"Duck" Abraham shouted. The massive fire passed just over their heads. Galena looked up and followed its path. It landed on the ground, creating a huge crater in the red earth.

Abraham reached for his sword. The wizard began humming a deathly tune. The sky was covered in black smoke. Winds whistled from all directions, and a massive spiral began to appear in the sky.

Galena stood up and stood in her fighting position. She reached for her shoulder and retrieve a small shrieken. She placed it between her fingers and reared back. With the flick of her wrist, the shrieken was sent screaming through the air at the wizard.

"Stop" Abraham shouted. It was too late. The wizard saw the shrieken flying in the air. He thrusted his hand toward it, palm opened and chanted another spell.

"You foolish girl! Are you trying to fight against me, or are you helping me" the wizard proclaimed.

The shrieken began to slow down, finally coming to a halt inches away from the caster's face. It was crushed into a ball, then molded into a small box. The box sprouted legs, arms, and a head. The wizard had created a metal golem.

The golem gleamed in excitiment. He used some of his own body to fashion a massive spear. "Goummm...Guyommm" it seemed to hum. He rushed toward Galena with lightning speed.

The wizard shouted"Any last requests?...No, well, kill her anyways" The golem raised his metal spear in the air and hurled it at Galena.


Freedrick had been dozing off near the Nexus. A loud crack echoed throughout the halls. He quickly awoke, shouting"You'll never take me alive, filthy rabbits"

Faerune had just entered the Nexus when he heard this. He saw out of the corner of his eye a halfling holding a bottle of whiskey in his hands and swinging at the air.

He approached this crazy hobbit saying "Woah there, big fella. What are you doing? There's no rabbits about."

Freedrick blinked several times and sighed. "Ahh, it musta been me ale. Y'know how da beer works in ya minds." He soon realized he was talking to his feet. "Oh, me sorry, sir. I forgot me introduction. I am Freedrick, halfling extrodiniar. Ya wanna here one of me famous songs"

"Well, actually, no. I was in a hurry and just thought I might get you out of your drunken trance." Faerune laughed as the little hobbit tried to dance around but tripped over himself.

"Where ya be headin', kind sir" Freedrick asked.

"I cannot speak of it. Sorry, I have wasted too much time already. I am being followed and I must make haste." Faerune readjusted his backpack and began to dash for the portal to Shadowhaven.

Freedrick tried to follow him, put his wee legs kept giving out every few steps. "Wait, Mr. Faerune! I'll come with ya"


Galena braced herself for impact. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best. A loud clank rattled her bones. She opened her eyes to see that Abraham had deflected the blow with his sword.

"Get the wizard! I'll handle 'Shiny' over here" he ordered. He pushed with all his might against the spear, creating sparks as steel clashed against steel.

Galena ran toward the wizard. He was still casting his maelstrom. She dashed at him and jumped into the air. Her foot crushed against his chest. She cartwheeled in the air and landed on one foot. In that moment, the balck haze was swept away and the blue sky was again revealed.

Abraham was being completely overpower by this behemoth when the golem suddenly stopped pushing. He had felt the hurt of his creator and rushed toward his aid.

Galena picked up the caster and held onto his head. She kneed him in the gut with full force. The caster dropped to his knees and grasped for his chest. Galena whispered under her breath"Say goodnight."

Abraham shouted"Watch out! Watch out for the golem" The golem was inching closer with every step. Abraham saw the monk jump into the air and place her feet on each side of the wizard's head. She landed on her hands, pushed up again, and twisted in the air. A loud snap echoed through the valley as the caster's head popped off his body. The golem pulled back his fist and thrusted toward the monk.

Galena looked over to see a massive metal fist headed for her head. It was inches away from her face, when suddenly, it stopped. The golem cried out, then melted into the ground. All that remained was the shrieken that she had thrown at her.

Pa and Tilkin were riding side by side, with their pack mule, Bill, just in tow. Tilkin was looking every which direction, but he knew that his pa wouldn't let him get lost. "Pa, what does the sunset look like"

Pa looked over at his son and smiled. "Well, I'll tell ya, boy. It's beautiful. The sun is just beyond the horizon and all sorts of colors appear. There are shades of red, shade of blue. I remember one time, Ma and I were walking near Halas and we saw the sunset over the Everfrost Peaks. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen! The snow was like a rainbow, all the colors reflecting off of the white background...I'm sorry, I got carried away."

"Its O.K., Pa. I enjoy your stories." Tilkin tried to imagine what red would look like. He gave up after a while.

"You doin' good back there, Bill? Of course you are." He reached back and began petting his thick fur. It was smooth, but hearty, almost like a chinchilla.

"Woah there" Pa ordered. The horses stopped in mid trot. Bill neighed. Pa placed his hand above his brow to block out the sunlight. He squinted and saw the Combine spires in the distance. Yet something seemed wrong. Normally, the spires would be glowing frm the presence of the Scion. But this time they were dark, hazy. "There's something wrong." Pa stated. He dismounted and tied Bill and his horse to a nearby log. He then mounted on Tilkin's horse. "Something very, very wrong. Yeeyah"