I was listening to Rufus Wainwright's 'Hallelujah' from the 'Shrek' soundtrack and the bunnies demanded I write more of this.

Also, I suggest everyone goes tohttp:www. cs. umbc. edu/ tbogar1/ dlance/ lighbulb. txt (Kyrnnish lightbulb jokes, sorry for the spacing but it's the only way I can get the whole address on.)

Thank you once again to Dalamar Nightson for the Beta, although sending the chapter was a nightmare.

Miqael: The reason I put up chapter 8 and then took it down was because my Yahoo mail finally started working shortly after I'd posted it, so since I'd had no reviews so far I took it back down and sent it off to be Beta read. Thank you for the enlightening review, it most certainly made me think, and that's the kind of review I like!

Yenned: Thank you.

Darkmoonmist: Sure.

Ahn-Li Steffraini: Cheers.

Dalamar Nightson: Good to know ;), what film was that?

Elly Stormrage: Raistlin/Dalamar forever!

Freesnow: Another Soulforge reader! And yes, good thing Dalamar was there.

hipa: To be loved is a wonderful thing, I just wish people could understand that love is for everyone, not just the good guys.

Aftermath and Departures

The dogs slaughter each other softly

Love burns its casualties

We are damaged provider modules

Spill our seeds at our children's feet

-Marlilyn Manson, Last Day on Earth.

-Caramon's POV-

It had been a worrying night for Caramon; Raistlin had vanished during the fight and he hadn't been all that reassured by Lemuel's assurance that Dalamar had been with Raistlin when the brown robed mage had last seen his twin.

He had spent the better part of the pre-dawn looking through the fair for Raistlin, until Flint had yelled at him for keeping them all awake and Tanis had reasoned that he'd never find anyone in the dark.


-Tanis's POV-

To Tanis, the night had been incredibly confusing, and it was only when he'd crawled into his bedroll that he'd remembered Kitiara, who was probably still lying on the road where Dalamar had let her fall.

He'd meant to go out and find her, but in the space between one thought and the next sleep had overtaken him.


-Sturm's POV-

Sturm went to his blankets uneasy. He was certain they had done the right thing in stopping the Belzorites from taking the law into their own hands and burning Raistlin. He even agreed with the show the young mage had put to discredit the Belzorites, who were clearly duping the people of Haven.

No, what Sturm worried about was the murder of Judith.

He wasn't sure who had done it, but he didn't trust Raistlin, and Caramon could be all too easily hoodwinked to serve as a reliable witness. Not to mention that Raistlin had some very good reasons to want to kill the priestess. It was quite conceivable that the young mage had in truth murdered Judith and tried to place the blame on Kitiara's head.

It had been Kit's knife he had used, certainly, but the was nothing stopping Raistlin from borrowing her knife for the deed, perhaps intending to frame his sister for the murder. Certainly there was no love lost between the siblings.

He would have to confront Raistlin and Caramon tomorrow.


-Tasslehoff's POV-

The kender, on the other hand, had had a marvelous evening. Admittedly it would have been better if it hadn't been Raistlin the Belzorites wanted to burn, but still.

It had been great fun, he'd met some interesting people; including the priests who, for some reason, wanted to drag him into their temple. To Tas, who'd been thrown out of several places but never invited in one, this was highly enjoyable, and the situation only gotten better when Flint had turned up and started a fight with the priests.

Even when everyone had gone it was still fun, he'd run into some of the kender he'd met on the road and the eleven of them had a picnic beside the still burning pyre.

By the time Tasslehoff was walking back to the fairgrounds, it was already morning and some stall keepers were setting out their wares, although they quickly put them away again when they saw him coming.

He found Kitiara, lying where Dalamar had left her the night before. He'd thought about waking her, but then he remembered how people didn't like being woken up in the mornings, at least Flint didn't like it, so he left alone, feeling very noble for being so thoughtful.


-Kitiara's POV-

Kitiara woke up in the middle of the road, a curious donkey sniffing at her. In the chaos of the previous evening she had been completely forgotten.

She sat up, shoving the donkey out of her face. She had an incredible, aching pain in her cheekbone and her right eye couldn't open properly. Gingerly she touched her face and winced, her eye was badly swollen and she probably had a spectacular bruise there.

What the hell had hit her?

Kitiara picked herself up, swaying as the ache in her skull bloomed into a headache of epic proportions, then started slowly back up the path towards the fairgrounds.


-Generic POV-

Raistlin and Dalamar arrived back at the fairgrounds late that morning and Flint took a good deal of pleasure in pointing out to Caramon that his fears had been completely unfounded, his brother was fine.

Both the mages looked rather preoccupied, and when Kitiara stumbled into the group sporting an incredible black eye, the look they turned on her was one of purest venom.

Kit scowled back, before ducking into her tent to change her filthy clothes.

Tanis blinked, amazed at the hatred in the mages' eyes, while Caramon simply looked torn. The virulent emotions between them made everyone uneasy.

It was Raistlin who broke the silence first, he'd been looking at once thoughful and slightly irritated since he'd arrived. "I want to.." He sighed, "I want to thank you all for helping me last night. I underestimated these people and put you all at risk, you saved my life and I owe you all a debt." The mage looked none too pleased about this.

Raistlin felt Dalamar grip his hand hard, but the Dark elf's face was blank.

Caramon shrugged easily, tension broken, "You don't owe me anything Raist."

"Nevertheless," Raistlin glanced around the group, "I do, you stopped them from killing me and I am thankful."

"Raistlin." This time it was Sturm who spoke, "I have given the matter serious thought and I think you should turn yourself in to the authorities, if only to honor your debt to me."

Raistlin blinked, "What for?"

Sturm scowled, "For the murder of the priestess."

Raistlin shook his head, "I didn't kill her."

"You were found with a bloodstained knife in your hand, I spoke to the catchpole who was there myself."

"Sturm, I swear to you, on the name of Gods of Magic, that I didn't kill Judith." Raistlin gazed unblinkingly at him.

Sturm's lips thinned, it was no secret that he didn't trust Raistlin, but he knew of Raistlin's belief in the Gods of Magic and he couldn't really believe the mage would lie on such an oath. He sighed and nodded.
"Very well, but do you know who did do it?"

Caramon beat Raistlin to it; while his twin would happily turn Kitiara in, Caramon couldn't stand to have their family torn apart any more.
"No."

Sturm blinked, but in seeing the desperate expression on Caramon's face he stopped his questioning.


-Flint's POV-

There might have been another day left of the fair, but Flint had had his fill and more of Haven. The first thing he'd done that morning was to pack up his belongings and get ready to leave the accursed town once and for all. To the abyss with Haven and all it's inhabitants, he'd been in half a mind to even throw out their money but then decided against it, it was going a bit far.

Still, he'd feel much more comfortable when Haven was a disappearing dot on the horizon.

After shooing away yet another bunch of idiots who wanted a blow-by-blow account of the previous evening, Flint threw the last of his merchandise on the cart and began to dismantle the tent.


-Raistlin's POV-

There was one final scare before they left Haven, the High Sheriff himself appeared looking for Raistlin. Dalamar, who had dressed in his black robes now that the church of Belzor had been run out of town, met the man first.

Raistlin hid a smile at the man's obvious shock at running into a Dark elf in the middle of a fairground and stepped forward before things got out of hand.

In fact, the sheriff had come to apologize to Raistlin for wrongful arrest. A young novice at the temple had seen Raistlin after Judith had been murdered but had been too afraid to step forward before now. He also added in a low tone and with several glances at Dalamar, that mages weren't welcome in Haven, Lemuel was harmless but they didn't want any more. The man then bid them a hasty farewell and hurried away.

Raistlin stared after him unblinkingly, a chill running up his spine, it was only now that he could feel the events of last night starting to finally sink in. Gods, it still felt like some kind of dream, but the bright red blistering running from wrist to elbow showed that it had been very real indeed.

He fingered the dagger Tasslehoff had given him, it had come from Lemuel and he had strapped it to his wrist as so to have always at hand. Helpless no more.

"Come on," Dalamar said at length, "The others are leaving and I don't think you want to stay in this town a minute more than I do."

Raistlin smiled slightly and turned to Dalamar. The Dark elf looked...shaken. Raistlin wondered why he hadn't seen it earlier, it seemed so clear on his face.

The young mage put an arm around Dalamar and kissed him, and to the blazes with anyone who saw them.

Dalamar gave a low, harsh growl and kissed back savagely, devouring Raistlin's mouth, hands gripping Raistlin's robes, pulling him close.

Their mouths broke apart, but neither let go, holding on to the other all the harder. Eyes closed.


-Dalamar's POV-

Gods, I almost lost you.


RR please.

Skull Bearer.