry, oh fearless leader." Alan trotted a few more steps, and stopped, turning to face Fox. "Were they mounted when you saw them?"

            "No. Are they now?"

            "I do believe so…"

            "Here they come!" Bill shouted.

            Fully sixteen goblins, mounted on worgs, charged the party from all sides. Fox very calmly notched an arrow, tracked, and shot. The arrow landed, right in the eye of one of the worgs. The beast howled and stumbled, its goblin rider cursing and trying to maintain balance, then screeching as the next arrow, shot by Peppy, went right through its throat.

            Alan bounced into the battle, moving as if in a dance, leaving worgs tailless or with their muscles cut, the beasts collapsing or bucking and yelping as he danced past. Fara, Julian, and Bill teamed up to take several on at once, standing with their backs toward each other.

            Rita pressed her hands together, then lifted them toward the heavens. Intense white lightning came from nowhere, striking down three more. Slippy and Katt, having ended up back to back, followed the same example, but used fire, the red-hot cyclone spinning away from them as they teamed up for the spell, burning three injured worgs alive, along with their riders. Falco, having disappeared into the branches above when the attack had hit, appeared from nowhere and landed in a perfect coup de grace on two of the ones that were left, one of which was the leader. Fox and Peppy's arrows, meanwhile, had easily taken down the rest, and the pathway fell silent, the slightly-shaken convoy surrounded by bodies.

            "Is anyone wounded?" Fox asked, looking around.

            His party all shook their heads, checking themselves over.  Their mounts were more then a little spooked, and the cart had a few morningstars sticking out of it. Bill pulled them loose and tossed them aside.

            "We should keep moving." Said Peppy. "If there are more of them nearby…"

            Fox agreed, and the party started moving out again.

            Travel was slow the rest of the day.

            The entire forest seemed alert to their presence now, and more often then not, Fox and Julian were a good ways ahead, scouting and trying to keep the convoy out of trouble. More often then not, that seemed like an impossible task. By the end of the day, even the flora had turned against them as an assassin vine grabbed and entangled the cart's wheels, as well as one of the pack horses. The ensuing fight was a bit chaotic, and in the end Falco's sword, which started burning as he used it against the plant, as well as a well-placed fire spell from Rita ended the problem. The cart was still in decent shape, but the pack horse wasn't able to walk without limping, and the convoy had to wait as their magic users tried to heal the horse.

            The forest wasn't quiet that night. It came alive with animal calls, and the camp was on edge, watching the trees around them as they felt dozens of eyes watching them.

            "Are the dire wolves still watching us?" Bill asked Fox.

            "I do not think so." He replied, listening for a moment. "I think we are out of their territory now…"

            "That's good, then." Katt said, moving over to where Fox sat to check his ear wounds. He batted her away at first, then seemed to sigh and let her look.

            "Not necessarily. With their escort, they were protecting us in a way." Fox lifted an arm as Osiris came to rest, brushing his knuckles down his familiar's feathers, tilting his head as he stared into the hawk's eyes, then looked at the others. "Yes, we are out of their territory, but there's a good reason they aren't in this area."

            "You might as well tell us." Falco said tiredly.

            "We're in dragon territory right now." Fox looked at Julian, who nodded.

            "This forest has a few green dragons, or at least three or four different ones have been seen… This path is enchanted, so the dragons tend to stay away, but there have been reports of a particularly large brute attacking parties."

            "Wonderful." Falco moaned. "Fox, don't you know a green dragon?"

            "Yes, but he was younger, and something of a hermit. Most green dragons are nowhere near as pleasant." Fox shook his head. "And unless a gold dragon is nearby, you won't have any allies within any distance."

            "I know."

            "That doesn't answer what is watching us now." Peppy remarked, testing the point of an arrow he was working on.

            "There is no good way of knowing that…" Julian said. "Possibly lesser predators, or curious herbivores. Better that we don't know, too… chances are the only way to know is if they attack."

            There was silence, then Fara stood. "We should try to get some sleep. Let us contemplate what is watching us if they do attack, hmm?"

            The others agreed.

            The night passed without incident, and the party moved out early in the morning, Fox and Julian once again moving ahead to make sure the path was clear. Many of the party had begun to feel very uncomfortable with their surroundings, and the convoy's speed slowly increased throughout the day, though they were careful not to tire their steeds. The thought of a dragon lurking nearby made almost everyone more then a little paranoid.

            Toward the middle of the day, Fox called a halt to rest the horses and allow a meal, and it was then Osiris made his way through the thick canopy above them and landed on Fox's fist, a chain of some sort tangled around one foot. Fox took a moment to remove it, and found it to a tarnished silver bracelet with black stone inlayed through it.

            "Falco, what do you make of this?"

            Glad to be of some use, Falco took the bracelet and studied it. "Solid silver, if I were to guess…" He seemed to weigh it in his palm. "Stones are… I'd say onyx or hematite, because of the color, but the grain isn't right. I'd say its black jade."

            "Black? I know jade can come in green and sometimes white, but black?" Bill asked, walking over.

            "I'm sure of it." Falco held the bracelet up to what sunlight managed to filter through the leaves, which was little. "I'm not completely sure of age, but I'd judge this to be over a century old…" He looked at Fox. "Cleaned up it would fetch a rather pretty price. Where did Osiris get this?"

            Fox looked at his hawk, and the images filtered through his mind—a decaying, vine-encrusted temple, dark, lurking beasts, bones laying around. By what Osiris was telling him, Fox inferred that his familiar had been following a mouse, and had lost its prey in the temple. Osiris had flown a circuit of what was left of the building, and had decided to pick up the bracelet on a whim—the dull gleam of the silver had caught the hawk's eye.

            "There's a temple somewhere nearby." Fox told the others, letting Osiris climb to his shoulder. "That's where Osiris got it."

            "A temple? Are you certain?" Julian frowned thoughtfully. "I've never heard of anything like that, even abandoned, though I suppose if there isn't a path to it ruins could be very easily missed."

            "It seems that is what has happened." Fox rubbed his chin, leaning back into a tree.

            "A temple in praise of whom?" Rita asked curiously.

            Fox watched the images play through his mind again. "No way to tell right now. It's so decayed that any religious insignia is long since gone."

            Falco eyed the bracelet, and his eyes gleamed. "Do you suppose we should take a look?"

            Everyone looked at him.

            "Even in the forest, he's still a thief." Bill shook his head in wonder.

            "Of course. I daresay, Bill, that one or two of these on the open market would probably fetch as much money as the King pays you salary in a year."

            "Let us leave my salary out of this." Was the somewhat pointed reply, but now Bill appeared thoughtful as well.

            "Bringing the world to balance does not include raiding an abandoned temple, which, I might add, is still technically holy land." Peppy said dryly.

            "Agreed." Fara nodded.

            "Was anything at the Temple, Fox?" Slippy asked almost absently, most of his mind focused on a book as usual.

            "Yes." After studying Osiris' images more closely, he shook his head. "Displacer beasts, I believe."

            "Ay, those things!" Alan, who had been mostly asleep in the cart, rocketed to life and leapt out, landing next to the others and almost following over, pulling a flask out of some hidden pocket. The others had already realized that Alan had a continuous supply of alcohol, and had learned to ignore it. "Six-legged panthers with a bad attitude."

            Falco's mind rolled over this. "Are they dangerous?"

            "They're about the size of a Siberian tiger." Julian replied grimly, saw the blank look, and sighed. "Eight to ten feet long and five hundred pounds, or so I've read."

            "Oh."

            "And they have an innate ability to become invisible." Katt said. "Making them nearly impossible to hit during a fight."

            There was a long silence.

            "Fox, do we have enough money to buy supplies again once we are out of this forest?" Falco asked slowly.

            "Yes." Was the flat reply; Fox could already see where this was going.

            "Indeed. Enough supplies to get us through the Wastes?" Falco raised his eyebrows.

            "Yes."

            "After that, then. This could very well take us months…"

            "Enough." Rita said somewhat severely. "Forest temples are most often in praise of Obad-hai or Ehlonna, and I won't let you desecrate either."

            "What if it has already been desecrated?" He shot back.

            Fox moaned, rubbing his eyes. "Quiet, the both of you."

            They fell silent and looked at him.

            "Falco raises a point. I do have money, most of us do, but we have no idea how long we shall be traveling. However, I find it morally and spiritually an atrocious act to desecrate a temple, even a decayed and abandoned one." He sighed. "But here's what I shall do. I'll ask Osiris to take another look. If the temple seems to be corrupted in any way, we shall take a closer look. If it has maintained its holiness in spite of its abandonment, we shall give it no further thought. Is everyone agreed?" The group nodded, and Osiris took off, leaving the convoy to wait.

            It was early evening when Osiris returned, this time carrying a heavy necklace in its beak. The familiar had been relaying information to Fox the entire time, which he in return passed to his party, sitting off to one side in a half-trace and watching through the hawk's eyes. More then once his familiar had to dodge a displacer beast, and during a slow, careful flight through one of the crumbling halls, the hawk made a turn and entered a large room that was stacked with treasure.

            It was then that Fox knew exactly what they had come across.

            "The dragon has made its lair in the temple, or at least has decided to deposit its hoard there." Fox told the others, sitting cross-legged on the moss-covered ground. Osiris was on its way back, leaving the minute Fox had prompted it to, which was the same moment Fox had concluded the temple was dragon territory. "By the looks of the hoard, I'd say this particular green dragon has been collecting for a time."

            "Making it older and therefore larger and more powerful." Said Julian. "So what do we do now?"

            Osiris fought its way through the canopy and landed roughly on Fox's shoulder, travel-weary, dropping the necklace in Fox's hand. This particular piece of jewelry was composed of a thick gold chain, several smaller chains hanging off in a fringe that wove together in a pattern not far from a spider web. Small jewels marked each junction of the web. After a moment of studying it, he willingly passed it to Falco, who didn't need light to tell it was worth a small fortune.

            "Bill and I have fought a dragon before, but it was a younger red, not an elder green." Fox shook his head. "We are a large party for an adventure group, true, but we are no army, and green dragons are able to breathe a cone of acidic gas."

            "Perhaps we should lay in wait and investigate when the dragon isn't there?" Bill suggested.

            "No, and we're already in danger." Fox gestured at the jewelry. "We've already raided its hoard, and while green dragons usually aren't as covetous as red, for example, I severely doubt that this dragon will miss the fact that it is missing some of its items. It will find us. I have no doubt." Osiris made a little peep noise, and Fox soothed his familiar.

            "The temple is in a clearing, correct?" Peppy asked, looking thoughtful.

            "A small one, yes. It looks barely big enough for a dragon of any size to land without landing on the temple itself…"

            "Then if we must fight it, why not fight it there? Strategically, that would make the most sense, especially if the woods around the clearing are thick enough for hiding."

            "I suppose that we've decided to attempt a raid of sorts then?" Fox looked around at his party, which exchanged glances.

            "I am still not comfortable with the idea, but if the temple has been corrupted, I can attempt to cleanse it." Said Rita.

            "We will protect you as you do so, then." Fox looked to the others, and slowly they all nodded. "Very well then. Let's see about getting at least a little rest. At this point, I think it would be best to move at first light. Moving at night would only give the dragon a greater advantage."

            The temple was not far from the path, but it took a while to get to because Fox was leading them slowly, going for stealth and cover over speed. After a time, they were all crouched in the trees at the edge of the clearing, looking at the temple. The horses and cart had all been tied and left behind; only Fox's unicorn, without tack, accompanied them.

            "Rita?" Fox glanced at her.

            "It's no longer holy ground." She replied, half-closing her eyes for a moment. "But I can easily bring it back to its former status."

            "We'll do so before we leave." He swore, fingering his katana absently. The dragon was nowhere in sight, but he had no doubt that it was nearby. Before they had moved out, he had returned to wearing his armor, thinking that any protection was better then none.

            "So?" Falco asked, crouching easily on his toes. He had left his cape with his horse, having returned to his simple thief's clothing.

            Osiris took off and circled the temple, and Fox stood and walked forward, then circled, keeping to the treeline. The others slowly followed, splitting up at his gesture, Julian leading the other group. They circled around and regrouped at the front of the temple, allowing Falco and Alan to take the lead from there so they could look for traps. The ruins smelled musty, and in more then one place the sweet stench of rotting flesh filled the air. Rita stopped them in what appeared to be what was left of the temple's main room, walking up to the altar and touching it.

            "Obad-hai." She confirmed, fingering what was left of a carved design. "I shall see about reestablishing this temple to its position of grace, but I need to stay here for a time to do so."

            Fox nodded, turning to the rest of the group. "This seems to be a central room. We'll split up. Katt, Slippy, would you be able to help Rita in any way?"

            The Sorceress and Mage exchanged a look. "We can safeguard the room and help with preparations…" Katt finally said.

            "Good, would you be willing to assist her then? Thank you. Peppy, Bill, could you accompany Julian? Alan, you go with them as well. Falco, Fara, you come with me. If anyone runs into any trouble, come back here, and don't separate from your groups, all right?" The others nodded, and the party split up, the magic users staying in the room and the other two groups going off the side hallways that split off from two corners of the room.

            The halls were relatively cool and dim, in spite of sections of the wall and roof that had crumbled and let in faded beams of sunlight. Broken stone and bones littered the corridors, as well as glass from where stained glass windows had been broken out. Some parts of the stone had been corroded, eaten away by what Fox guessed was the green dragon's breath weapon.

            At the end of the corridor, there was a heavy wooden door that hung partly open. Fox nudged it open with a foot and looked in. The large room beyond had quite probably been a meeting room once, and now the entire roof had collapsed in, as well as one of the walls. What seemed to be the remains of wooden pews lay about, rotted and moss-covered. A few chests were laying in the center of the room, lids ripped off. Fox need only glance to see the gleam of metal.

            "This isn't the collection you described." Falco remarked, leaning around him, eyes treasure-bright.

            "The other room seemed rather full…" Fox took a step forward, then froze, holding up a hand. After a moment, he gestured for them to move in silence, and allowed the trio to progress.

            In the other corridor, things were very much the same, only this corridor was missing almost its entire roof and a good portion of the wall as well. All the windows were broken out, and the group was forced to tread lightly as even their most quiet footsteps clattered and ground. The door at the end of the corridor was nearly off its hinges, rotted boards barely held by steel crossbeams. Julian slowly pushed it open, and the four gaped at the mountain of riches that was in front of them.

            "How many convoys robbed and killed?" Peppy asked quietly.

            "Too many." Julian replied grimly, stepping forward. Alan and Bill passed him, staring at the pile of gems and precious metals. They barely heard the soft clatter of coins scattering before a trio of dark forms rushed them. "Look out!"

            The shouts echoed through the temple, even with the broken walls. Fox snapped his head around, and gestured to Falco and Fara, leaping out one of the gaping, broken windows, tucking and rolling to his feet. Running around a corner, he leapt through a hole into the other corridor, the others following.

            The shouts were joined by a long stream of cursing, and they burst into the treasure room, knocking the rotten door to the ground, drawing weapons. The other members of their party joined them, Peppy with what seemed to be deep lacerations across one arm. They would have gone over his shoulder as well, but whatever had caused it couldn't dig through the metal of the chest and shoulder plates of his armor.

            "They set a trap." Julian spat, sword drawn. A trio of displacer beasts had circled them, snarling. Muscular, long black tentacles extended from their shoulders, ending in hooked appendages. They had already sustained a few wounds; one was limping, another missing a tentacle.

            "I'm afraid this is my fault." Fox said heavily.

            "No, we didn't look."

            "My lord." Falco said reverently, looking at the treasure pile.

            "That is exactly why they caught us off guard." Said Bill sourly.

            In that moment, the displacer beasts faded from view, leaving only silvery blurs in the air.

            "Turn so we are back to back!" Fox ordered, and the group quickly moved, swords drawn. There was several moments of silence, then Fox heard the soft sound of liquid hitting the ground. Looking around, he saw blood dripping from a few inches above the ground to the stone floor, seemingly from nothing. "Alan! Right in front of you, low! Now!"

            Alan slashed downward then stabbed, the second time catching his mark. An earth cracking screech echoed through the air, and for a few seconds the wounded displacer beast reappeared, a long slash along one shoulder. Alan moved to finish the beast, then another noise reached the party. The sound of wings hitting air, then a booming roar echoed, shaking the ruins of the temple and spooking the displacer beasts.

            The party exchanged glances, then sprinted out of treasure chamber, rejoining their magic users.

            "How much longer until the spell completes?" Fox asked as Katt looked to Peppy's wound.

            "It's not bad." Katt said to Peppy as she hurriedly cast a healing spell, looking at Fox. "A time yet, and Rita can't do any other spells, or leave the area, until it completes."

            A long shadow was cast over the entire temple, and looking up through the holes in the roof, Fara saw a flash of green scales.

            "Fighting here would only further endanger you if the roof collapses in. We must fight this outside." Fox said grimly, and started walking toward the door. His group seemed to agree, but he gestured for Peppy to stay until his wound had completely sealed.

            Outside, Fox's unicorn was reared, front hooves flashing blinding silver, screaming a challenge at the dragon. The dragon, a full adult, landed easily, tail knocking over some large trees, snarling at the unicorn, clearly taking her presence as an invasion of its territory. It wasn't enough of a distraction that it didn't know about the humans in the temple, and it saw Fox's group emerge, weapons drawn. In fact it immediately swung its head downward so its long neck was parallel to the ground, wings bristling, and exhaled a huge cone of aerated acid.

            Fox's group needed no prompting to scatter and get out of the way before it reached them. The acid dissolved what was left of the front gates of the temple, as well as the pillars. Stones collapsed downward, dissolving as they did, and another section of the roof crumbled.

            "Fan out!" Fox shouted as the dragon lifted its head, claws digging into the ground, neck twisting to eye all of its foes. "Keep moving!"

            The dragon laughed and slashed out with one paw, barely missing Julian and Alan as they backpedaled. Alan, somehow insulted and angered by that, charged forward and dove even as the dragon's head came down to engulf him. Alan felt the hot breath buffer him, and the acid sizzled a few of his feathers, but his luck came through and the dragon missed, which only angered it more, making it snap forward with its neck and breathe another gout of acid. It had obviously been a long time since it had fought a warrior with any experience, much less a party.

            Falco, somehow figuring out what Alan was doing, circled around using the trees. The dragon, smelling him, directed the blast toward the trees, carving out a huge swath in one move. Falco dove out of the trees, rolled, and ended up crouching beside Alan under the dragon. Alan nodded, and the pair went to work, Falco flipping Alan upward. Green dragons have a number of hornlets in various places, and Alan used them to swing up to the dragon's back, landing lightly, somehow staying on as the dragon lunged forward, jaws open to close on Fara. Fara sidestepped and slashed, the tip of her sword scoring a light hit before she was tumbled away when the dragon shook its head vigorously. Fox caught her and leapt forward, dealing a vicious slash in an upward diagonal stroke, gesturing for Julian and Bill to flank the beast if possible.

            That was when Alan hit, plunging his rapier through the thin membrane of one of the dragon's half-open wings. The dragon snarled and twisted, snapping at the small form braced on his back, roaring angrily as the thin blade slashed through the webbing, leaving a four-foot gash near the base. Bill leapt and plunged his sword into a joint between the dragon's scales, bracing himself as best he could against the slick scales. With a mighty shake, Alan flew off, catching a tree branch on his way down. The dragon snapped down, and caught Bill in its mouth, then found out that Bill was wearing armor. Between the leg braces and upper body plating, Bill was able to brace, bringing his sword up to plunge into the roof of the dragon's mouth, aiming for the brain. His ears rang as the dragon roared, the acidic spit eating at his armor and clothes, but he hung on.

            "EYES!"

            The others spared a glance, and saw the arrow fly, landing squarely in the exposed eye of the dragon. The arrow, loaded with a form of acidic poison, sent shooting pains through the dragon. Bill came flying out, hitting the ground and falling unconscious on impact as the dragon let loose another gout of acid. Peppy shouldered the bow and ran forward, dragging Bill out of the line of fire as those still able to fight hit again. The dragon's claws connected with Falco's ribs, and he staggered away, a desperate parry slashing off two of the dragon's claws. Fox managed to work his way in close, but the next blast of acidic gas caught his cloak, and he dumped it on the ground, leaping and inverting his sword as Julian did. Both swords hit, neither did much damage, and the pair was knocked away.

            "Take cover!" Shouted another voice, and a huge bolt of lightning came from nowhere, squarely striking the dragon, which snarled and staggered, lunging to snap at Rita, then recoiling as holy power pounded out from her.

            Fox helped Julian up, and Fara managed to join them. Fara and Fox shared a glance, then nodded, both striding forward, Fara building magic while Fox got ready to fight, his aura building around him. The dragon moved to face both Rita as well as Fox and Fara, snarling, spitting blood from where Bill had wounded it, swaying a bit, almost like a cobra.

            Fara, working unknowingly in junction with Rita, completed the spell. It pounded out from them, and at the same time, Fox charged. The dragon's talons scored his armor, going through in a few places in his back, then with a leap, he connected, the charged sword sinking in. The dragon screamed, and with a series of crashes, collapsed, taking part of the temple with it.

            Fox drug himself to his feet, pulling his sword out with difficulty and staggering back to the others. Bill was still unconscious; Katt and Slippy were working on healing Falco's wounds. Alan dropped down from the tree he was in and joined them, and Julian straggled over, Peppy helping him.

            "Fox McCloud, dragonslayer." Alan said cheerfully.

            "Oh, Heironeous, no." Fox moaned in reply, collapsing on the ground. "If anyone here deserves that title it's Bill, not I."

            "You scored the killing hit, did you not?" Alan sat down next to him and offered the flask.

            Fox took it. "Bill would have, if he had had a few more seconds." He opened the flask and eyed it. "What's in this exactly?"

            "Little bit of Raspberry Reaper." Alan grinned.

            "You drink Raspberry Reaper?" Falco asked.

            "Sometimes." Was the cheerful reply.

            Fox sighed and took a small drink, almost instantly feeling the alcohol hit, and passed it back. "I think perhaps we should take a few small tokens—just enough to keep us funded in our travels, Falco—and leave the area. As soon as we're a decent distance away, we're setting up camp."

            "Thank god. I think we've all seen enough excitement today." Peppy shook his head.