Disclaimer: I in no way own X or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

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The Sumeragi mage lifted his emerald gaze to watch the puffy clouds that rolled overhead on a high-riding luke-warm breeze that smelled of drying leaves and dying flowers, hinting that autumn's days were not far removed. Blinking as those white flurries of soft coloration slowly slid across the brilliant blue that touched from horizon to horizon, leaping from mountain to plain, he let a tired yet satisfied sigh leak from his lips. The night's chase had ended with him battling a powerful wraith in a field just to the east of Neverwinter's walls, fighting desperately to free that indentured spirit from its servitude to the demonic sakura serviced by the Sakurazukamori. It had taken more magical might than the necromancer had originally intended to utilize, draining his pouch almost completely of its stock of magical spell components and nearly wiping his mind clean of incantations.

That night as his final spell was set into motion and the black cloud of the wraith's form slowly faded away like smoke carried by a gust of wind, the undead creature's true spiritual form had answered the young mage's question - he, a simple farmer in peasants clothing, barefooted and baring naught that would serve him in defending himself save the ghostly shades of a garden spade, was indeed the first wraith created in the town of Neverwinter, the one responsible for nearly half of the numbers that had already been destroyed, and he was the last unliving monster that plagued the town.

As the man's thick form and his bearded smiling face faded from view, his brown eyes glimmering with happiness and thanks while he bowed in gratitude, the mage took a seat in the lush grass of that battlefield. Raising his eyes to the horizon, he watched it calmly and awaited the coming of dawn.

He'd been in Neverwinter for a month. He'd eliminated twelve wraiths.

He'd enjoyed more dinners of spaghetti than he'd known he could stand, laughing to himself as he noted Magami Toru's creativity and her innovative solutions to getting the boy she claimed as her son to eat his vegetables.

Before the Magami household, Subaru Sumeragi would never have assumed that cucumber, celery, zucchini and broccoli could become a part of spaghetti and not ruin its flavor entirely.

While the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, its brilliant rays preceding its globular form over the far off hills that lay to the east, the wizard watched the lazy clouds drift overhead, taking his time to relax and gather his strength.

Now that the disaster left by the one he hunted in Neverwinter had been cleared, he had to prepare to continue his hunt. The Sakurazukamori had undoubtedly been on the move for the entire time he'd been sequestered to the small city and clearing it of its undead plague, utilizing his mystical dagger to offer sacrifice to his godhead and snagging more souls in the dire trap that was the sakura's twisted boughs and terrible power to twist those gentle spirits into bloodthirsty wraiths bent entirely towards destruction, lusting endlessly for the touch of life once more and overflowing with putrid hatred of all who still possessed that precious gift. There would be a month's worth of travel to catch up on, a month's worth of victims to free from the physical realm and send to their prison in the sakura's branches, a month's worth of hunting to dedicate himself to. And the Sakurazukamori was not one to make such a hunt easy.

Laying back in the grass, its blades dry and bent from being trampled during the battle that had waged in ernst but an hour ago, he watched the clouds, his gaze passing idly past a flock of birds that swiftly flew from the west towards the southeast.

He had a hunt to resume.

And he had a mission to begin.

Frowning as he recalled his meeting with the head of the mystic Vistani of Ravenloft one month precluding that morning, he closed his eyes and let his thick black lashes press to pale cheeks, shrouding his eyes in comforting blackness barely touched with the glaring light of the sun of summer's end that managed to seep through the thin flesh of his eyelids.

She'd told him that the Sakurazukamori, his most dire enemy and his prey for nine years, had contracted the services of the Lord of Shadows who hailed from the Vistani's home realm, the Demiplane of Nightmares itself. That he'd drawn a bargain with this force of evil in a willful attempt to destroy all life that flourished through the Realms he as the head of the Sumeragi clan was tasked to protect.

She'd told him that he'd need to take a person from the city he was currently in, one unknown to himself, to the town called Threeswords.

Subaru let his lips twist into a scowl as he squinted his eyes more tightly shut to prevent the intrusive sunlight from seeping between his eyelids.

During his time in Neverwinter, he'd not had much of an opportunity to know any other than the residents of the household he was residing in at that time. The other inhabitants of that city, though they slowly lost that initial loathing that had been so evident when he'd first arrived, never came to fully trust him. His profession as a necromancer overrode all that he did to rescue them from their situation, drawing all the seemingly instinctual fear the very name of that institute garnered. People wouldn't acknowledge that he was, as a commander of life and death, there to help them by putting the souls of their loved ones to rest. They remained leery, watching his every movement, critiquing all he did and ensuring he made no effort to take command of those spirits he was actively releasing from their bonds to the physical realm and turn them to his own will.

Not once did he blame them for their inhibitions. It simply sickened him that their fear, their natural hatred, was deserved due to the actions of others who practiced his art, utilizing the darker aspects of the school he practiced for ill towards humanity.

His options concerning who it was that would accompany him were surprisingly low. As he reflected on those few individuals he'd come to know a bit more personally than simply being able to acknowledge them as a native or a permanent inhabitant of Neverwinter, he saw his array of possibilities dwindle to near nonexistence.

The only one he knew in this entire city that had no true knowledge of himself, the only one he suspected the Vistani prophetess was speaking of, was the young silver dragon who believed himself to be an ordinary fifteen year old boy.

Kamui.

Subaru allowed a scowl to turn his lips, frowning miserably at the picturesque sky above him. Of all persons, that was the one he had no desire to take with him on any venture. The boy had no adventuring experience, having lived in the city he was inhabiting at the time for the entirety of his human life. His worldly experience consisted of knowledge of which vendors were the most honest in the bazaar, of which trees were the easiest to climb, of which barkeeps would secretly serve him alcohol despite Neverwinter's stringent laws concerning such. He had never touched a sword before he'd lifted Subaru's own katana in curiosity, unsheathing it and staring with wide eyes at the blade, amazed that such a work of craftsmanship had actually taken lives before. He had no knowledge of magical spells, and indeed had no ability to instigate those spell effects that he, as a silver dragon, should have natural inclination towards creating. He lacked the grace and agility of the professional rogue, making him a liability and a hindrance rather than an aid in any situation that would require a delicate touch and quick reactions; he was a bumbling adolescent who's feet were too big and who's frame was still absurdly gangly. He'd never hunted, never gathered food in the wilderness, never looked to the heavens to figure out weather patterns that would affect his daily activities. He had lived the ordinary life of a Neverwinter child, going to school to learn how to read and right basic numerals and letters, learning the teachings of the Gods and their differing viewpoints and portfolios, learning what all commoners believe to be the abilities of magicians, learning simple economics and trading techniques, studying heraldry and etiquette for day-to-day life. He'd played in the streets with other children his age, gone to the local temples to pray for good fortune, gone shopping for his mother at the marketplace, and had once gotten to ride a horse - the highlight of his young life.

The boy would be an incredible burden on the Sumeragi mage's already terrible condition.

It wasn't that which deterred him from wanting to have the boy accompany him, though. His true concern was that the boy would come to harm on the road.

He was beginning, after a month of living in his presence, to rather like him.

The young necromancer had always had a fondness for children. The innocence of youth, the bright sparkle of eyes viewing the world with interest, the purity of emotional display and depth of truthfulness made the younger generations of the world more appealing to him than adults. Adults, through lessons taught by the harsh realities of life, were capable of falsehoods and lies, of misdirecting and deceit. Honesty was a trait that was punished. Emotions were a weakness to overcome, making a person vulnerable and liable to be hurt.

He himself through the trials of life had come to early maturity, learning that emotion was a fault rather than a strength. He'd learned early on that love was the most horrible emotion a person could hold in his heart, capable of shattering him completely. He'd learned that important lesson through direct experience.

He'd learned that tears earn ridicule, that a smile is almost always read as false, that kindness leads one to be taken advantage of, that assisting others tends to bring harm rather than good to one's shoulders. He'd learned that truth derives hatred. He'd learned to live a constant lie and take whatever happiness he could from it.

Given his own situation, realizing that the wisdom of age had brought it into being and that his happiness had fled with it, he loved and appreciated the innocence of youth. It was a quality of every child he met that he always cursed, knowing that it would be tarnished and stained as life progressed, yet always praised, longing for the return of that beautiful status to himself and merrily acknowledging jealousy of.

Kamui still had that quality. He was still bright eyed about the world, not seeing the faults that flooded its folds, not seeing the wretchedness of humanity. He was still sheltered, safe from the waves of racism, of bias, of bigotry and hate that buried those who'd been ravished by life's flow.

Subaru wanted, more than anything, to preserve that quality in the interesting young boy he found a daily source of amusement. However, he realized he could not direct the flow of fate. He could not fight against the will of the Vistani leader who'd tasked him.

If he did, he'd be condemning those who were at risk from the threat she'd made him aware of. He'd be sentencing uncounted hordes to their deaths.

Slowly rising from his bed upon the grass, the young mage dusted his pants off with glove-encased hands.

His task in this city had been completed.

It was time to move on.

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Subaru calmly rolled the long parchment scroll and eased it into its case, attempting desperately to ignore the roaring argument that was pouring through the thin walls of the room he had been granted use of within the confines of the Magami household. Kamui and his mother were battling one another verbally.

The Sumeragi mage had no desire to exit the room with their small war raging, especially not when he'd been the direct cause of it.

When he'd returned from his encounter in the field and calmly told Toru and Kamui that his task in the city of Neverwinter had been completed and that the wraiths were no more, they'd both shown relief. Toru had asked him how long he intended to stay. Kamui had voiced that he was welcome to remain until he absolutely, without a doubt needed to go.

It had been slightly uplifting to hear the boy proclaim that. It wasn't very often that Subaru had people practically begging him to stay in one place. More often than not it was during those times when he could provide assistance but the governing forces in charge of the town refused to accept his aid, leaving the townspeople to throw themselves upon his more than adequate mercy and convince him to do his work for payment in the form of food and shelter. He'd never had anyone offer an invitation for him to relax and remain after a job's completion.

He'd told the pair that he'd need a week to gather his supplies that he'd need for his next journey and to plot out his travel route.

Kamui had then asked where he intended to go, his amethyst eyes sad and dull after listening to the necromancer proclaim that he was indeed planning on leaving.

When Subaru had told them that he'd been tasked to go to Threeswords by a prophetess, Toru had cringed. Apparently rumors flooding the city's inns these days portrayed the town that lay nearly four months travel as the raven flies to the south east as being a ransacked death hole, filled with undead and reeking of decay, its buildings toppled and a horrible dark castle erected in its center.

Kamui begged him to stay. When Subaru simply bowed his head and told them that he could not refuse the will of the Princess who directed his actions lest something worse arise, the boy questioned her motives.

Hinoto's directions had never lead the Sumeragi clan array before. Indeed, with the power of her foresight she was able to advert horrible futures with a simple placement of one or more persons, with a basic redirection of events that would lead to a different termination. Subaru never doubted her validity, especially not after seeing it himself.

He'd only denied her will once.

His twin had died for it.

Having refused to turn his heart from the path it was following and relinquish his growing appreciation and love for Sakurazuka Seishiro, he'd allowed the future she'd foreseen to play itself into reality, unchanged and unaltered despite his belief that he through his power, abilities and supposed hold on the Sakurazukamori would be able to prevent the tragedies she'd predicted while retaining his emotional ties. He'd been proven wrong at the end of that year, left with his sister's body and the grim realization that she had been correct, that his twin's death was entirely upon his own head.

He'd vowed to never deny the Vistani leader's wishes nor doubt the validity of her dreams again.

Kamui was obviously not satisfied with his simple proclamation that he would not refuse the Princess' will and demanded an explanation which Subaru had refused to give, simply telling him that such an explanation involved personal affairs he would rather not reminisce about at the moment. Toru had assisted him by directing Kamui's attention away from his inquisition as to why he had to leave to whether or not there was anything they could do to assist him before he began his journey.

The Sumeragi mage had chosen that moment to reveal the remainder of Hinoto's wishes - that he go, and that he be accompanied by Kamui.

Kamui, the only person in the entire city of Neverwinter that he had found and could think of who fit the Princess' description of having no idea of his true self.

Toru had exploded at that.

Kamui's eyes had practically glowed with excitement.

Subaru had run off to his room to go pack with a simple statement of his intentions when mother and son had turned on one another and started discussing whether or not he should be allowed to go.

Toru had been reaming her boy for the last hour about his inexperience, Subaru's apparent madness for wishing to go dancing into the very fires of Hell that Threeswords had apparently become in accordance to the rumors that were flying about their home city, and his scholastic responsibilities. Kamui had been firing right back with gripes about his need for worldly experience and how he would never attain such locked away in a city, Toru's hypocrisy considering that she herself had been an adventurer (to which she'd replied that it was because of that experience that she didn't want him leaving until he was much older and at least could handle a weapon), his accompanying the necromancer assuring that he would be well protected, his desire to help out not only Subaru but whatever people needed help in 'that place he's going.'

Subaru contented himself with folding his meager collection of clothing and rolling his scrolls for storage while they verbally duked it out between them.

By the time he was packed, Kamui was knocking on his door, merrily asking whether or not he could come in. Subaru opened the door.

"I can go!" the boy brightly proclaimed, his eyes huge with happiness and a smile stretching without control across his face.

Nodding once, the necromancer let his lips curl into the slightest hint of a smile, encouraged by the boy's own merry expression. "Very well. I'll help you pack."

"Alright! This is going to be so cool," he chattered aimlessly as they walked down the short hallway to the door to Kamui's chambers.

Subaru narrowly avoided falling flat on his face as he entered the room and promptly tripped over a pile of clothes that littered the floor.

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It had taken nearly three hours.

Three hours to pack the boy's belongings and convince him that he would not need and indeed could not carry everything he wanted to bring along.

First he'd wanted to pack everything in his room, insisting that it wouldn't be that much. Kamui's eyes had nearly rolled out of his head when Subaru sighed and told him that he would be carrying everything he intended to bring upon his back and in his arms, as many of the roads he intended to travel were simply too hazardous for horseback riding.

After lamenting about the fact that he wouldn't get to ride a horse, the young boy had taken another glance about his room and frowned. Turning towards Subaru, he'd asked how much the mage had packed.

Kamui's screech of "WHAT? How can you live with only that!" had all but roared through the house after the necromancer had revealed that he had but one backpack, his book satchel, his scroll case and two belt pouches, one for spell components and the other for coins.

It was then that Subaru decided to sit down upon Kamui's bed and itemize exactly what he'd need, telling him to bring the items he told him to gather and set them upon the bed. He'd then help the boy fold his belongings and pack them efficiently.

Two pairs of breeches, two rough tunics, one pair of soft boots, a good number of socks and underwear, a blanket and a hat later, they began searching the house for usable items for him to bring. They managed to gather some torches, a flint rock, a well crafted knife that would serve as a dagger, a whetstone and Kamui's pup tent from his days of camping in the back yard. Toru had presented her boy with a sack of rations and a trio of filled water skins along with a well worn backpack who's servitude to her had begun with her first adventure. She also gifted him with an exquisite watch glass, a pack of needles and a spool of thread, paper and a writing kit with quill and ink for him to write home with, and a heavy sack with a couple good handfuls of silver and gold coins in its confines.

The rest of the necessities for travel were left to Subaru. He was always prepared for the journey, and would easily be able to compensate for having another mouth to feed and another body to provide for.

The biggest hurdle in getting Kamui prepared to leave had been convincing him that he truly didn't need to bring what Subaru had subconsciously dubbed to be his horde.

A rather large, sprawling pile of fairly useless junk was Kamui's pride and joy, its contents ranging from surprisingly well-conditioned copper pieces from various city mints that he'd received as change or found laying in the road to shirt buttons that were shiny. He had a few jewels, obviously from jewelry who's prongs were so worn as to allow the release of their precious contents, and some jewelry that he'd found laying around the house and had refused to return to Toru because 'it was his and it was in his pile of stuff because he found it so there.' He had scraps of cloth with shiny embroidery in it, shards of a broken glass which Toru had tried on multiple occasions to throw away, a trumpet who's horn was dented that he'd found in an alley and a collection of rocks that sparkled when the sunlight hit them.

Subaru had managed to convince him that leaving his precious collection in the security of his home would be his best move, refraining from telling him that dragons don't regularly pack up their hordes and take them with them when they travel for adventure or for food.

Begrudgingly Kamui left his pile sitting in his room, firmly directing his mother not to move anything from it and to guard it as she would guard the house itself - with her life.

All said and done, three hours passed before Subaru could return to his room and continue packing his materials, stowing his precious spell components carefully and methodically as Kamui ran amuck in the town to say goodbye to everyone and Toru went about her business.

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Subaru could feel his eye twitching and silently prayed to Kelemvor, the God he revered, that it wasn't making itself visible to the people he was being confronted with.

This was not what he wanted.

Kamui had returned from his sojourn into town to bid farewell to his friends with his best buddy in tow - a boy who had nary two years on the young silver dragon turned human by the name of Arisugawa Sorata. Sorata, or 'Sora' as he insisted he be called, was an apprentice to the town magician, learning the art of 'blowing shit up' as he so astutely put it. And, as he'd been told that Kamui was going on a grand venture to Threeswords and was likely to find 'enemies and monsters and treasure and whole bunches of other nifty stuff' on the way, he'd decided that his best friend shouldn't have to travel alone.

Subaru had grunted that he'd be accompanying the boy. Sorata had smiled brightly and replied right back that he meant 'without someone who hasn't been there for most've his life.'

Subaru had told him no. Sorata had told him that he'd follow them anyway.

Subaru had told him that he'd lose him. Sorata had told him that he knew Locate Object and wasn't afraid to use it.

Subaru had told him that he'd rip his still-energized soul from his still-living body and was perfectly capable of doing it as he was quite a proficient necromancer. Sorata had grinned and told him that it'd be cool and then he could haunt him until he died. When Subaru countered that he was more than capable of banishing spirits, Sorata had laughed that he'd convince his Goddess to let him come back.

Then Kamui turned his gaze to Subaru. "Would you really kill him?" he'd whispered softly, his voice mournful and quiet, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears as his veil of heroism he'd drawn about the Sumeragi mage began to lift and reveal him for the crass adult he might very well be.

Subaru melted.

He'd grudgingly agreed to let Sorata follow, provided he could keep up.

Sorata had instantly cheered and offered his hand, which Subaru had stared at blankly. Clutching empty air, the Arisugawa boy had simply smirked and shrugged, proclaiming that being antisocial was no way to drive him away and his tenacity would continue until he managed to break the mage.

Then he and Kamui began talking excitedly about what they would do on this adventure, what they would learn, where they would go, what they could encounter and every aspect of the task of journeying across the Faerun that their young, inexperienced minds could derive.

It wasn't long until Sorata was pestering the necromancer to look at his spell book and see if there was anything he could possibly transpose into his own, as he was naught but an apprentice and had only Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt, Fireball, Color Spray, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Knock, Cantrip and Alarm in his own collection of magical instructions.

Subaru had to fight his urges to smack the overly exuberant young mage hopeful with his tome. Instead he granted Sorata a blank stare before going back to pouring over his maps and deciding which roads he would take.

While the necromancer held his head and rubbed his temples while staring at the map, Kamui hurried off with Sorata to speak with his mother concerning what his friend should bring on their adventure, leaving their older leader alone to think in peace.

Toru entered the room nearly two hours after the adolescent pair had left as he was lightly tracing over an abandoned trade route he and very few others knew of, drawing it into existence upon the map which did not feature it for lack of travel. Immediately following her were two individuals, both with backpacks and heavily laden pouches. One, a tall and broad shouldered man with light brown hair and chocolate eyes that glimmered merrily behind glasses, was dressed in soft robes that were dyed with swirling patterns of white, light gray and blue with a large medallion dangling upon his chest depicting the holy symbol of the Goddess of Wind, obviously revealing him to be a cleric. The other was a woman of nearly Subaru's height dressed in rough commoner's clothing covered by heavy, well-used partial field plate consisting of a breastplate designed for her ample chest, a set of greaves and vanguards, gauntlets and a helm sporting a dark red tail of horsehair which she held under her arm. Upon her hip was strapped a scabbard containing a longsword with an intricately designed pommel designed to reflect the shape of a lick of flame and done in ruby.

Lifting his eyes from his map, he glanced over the two new persons. His lips turned with a slight frown. "Yes, Magami-san?" he quietly inquired.

Smiling, she nodded. "There's one small hitch to your abduction of my son, Mr. Sumeragi."

"He comes of his own will, Magami-san."

"However, he goes with my permission, and leaves only if my conditions are met."

"And your conditions are?"

"That he be accompanied by these people."

"And they are?"

She smiled brightly. "Seiichiro Aoki, the priest who was accompanying me when I found Kamui. And this is Karen Kasumi, his current adventuring companion."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Seiichiro said with a smile and a curt bow.

"Don't worry at all about little Kamui," Karen added with a grin as she also bent at the waist in greeting. "We'll help you protect him. We know it's a big burden to have him and his friend Sorata around needing you for everything, so we'll do what we can to take some of that weight off your shoulders."

"Some time during this venture, though, you're going to have to tell us why you're taking Kamui to Threeswords of all places. Really, a better adventure for a beginner like him would be a sojourn to Ormath! Wouldn't you agree, Karen?" Seiichiro chirped.

"Yes I would, Seiichiro!" she heartily agreed. "Threeswords. Isn't that where-"

The necromancer ceased to pay attention to their conversation as they started speaking to one another about their inevitable destination upon the journey Magami Toru had drafted them to involve themselves with.

He was startled back into reality as they turned as one to him.

"So, when are we all leaving?" they asked in unison.

Subaru stared at them.

He was loath to have just one companion. Now he was being burdened with an entire party.

His eye twitched.

tbc...