Sorry the chapter has taken so long to arrive. I think the grammar is quite bad and there are probably plenty of mistakes for anyone who cares to nit- pick =) anywho, please R&R!

Jaheira let out a peaceful sigh as she woke up. She rolled over, flung her arm out, remembered too late, bit her lip hard to keep the tears from her proud eyes: Khalid was not there, nor would he ever be again.

She sat up bleary-eyed and fuzzy-haired and stared around the camp. The sun was still low in the sky, the fire was burned out and neither Raeyan nor Haer'Dalis were there. Her brow furrowed as she looked at each of their sleeping mats. She knew Haer'Dalis had been on watch, but Raeyan should still be asleep... curse her nightmares...

Jaheira moved sleepily to Raeyan's bed space and placed a hand on the mat: cold, so she was not recently gone. Jaheira sighed.

"Minsc, Aerie: wake up!" she commanded harshly

Minsc sat bolt upright and looked at Jaheira wide-eyed and panic-stricken, while Aerie rolled over using her blonde curls and slender arms to hide her face.

"Raeyan and that dammed bard are gone" Jaheira said shortly, hoping this would have more effect on Aerie.

"Haer and Rae are gone?" she said moving swiftly into an upright position and looking towards Haer'Dalis' pack.

"Their stuff is here, so if they are alive they will return, but they have been gone some while, as far as I can determine." Jaheira said bluntly

"Jaheira! How can you be so... so... heartless!" cried Aerie rising to her feet.

"I am simply stating the facts, child. They may or may not be dead: that is a fact. I hope no less than you do that they are not." Jaheira snapped

Minsc sat through the exchange looking variously awake, shocked, around, relieved, angry then confused.

"Friends are gone: wait or search" Minsc said simply, interrupting the argument, which was after all, just wasting fighting time.

"Wait" said Jaheira firmly.

"Search" said Aerie without pause.

Both glared at one another briefly, then launched into an all-out argument, neither one even pretending to listen to the other.

"We should wait here, because they will return for their packs and for us, Gods' know why they left, but they will be back shortly. There is no point in running off looking for them because they'll arrive back and find us gone and then we'll never be able to find each other. We haven't arranged a meeting point in any event because none of us know this Godforsaken land. We should wait..."

"...We cannot sit around doing nothing when they're probably out there dying. Both of them took their weapons with them so they must be fighting or doing something dangerous. What if they don't come back? What if they die while we're just sitting here waiting for them to return? What if we could have made the difference in the battle they're fighting? We should go to them: we can't just sit here! They might need us! it'll be all your fault if they die!"

"STOP!" Minsc shouted and the girls fell silent. He began pointing from one to the other and muttering under his breath. Jaheira groaned and slapped her forehead and Aerie smiled at her well- meaning, but less than intelligent, diplomatic protector.

Raeyan walked silently behind Haer'Dalis for a few minutes. She watched his back as he strode confidently onwards. Her thoughts rested on the tiefling. He was very handsome: he had long, striking blue hair and violet almond- shaped eyes, as well as beautiful curved lips and a strong and able body: Aerie was very lucky. He also had a way with words, he was charming. She smiled to herself thinking of his diplomacy concerning Aerie and Jaheira. She stopped herself; she knew he was attractive, but she didn't begrudge Aerie... did she? she drove all thoughts of the Doomguard from her mind and looked about.

Raeyan then realised why this was taking so long: they were not heading back to the camp.

"Where are we going Sparrow?" she whispered

He turned and looked at her: his face was pallid and his eyes were wide and filled with pain and fear. His body contorted with the effort of the movement and he fell to his knees. His breath was fast and shallow and tears began to stream down his face. He tried to speak: it was obviously not easy for him.

"I will not go on!" he shouted towards the sky, then to Raeyan he breathed "I cannot control my actions." then another convulsion reduced him to a heap on the floor "Do not follow me" he sobbed.

Raeyan bent down and tried to bring him to his knees, but his body continued to protest. She couldn't raise him easily, all she could do was stare at his obvious pain helplessly until the convulsions eased off a little.

"Rae?" he whispered. "I have another confession to make."

She looked into his eyes and he smiled weakly, attempting to comfort her.

"I'm going to die, unless I lead you to a place you'll be killed"

The words struck like a blow, though she had suspected, from his appearance, that he was under some form of control spell.

She nodded.

"I must keep walking" he continued.

She nodded again

"Do not follow me." his voice sounded pleading

"will they kill you if you arrive without me?"

He nodded "now I have told you this, they will. But I must tell you something and then you must let me go" tears spilled down his face and his voice was no more than a whisper.

Just then she caught sight of a movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Sorry," she whispered "tell me later." She placed a hand on his cheek in apology, then she punched him in the face. He slumped into unconsciousness, as she stood and drew her swift-blade.

She span about, Aeriil whirling to parry her attacker's dagger just in time, as it was thrust towards her waste. As her sword arm was still engaged in the parry she brought her left fist up and swung a punch under the mans' massive brown hood. She must have hit his face, because he hit the floor in seconds.

She shook her hand in pain: she had not thought to put on her diamondine punching fists when she left the encampment and her fists were paying the price.

She pulled his hood back and stared at the mans face: it was unremarkable, but for a tattoo which ran, in a thin strip, all the way down the centre of his face, from his hairline down to his brown robes and probably extended further in both directions. It was obviously a mark for some brotherhood or other she was not familiar with, most probably the one which was responsible for the actions of Haer'Dalis. She searched the man quickly. He had nothing, but the dagger and a single burnished key, which she had discovered on a thin chain around his neck. When she pulled it from it's chain it evaporated.

"damn!" she whispered.

She turned back to Haer'Dalis' still slumped on the ground and sighed as she hauled the unconscious Tiefling onto her shoulders. She wondering how many more attacks she would suffer before she reached the camp. As she strode along, following her own tracks back the way they had come, she noticed how light the sky was, even through the thick trees: the others would be awake and worried by now.

The next few attacks had been easy to deal with. Haer'Dalis had received more injury than she had: she had dropped him each time she heard something and attacks and false alarms were numerous. Each man wore the brown robes and each man carried only a dagger and a key... and the keys always evaporated. She had looked for a hook to undo the chain: there wasn't one. She had tried to pull the chain over the mans head: the chain was too short. She didn't much fancy the idea of decapitating the man for a key to a place she probably didn't want to reach... but she did it anyway. However, when she cut the head off she also cut the chain.

"damn!" she muttered.

When the next assassin struck she killed him quickly and moved the chain up before cutting as low as she could: this time it worked. She removed the bloody chain, complete with bloody key and slipped it into her pocket. They arrived back at the camp minutes later.

"shit!" Raeyan growled looking at the empty camp.

It really was going to be one of those days...