As the Elves stirred from their brief slumber as Specters snorting grew a bit louder as fatigue started to wear the great beast down. The eyes of the elves were trying to register the blurs that were trees and undergrowth.

"I have names for you, girl you fit the name Toshmerka." Darein said, "Your temper proves it."

Toshmerka snapped at Darein "I am no girl, and where are you taking us, drow, and my temper's not that bad."

He replied to her " My apologies, Toshmerka, I did not know what to call you. Boy your name will be Doctarmi." Doctarmi only nodded "Oh and Toshmerka for your information I'm not drow, if I were you would likely be dead by now, I could have killed you when you stumbled into my camp." Toshmerka's eyes widened at the comment. "By the way my name is Darein."

Darein asked "May I ask what camp you come from, if I were to guess I would say Chichiomba's camp, Judging by the axe mark on your chest Doctarmi, I would also say you met Chichiomba's mate Alkbar."

Doctarmi then said, "Yes, wait how do you know about Chichiomba, as you call her, and Alkbar?"

He replied to Doctarmi "You've seen her haven't you, with that scar over her left eye?" Doctarmi only nodded Darein continued "I gave that to her, she used to trust me, no not true she used me never trusted me. One day I.…" Darein's head sunk and a single tear fell from his eye.

Doctarmi noticed the pain he had caused his rescuer and said quickly "Please forgive me I did not mean to cause you pain, Darein."

Darein nodded and smiled "It's not your fault, Doctarmi, it's mine."

Toshmerka who had been sitting quietly squinted looking at the dawn and then asked. "Darein, what is that thing coming from the mountains?"

Darein looked to the east and saw a dense green fog rolling over the landscape and shouted, "Why you don't go out at dawn or dusk, Specter, are you sure you can make it?"

The horse seemed to nod and ran faster than it had been running before, the horse's muscles could be felt rippling by the riders, snorting the horse tried to push itself even harder but the fog was to fast. Twenty feet from the cave the strange fog was surrounding the horse and it's riders, the horse which was almost dead gave a powerful buck. Darein grabbed the other two elves the instant before the horse gave it's final mighty buck projecting all three riders the remaining ten feet, through the cave entrance, Darien hitting the ground first landing on his back grunted as the combined weight of the two elves forced the air from his lungs.

When Darein regained his breath he said "That fog is a creature of foul magic, made ages ago when magic was respected and feared, it devours living flesh and blood at dawn and at dusk, the limit to it's being summoned. Specter was almost dead when he threw us, that is why he didn't just jump."

Toshmerka stood up and winced, her shirt covered in fresh blood, and said "Hold on that, that thing out there eats the flesh and blood of the living, and you think it will stay out of this little cave where all the walls are severely chipped and could probably collapse at any moment, you are insane why would it stay out of this place with three of us in here. I swear by the lost gods you are mad dro..."

Darein cut her off saying "Toshmerka I already told you I'm not a drow, or you would be dead. And for another thing there is still one god left, the lost gods, as you call them, were just extremely powerful angels who wanted power for themselves so the proclaimed themselves as false gods. Angering their creator and getting themselves destroyed after hundreds of millennia of war. These walls are not chipped but warded and they will not fall. Any other comments? Good now remove your shirts and let me re-stitch your wounds."

Doctarmi and Toshmerka stood staring at Darein after hearing all that. Darein scowled and they removed their shirts revealing fresh blood seeping from the freshly stitched, and ripped wounds. Doctarmi lightly traced his axe wound with his index finger and yelped at the sudden pain. Toshmerka felt her back where it had hurt when she reached for her javelin and pulled back her hand when she felt blood covering her fingertips. Darein led Doctarmi to a table in the center of the cave, and laid him down on it handing him a leather bound stick to bite.

Darein called Toshmerka over to a small alter and had her mix some powders with some hot water into a paste and had her pin Doctarmi down to the table Darein pulled a dagger from under the table and dipped it in the thick paste merely saying "Bite." before applying the salve. Doctarmi screamed through the gag and would have lashed out a Darein if Toshmerka hadn't pinned him down.

When Doctarmi was finally let up he shouted at Darein, "What was that, are you trying to kill me? Be glad you had her pin me down." He reached down and felt solid flesh where his wound had been. Looking down Doctarmi saw a large scar where he had been hit by the axe he stared at Darein in awe, wondering how that was possible. Darein just scraped the remaining paste off the dagger and tapped the edge of the bowl with the daggers blade, causing the paste to disappear.

Darein walked to the alter and poured some hot water and some of a red powder from a vial into the now clean bowl. He laid Toshmerka on the table gave her a leather bound stick, but didn't have Doctarmi pin her down, instead strapped her down told her to bite and poured the hot crimson liquid into all five arrow wounds, Toshmerka let out a loud scream of pain and bit the stick into three pieces. Stepping back to the alter Darein made a smaller bowl of the paste he had Toshmerka make, with wave of his hand all the straps released Toshmerka. Darein took the same dagger he used before and put the paste on each of Toshmerka's arrow wounds, and flipped her over gently and applied the paste to the exit wounds. Darein walked the short distance to the other side of the cave and retrieved two shirts that looked about the right size for both elves. He handed Doctarmi one of the shirts, then assisted Toshmerka, still shaking from the pain, sit up and put on her shirt. He led both elves to a couple of mats and helped the get under their blankets.

Walking away he pulled out a small flute from the leather case on his back and played a sweet, lulling tune for the to elves. When they were in a deep slumber Darein picked up their old tattered shirts and threw them out of the cave entrance the lurking fog, that was now a crimson color, lunged for them. As it reached the shirts it let out a hiss of pain. when it tasted the blood. Darein stepped out of the cave and stabbed Toamaka into the ground. the fog hissed and took the form of a drow trying to intimidate Darein. Darein grabbed the fog by its newly formed throat and hissed at it. "These elves are my kin now and you know it to be true you tasted their blood, now take this amulet through the drow camps on the surface and tell them that I say it is time for them to flee to the hell from where they came. Understand," the fog nodded, "good what is your name, fog?"

The fog replied to Darein with a series of hisses and whistle from its native Auran language. The fog tried to crush Darein's arm to get him to release his grip. Darein grinned wickedly, his Irises glowing like embers of a fire.

"I will remember that, after you deliver the message to the drow go back to your home plane find the one called Klawvas and tell him the time has come, and to find Zetheraen. You know the way to the drow camps, the amulet will allow you to get to them all. Go now." Darein said releasing the fog, which took to flight as fast as it could, wearing the amulet presented to him by Darein. Darein threw the shirts on his shoulder and started play his flute again into the night.