The weeks following the city council meeting were full of excitement, in the perpetration for Kai's wedding. Kai's father had arranged for the wedding to be held in the courtyard of the Temple of Marr. After all what place could be more appropriate for a wedding than in front of the temple of the Goddess of love? For it was said that Erollisi herself would ensure that any marriage made before her would endure forever.

Aeril had invited Kryn to come with him to the wedding, but she had declined saying it would be rude to go since she wasn't invited. But Kai having overheard the conversation quickly said that she was definitely invited, after all it would be rude to only invite one half of a couple.

So she reluctantly agreed to go, which is why she was now staring at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple grey robe similar to what a magic user would wear, a necklace with a small green gem, a pair of cloth gloves, and soft grey slippers made from wolf fur. Her mother had lent them all to her despite her misgivings. She continued to stare at herself in the mirror wondering why she was going to go.

She knew why though, in her minds eye she could see the smile of a cute little redheaded Elf, and her self-confident human counterpart. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of Aeril. Just being around him made her feel happy. She knew she was falling for him, it was easy to see. Half of Freeport probably knew! She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. It was almost as if he had enthralled her from the moment they first looked at each other eye to eye.

The thing was, despite the fact the she admitted to herself her feeling for him, she had no idea what he felt for her. Many people had said things implying that they were a couple, but he would always say they were just friends. Was it because he only liked her as a friend or perhaps because he was shy or uncertain about her feelings for him. She wasn't sure, and was afraid that he only looked at her as a friend to find out. She had decided to play it safe. To just assume he didn't like her, that way it wouldn't hurt as much if she found it was true. But it was hard, because there were many times when it did seem like he did like her. Things like sometimes walking hand in hand, or the private picnics they would sometimes have.

But for now she would continue like always and cherish the time they spent together. She would enjoy having lunch with him, watching him as she practiced, and silently laughing at the look he would give her whenever he was utterly confused. She noted she was smiling again, but she couldn't help it so she continued to stare at herself in the mirror.

She wasn't the only one to notice her smile, her mother frowned slightly when she realized what her daughter was smiling at. Or rather Who she was thinking about. But seeing her daughter so cheerful she couldn't deny her the chance to spend time with the person that made her so blissfully happy. So she gave her permission albeit very reluctantly, despite the fact that she thought her daughter was much too young to be contemplating love.

Clearing her throat she said to her daughter. "If you do not hurry, the wedding will be over. Now go find this boy that makes you smile so, and get to the wedding."

"Thank you mom! This means so much to me." Giving her mother a quick hug, she grabbed her copper wizard pin and secured it in place before leaving.

**********

It was late that night when she returned. She was surprised to find her mother there waiting for her. Raising her eyebrows she said with a radiant smile on her face. "Why hello mother, what a pleasant surprise."

Her mother, Naelqua, said. "I see your back -- and are those flowers in your hand?"

Its called a bouquet mother. Its a human tradition for the bride to throw her bouquet, its supposed to signify the next girl to marry."

Naelqua looked at her daughter wide eyed. "Surely you don't mean..." She said trailing off.

She frowned as her daughter took a pensive look. "What do you think mother. Should I wait for him to ask me, or should I be the one to ask him? He is a bit shy after all."

"Young lady you are much too young to be thinking about marriage! Much less to a boy you hardly know. Why your father and I didn't start seeing each other until we were both well over 150."

Bursting out in laughter her daughter said. "I was only joking mother. I don't even know how he feels about me, and I'm not ready to ask him either. But you have got to be kidding me, there is no way I'm waiting till I'm 150! I'm in love now."

"You are 15. You are too young to know what love is, your being too rash. You should have patience and not rush things."

"You know perfectly well, that I am mature for my age."

"Physically, yes you are. But you are not acting mature. This crush of yours is making you lose perspective, and ignore your training. You haven't practiced once since our trip to High Hold Keep. How do you expect to get better if you don't practice?"

Seeing her daughter wasn't going to answer, she sighed and walked over to Kryn's bed. Sitting down next to her daughter, she placed an arm around her. "There's nothing wrong with being in love, in fact your father and I think its great. What concerns us is your losing focus and your studies are suffering because of it. You should never place any man above your studies, men are too fickle for that. Today they may be in love with you, but tomorrow they've already found someone else. If you slack in your studies to be with a man, what happens if he leaves you? You can never be sure how a man is going to think of you the next day, until he puts a ring on your finger."

"And just how do you expect me to get him to put a ring on my finger if I act that cynical?"

"There are two ways actually. You can make him fall in love with you. Make him open himself up to you, so that he'll share his dreams, his nightmares, his aspirations, and his fears with you. Make him so comfortable with you, that he can't imagine what his life would be like without you. Make him trust you unequivocally, so that he'll have complete faith in all you say and do. And most importantly reciprocate all that back to him. Once you reach that point, I can assure you there will be a ring on your finger.

"You do realize that along with being extremely vague, your also contradicting yourself."

"My dear child." She said smiling. "My first talk was about discipline and caution, the second was of trust. Very different ideas of equal importance. Both of which you seem to be seriously lacking and need to spend some time improving."

"Ok I admit, I've been slaking in my studies recently. I'll increase my daily studying to help compensate. But I think Aeril and I are doing well in the trust department. In fact we seem to be getting closer everyday."

"Really!" She asked in an extremely skeptical voice. "I see, so that means you told him about - that's what I thought."

"But if I do he'll be angry, hurt or worse both. He may never talk to me again or even look at me. I.. I can't."

"But you have to, and the sooner the better. The truth will come out eventually. Its better you tell him on your own terms, than for him to find out some other way. I'm sorry to say that if he can't accept it, well what can you other than live with it? You'll just have to suffer the consequences of your actions. We tried to tell you not to, but you didn't want to listen. For your sake though, I hope he can accept it. But remember this, trust is stronger the any metal, yet as fragile as glass. If used correctly it bind people strongly that there isn't anything that can separate them. But one that trust is misused and broken it is hard to repair. Even if you do repair it, it may never be as strong as it was before."

"I understand mother, I'm just scared. Scared of what of how he'll react, scared of being hurt, and scared of him leaving me. I don't know if I could take it. Its hard, I don't know if I can do it. At least not yet."

Wrapping her daughter in a big hug she said. "I know it's hard darling. Loving another person is the greatest vulnerability a person can have, but it is also the greatest strength too. I know how hard it is for you to trust others. Your first memories are of being abandoned in the woods, left die by the undead or other creatures of the forest. Even after we found you and gave you a home, it took you a long time to fully trust us. It just takes time, I'm sure when the time is your you'll feel confident enough to tell him."

"I hope so."

"I know so. Now go to sleep. We've talked long enough, and you had a busy day."

She tucked her daughter in and was preparing to leave, when the girl asked. "Wait a minute. You said there are two methods, what is the other one?"

She turned and with a self satisfied smirk told her daughter. "Perhaps, I'll tell you when your older." Not waiting for her daughters response she quickly went out the door."

**********

The following day, she walked to the west gate to wait for Aeril to come back form his patrol. After waiting some time she reluctantly approached the Ogre. "Has Aeril returned from patrol yet?"

Boomba looked down at her and said. "Boy no come today."

This caught her off guard. "But he is supposed to be returning from patrol right about now. Where could he be?"

"Boomba not know."

"Well, thank you." She said and began walking off in wonder. She decided to find Varlon and ask him. As she approached the Ashen Order guild hall, she noticed several people gathered around looking at something. She decided to head that way to see if Aeril was there.

She looked through the crowd for the familiar human or Elven face, but didn't see him anywhere. She was about to leave when she glanced at what had everyone's attention.

It was Aeril. Or rather Aeril and some older boy fighting. Behind them she could see Varlon, Braka, and a few other people she assumed to be trainers.

Aeril and the boy were fighting at a fairly fast pace, much faster than his usual spars with Braka. She saw the monk keeping score currently had the score at 2 - 3, against Aeril. She turned back in time to see Aeril land a solid punch to the older boy's stomach. She applauded loudly with the rest of the crowd.

She almost missed Varlon look at one of the other trainers and nod his head. The other trainer whistled loudly and raised his arm. At first she thought he had stopped the fight, but once she looked to Aeril, she realized it had instead gotten faster.

Aeril was on the defensive. The older boy kept coming at him with blow after blow. Aeril was now blocking a lot more than he was dodging. She looked at the trainers and saw a few looking semi impressed. Braka though looked expectant, like he was waiting for something.

Looking back at the fight she noticed the boy launch a kick straight at Aeril's head. Even she could tell Aeril would be unable to block fast enough. She closed her eyes to avoid seeing the blow.

Sure enough, she heard the crowd cheer. Opening her eyes slowly she looked for Aeril and was surprised to see a red headed Elven girl. A look at the score keeping monk showed the score still 3-3. She looked at Braka and saw the smug look he had on his face and immediately knew what he had been waiting for. Aeril's change. She was much quicker as an Elf and now having a much easier time dodging the others attacks. But she knew Aeril couldn't keep the pace much longer. If she wanted to win, she would have to take a more offensive role.

Aeril obviously knew this as well, and began acting on it. She jumped a good ways back. Everyone including Braka seemed surprised at that. But when he broke out into a run straight at the older boy, everyone was left completely dumbfounded. The boy stayed where he was waiting for the charging girl to get into range. When she did, the boy quickly moved to deliver a roundhouse. But Aeril suddenly jumped over the boy towards the city walls.

Still more confusion for the spectators as they couldn't figure out why the girl would want to trap herself between him and the walls. But Aeril wasn't done. She began turning in the air, so that when she hit the wall, she landed feet first. Then without losing very much momentum, she pushed off the wall diagonally. Straight for the boy who was just starting to turn around to face her.

The boy didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late. The flying kick landed squarely on the boy's stomach. He was pushed to the ground skidding for a few feet. Meanwhile Aeril made a quick flip in mid air and landed softly on her feet.

No one cheered. The score keeper didn't change the score, and the trainers all just stood their gaping. It wasn't until the older boy began trying to get up that every came back to their senses. The score keeper remembering his job announced. Quickly tallying up the points he gave 2 points for the body kick and 1 point for knocking him down. "Three points Aeril. Victory!"

Now the crowd cheered. Braka turned to look at Puab Closk, the man next to him and leader of the Ashen Order. "So" Braka said. "Did she pass? Is she ready enough to take the test for the yellow sash?"

Puab looked at him and said. "Yellow! The kid is probably ready for the orange sash. Yes! By all means. In fact..." He raised his hand to silence the crowd. "As this performance shows, I hear by authorize Aeril, Child of Varlon, to undergo a quest to obtain Both the yellow and orange sashes."

Aeril, who had moved to check if the fallen boy was ok, turned to look at Puab. "Thank you, Sir."

"There is no need for thanks. I am not giving them to you as a gift, you have earned the right to obtain them." Then turning to the other trainers he said. "Come we have much to discuss. All of you are free to leave for the day."

After helping the fallen boy up. She was about to head off when she heard Kryn calling her, and turned towards the taller girl. "Hey Kryn watcha doin here?" We weren't supposed to meet till later."

"I know, but I wanted to see you now, since I'm going to be leaving soon."

"Again?" The redhead asked.

"My mother's upset with me because I haven't been training much since the last trip."

"Training? What kind of training?"

"I train in knowledge of course! subjects like geography, theology, history, and other sciences. Not to mention the more practical fields like black smithing, tailoring, and merchant craft." But talking about training, that was some show you just put on. Way to go!"

"Aeril looked slightly embarrassed. "Thanks. When Skelta began speeding up, I started getting worried. I didn't even have time to think, I was just going on instinct. If I woulda changed another second later that woulda been it. I coulda got him when I changed, but I wasn't close enough."

"What about that move you used to finish him off?"

Aeril shrugged. "It isn't really a move, I was just improvising. I jumped back at first to get a little breathing room. But then I came up witha plan. I was gonna run at him and then slide under him, but he closed his stance to much. I had to do something, and that was the next thing I thought up."

Kryn looked impressed. "Wow, that's pretty good. What do you say we eat something?"

"Sure thing." She said, but then she noticed Varlon calling for her. "Umm, why don't you go ahead and get some food from the Brownloe's. I'll be right there."

"Sure, no problem." She said, began walking to the nearby bakery. When she arrived Mrs Brownloe was at her window warmly smiling at her. "Hello Mrs. Brownloe."

"Why hello Kryn. How are you today?"

"I'm fine Mrs. Brownloe."

"Good! I'm so glad to hear that. Is Aeril with you?"

"No, she just went to talk to Varlon. Puab just announced he's to go on a quest for both the yellow and orange sashes. I think it has something to do with that."

"Oh wow! That is good news! Please congratulate him for me. You know, today is a nice day. Here, why don't I make you two a nice picnic basket so the two of you can go off and celebrate."

"Thank you Mrs. Brownloe! Thank you so very much!"

"Why its no problem, dear. I just thought that if he's being given a quest, he'll be leaving soon. So I figured the two of you would like to go out on a nice picnic together, since you probably won't be seeing much of each other in a while. That's all." She finished making the basket and gave it to her. "Now you two enjoy!"

She shock her head as she walked towards the guild house. Kryn liked her. She was a nice lady, and they would often get food from her bakery. Kryn suspected that Mrs. Brownloe was convinced that the two of them were secretly seeing each other, despite Aeril's many claims to the contrary. She would often ask if they 'official' yet, or send them off to do something together so they could spend time together. Kryn smiled, she definitely liked her very much.

She had barely arrived, when Aeril came out. "Oh wow! That sure is a lot of food."

"Well I told Mrs. Brownloe about Puab's announcement. She wanted me to congratulate you for her and gave us this basket to celebrate."

"Hey, that's a great idea. What do you think of taking a hike to the beach? Itsa bit of a walk, but it'll be fun!"

"And exactly what beach are you thinking about? There aren't exactly that many beaches in Freeport." She in a voice that said she was curious yet interested.

"No, not in Freeport per se, in North Ro. Near the barbarian fishing village there."

"North Ro?" She asked making sure she heard her right. Seeing her nod her head, she asked. "Not that I mind, but isn't that a bit far? Why the sudden trip?"

"No reason. Nope, no reason at all, nuh uh." She finished shaking her head no.

"Has anyone told you, how much of a bad liar you are. You just said that it was nothing 4 times. Spill it."

Aeril sighed deeply. "Ok. Well you said you were leaving in a couple of days, and I've just been given a quest so I'll be leaving. So we probably aren't gonna see each other much for a while, so you know. I thought we'd have our own little adventure, together."

Kryn couldn't have kept the grin off her face even if she had wanted to. "Sure! I'd love to."

Aeril's face lit up also. "Great!"

Kryn observed Aeril as walked to the south gate in East Freeport. She was several inches taller than the girl in her current form, but only just barely shorter when she was human. Her hair which was always kept in a pigtail was as red as the autumn leaves, and her skin seemed to be like polished oak. But it was the eyes that truly captured one's attention. The blue of her eyes couldn't be compared. Not with the ocean, nor with the sky, nor any other thing she could think of. What's more unlike the rest of her, the eyes never changed. Combined with her delicate Elven features, she had to admit the girl was very cute.

Aeril noticed the way Kryn was looking at her and stopped asking in a concerned voice. "Is something wrong?"

The taller girl shock her head and smiled. "No, nothing at all." The feeling a bit brave, she took the smaller girl's hand and in a happy voice said. "Come on, we've got beach side picnic to get to!"

They walked hand in hand for the next hour, going through the grassy plane, into the desert that now stood where the lush Elddar forest once stood. The walk was relatively short and easy, since they stayed close to the mountain side. Once they passed the small barbarian fishing village, they found a little place on the sand to sit facing the Ocean of Tears. They watched the waves crashing on the shore as they ate. "The Ocean of Tears. That sure is a depressing name. How'd it geta depressing name like that?"

"Well many believe the ocean was given that name when the Elves crossed it on their way to Faydwer. But despite how well known that theory is, it's not true. No one really knows when or how the ocean got its name. Only that its had it since before the Rathe Cursed the children of Zek."

"Ahh I see. So I take it that was along time ago?"

"Yes, dear." She said with a good deal of mirth in her voice. "That was in the Age of Monuments. A bit after the Dark Elves, gnomes, Halflings, trolls, and Ogres where created." Seeing he was still lost, she said. "when the third generation of gods game to Norrath." Seeing he was still bewildered, she put her hands in the air saying. "Ok, yes it was a long time ago. A very long time ago."

"Ya, that's what I thought."

Kryn put her palm to her forehead and shock her head. "You my dear Aeril, need some serious history lessons."

Aeril gave her a confused look. "Why? It's not like that's gonna help me any. Besides if I do ever need to know any of that stuff, I can just ask you."

"Yes, but that's not the point."

"What is the point?" He asked sincerely.

"Learning it for yourself. The more you study the more intelligent you will become."

"Ya, but it's a waste a time. I could be doing a buncha more important things. Like practicing, or going out on patrol, or spending time with you."

That last statement naturally brought a blush to Kryn's cheeks. "Well I'm glad to know spending time with me is on your priority list. You'll be glad to know that spending time with you is definitely one of my highest daily priorities. As my mother would more than happily point out."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble with your mom."

Kryn waved it off. "Don't worry about it. My mother and I have and understanding. She said as long as I practice and do all my studying, I can spend all the time I want with you."

"I'm glad we'll be able to spend today together, cuz after today I don't know how long we'll be able to see each other."

"So what do they got you doing?"

"A buncha stuff actually. I gotta pick up one of those lightstones that Kai was sent to get. Kill some of those dervish cutthroats and get an insignia ring. Kill an orc legionaries and get some kind of special orc bracer. Why I don't know, but they want me to get a giant fire beetle eye."

"I can answer that question. Fire beetle eyes are popular for many reason. For one they're an excellent light source. They can shed as much light as a torch for about one week after the beetle dies. Not only that but they're used as spell components for spellcasting and alchemy. There is actually quite a market for them, you'll find them on sale almost anywhere for about 2 silver."

"That's just gross."

"Ya I suppose it is. But when you have bad night vision as do humans, a week long free torch is a welcome gift indeed. But you should know about that you human too, sorta."

"I'm a Half Elf like you now. But I kinda know what you mean. If it gets too dark at night though, my body usually switches over. The only time I've ever really been in real darkness was that time when I went into the tunnels after Maji. It was really dark down there, I don't think I've ever been somewhere that was that dark before."

Kryn's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Dark Elf girl's name. She felt very uncomfortable when ever he would talk about Maji. She didn't know what it was, but something about him would feel different whenever he spoke about her. She knew it was probably her paranoid imagination playing tricks on her. Still she couldn't make that uneasy feeling go away.

Aeril noticed the look on Kryn's face, and silently berated himself. He'd realized that Kryn seemed to get upset whenever he mentioned Maji. He didn't understand why she would get upset, since didn't mind at first. It was more recently that he would notice her getting upset. Since then he tried to avoid talking about the girl in around Kryn.

An uneasy silence came over the two of them. Aeril sat looking out towards the ocean, while Kryn sat looking down at her bear-hide boots. It was Kryn who broke the uneasy silence. "So when are you leaving?"

"Probably tomorrow."

"I see, how long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Not sure, there's alota stuff I gotta do. Especially getting that lightstone thingie. From the way Kai talked that sounds really hard."

"Well im sure you'll be able to do it. After that performance today, I'm sure you'll be done in about a week or so."

"I sure hope so."

Taking off her belt pouch Kryn said. "I know its not much, but here I got you this as a gift to take on your trip."

Aeril took the belt pouch and looked at it. "What is it?"

Kryn laughed. "Its an adventurers pouch silly. It was first made by an extremely talented gnome magician. Using magic he created a pouch that can store just about anything indefinitely. Of course being a gnomish invention there had to be a draw back. That drawback is that while he was you can carry virtually anything in the pouch, it does nothing to reduce the weight. So you have to make sure you don't put more than you can carry. This pouch has eight pockets. Each pocket can hold one thing. Of course you can put a bag or box in the pocket to carry more."

"But how am I gonna fit a bag or anything into that little pocket?"

"Easy dear, this rod is the key. Simply touch the object with the rod and the pocket you want it in. It will then try to fit it into the dimensional pouch. To eject it simply touch the pocket and then the place you want it. Just one warning though. Make sure you don't touch yourself or anyone things else alive. Not only will it kill the person, it'll create a tear in the dimensional pouches. Trust me, you do not want that to happen. Very bad."

"Hey I cant open this pocket."

"That's its not actually a pocket. It just made to look like one. Just remember it's a gnome design, and be thankful there are no levers or buttons or switches."

Giving her a big hug he said. "Thanks for the gift. Now I won't have to carry that beetle eye with me, that's just sick."

"It is not sick, well not really. You just have to wash it off first. After that it just kinda squishy."

"Whatever, I think still think its kinda gross. But anyway what do ya wana do now that we're done eating?"

"I don't know, I'm fine with staying here and talking. But if you want to do something we can. We're not exactly dressed for swimming so that's out. I know, why don't we walk along the beach."

"Sure why not. Those barbarians are getting loud, they musta caughta big one or somethin."

Getting up, the two began slowly walking south along the beach. The two walked for hours talking about a number of things. Seeing the sun was starting to set, the two turned around and began walking back to eat before returning back to Freeport. They were almost back to their spot on the beach, when they heard a sound behind them.

Turning around they noticed that a group of 5 Orcs were charging towards them. Aeril looked at them, they didn't seem to be that strong. He realized it would be a hard fight, but he was sure he could win. The problem was he would also have to try to protect Kryn. He turned to look at her, and saw the wide eyed look on her face. She simply stood there staring at the charging Orcs seemingly oblivious to anything around her.

Not wasting any more time, Aeril grabbed Kryn's hand and started running. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt. He knew she was a noncombatant, and attempting to fighting the Orcs would put her in needless danger. Seeing the Orcs were catching up he let go of her hand and said. "Go run, try to get back to the barbarian village. Hurry. They're gonna get here soon."

Kryn was still zoned out and didn't move. Aeril shook her a bit to get her attention. She finally took her eyes off the incoming Orcs and looked at Aeril. Aeril noticing he had her attention, again told her to run. But she shook her head. "No I can't, there are too many of them. They'll kill you."

Aeril was beginning to feel very frustrated. He knew he couldn't run away from them, but he couldn't fight them properly if Kryn stayed. "Go, please. You can't do anything. You'll just get yourself hurt. I can take them. Just go!" He pushed her somewhat forcefully, away towards the fishing village.

Kryn stumbled back from the unexpected push, and fell face first into the sand. Getting up she glowered at him for a moment. She felt angry and hurt at the way he pushed her away. She felt like staying just to spite him. But the sudden anger went away as she realized he was trying to protect her, because he cared for her. She shook her head to clear her mind from the anger and hurt that had filled it moments ago. Once she was thinking rationally again, she realized he should be able to handle himself. Her presence would not help either of them.

She gave him one last look, before taking off running. She felt ashamed. Ashamed at her anger, ashamed at the feeling she had directed at the person she loved. She knew he hadn't noticed the look she gave him, because his back was turned to her at the time. Still the thought of it burned her inside, she felt as if she had just stabbed him with a dagger.

She felt a pain in her heart that wouldn't go away. This is why she had moved to Freeport in the first place. To get away from the harsh environment that was her former home. To learn to trust others, to learn to love. She couldn't believe after the amount of time they had spent together how angry she had gotten at him. How stupid could she have been to get have gotten angry when the boy was trying to save her life at the expense of his own. Her eyes stung, as tears began to fall from them.

She was so lost in her thoughts, that she almost didn't notice she had reached the fishing village. She didn't understand how a few huts next to the beach constituted a village but right now she didn't care. She headed to the first barbarian she could find and grabbed the tall man saying. "Please, you must help me! We were attacked. He stayed back to fight them so I could run away."

The tall man looked down at her. "What attacked ye? Where?"

Kryn pointed the direction she had come. "Back there along the shore, 5 Orcs same after us. Please go help him."

With a grunt and a yell to some of his companions, he grabbed a sword from a nearby hut and they took off.

*********

Aeril was indeed having a difficult fight. He had surprised them by running straight for them. They had expected him to continue to try to run away. But the surprise didn't give him too much of an advantage as the Orcs quickly recovered.

Two of the Orcs had weapons, a short sword and an ax. The other three while without weapons were still quite strong. Worst of all the five worked well as a group. He had hoped that they would have been more uncoordinated since all five were trying to attack the same target. But so far they were coordinating their attacks quite well.

He would dodge an ax swing, only to be lead towards the path of the sword. He realized he wouldn't be able to survive long if this continued. So risking a hit from on of the unarmed Orcs, he stepped towards the axed Orc and landed an opened handed strike to the Orc just above its nose. The Orc staggered back, but Aeril received a blow by one of the massive hands of a near by Orc.

But the axed Orc lashed out, despite his vision being slightly blurred. The ax connected firmly against the extended arm of the Orc with the sword. The Orc howled in pain and back handed the axed Orc. Not being one to dawdle in a fight, Aeril quickly took the moment to attack the nearby Orc who had turned to see what happened.

Aeril began to lay blow after blow on the Orc, before finally crushing his windpipe with a telling blow. Seeing the Orc was dead he turned to the other Orc near him he was already moving to attack him. He tried to dodge, but the blow connected with his shoulder.

The force of the blow actually spun him around giving the Orc a free chance to hit him again. Using it to his advantage, Aeril spun around and roundhouse kicked the Orc. He didn't get the chance to follow it up as the ax bit into his already hurt shoulder. He grit his teeth and resisted the urge to grab his shoulder with his free hand. Instead he came about to punch him.

But noticing the sword wielding Orc swinging his sword at the place his arm would be, he quickly dodged to the side. The Orc's blade missed him and nearly hit his partner. The axed Orc thinking the one with the sword was still trying to get him turned and kicked him. This gave Aeril the chance to pause for a moment, but it didn't last long as the other unarmed Orcs came at him.

The two came at him furiously. Blow after blow was being rained upon Aeril, who simply dodged them all. This of course only served to further anger them and attack even more fiercely. It took him a bit to realize it, but Aeril suddenly noted that for some reason he had been leading these Orcs into a spiral. Ignoring a strange feeling of deja vu, he kept drawing them into the spiral.

But as he was almost to the center of the spiral, he armed Orcs stopped fighting each other and decided to help their fellows. Aeril reacted quickly and tripped the nearest Orc sending him tumbling towards the other two. With one out of the way, Aeril turned to attack the remaining Orc. He was able to land several blows, but the others caught up to him quickly forcing him to switch to defense.

He realized things would get really bad really soon if he didn't do something quick. A thought struck him. He almost dismissed it right out considering how dangerous it was. But he realized he needed to do something quick, especially in relation to the two with weapons. Getting into position he played his gambit.

He was being flanked. The axeman on one side the swordsman on the other. After dodging a sword swing he saw the axeman coming straight at him with the intention of decapitating him. He stood perfectly still, smiling at the axeman. The Orc with the sword came back for another swing. Both were surprised when Aeril suddenly shrunk, and moved out of the way. So surprised that they forgot they were swinging their weapons at him.

The axe passed over her head and into the neck of the one with the sword. With Aeril's body not where it had been the sword came down and struck the axeman's shoulder. The swordsman went down, much to the shock of the axeman and one of the unarmed Orcs.

The Orc closest to Aeril swung at her with all his strength. Aeril was struck hard. She fell down face first in the sand. The Orc was quick to use his advantage and kicked her in the ribs several times. Deciding he had played around with her long enough the Orc raised his foot to try and squish the child head. But Aeril who had been turned around after being kicked in the ribs acted quickly. She lashed out with her foot, aiming straight between the Orc's raised legs.

The kick connected and the Orc let out a ear piercing shriek and fell backwards. The ensuing screech drew the squabbling Orcs attention. Aeril moved quickly. With a quick opened handed palm strike she finished off the seconds Orc. And turned to see the last two Orcs approaching weapon in hand.

She knew she wasn't going to be able to make it. That last Orc gave her a huge beating, and she didn't have nearly the same stamina in her elf form. She was tired, and it hurt to breath. She didn't dwell on his pain long, lest it overwhelm him. The axed Orc came charging at her, ax held high over head. At the last second she quickly side stepped and made a tripping attack.

The Orc was taken by surprised by the trip, but had already swung his ax and couldn't stop it from imbedding it into his own leg. The Orc bellowed as he removed the ax from his leg. With a cry of rage he threw the ax at Aeril. Both Aeril and the other Orc had to duck to avoid being hit by the flying ax. Despite the pain the Orc stood up and began hobbling towards Aeril, with the intent of personally breaking each and every one of his limbs.

Aeril had noticed him getting up, but didn't have the chance to do anything about it as the other Orc, who had picked up the sword, was trying to dissect him. She dodge swing after swing from the black stained sword, until the other Orc came from behind and slammed his large fist into her head. Aeril was hurled to the ground. She blearily looked up to see both Orc standing above her with malicious looks on their faces. The one with the sword lifted it high with the intent of severing her lower leg from her body.

Suddenly Aeril felt a blast of cold air, and saw the Orc stagger backwards. She saw with sickening fascination as the Orcs green skinned started turning a purplish color. The other Orc who had been leering at her, suddenly looked up in fear and started running away. Turning to look at what had scared the Orc away, Aeril saw Kryn.

Standing next to Kryn were two barbarians. One of the barbarians, the one holding the large sword, ran after the Orc. The other stood calmly next to her speaking words she couldn't quite understand. The fleeing Orc suddenly stopped moving allowing the casing barbarian to catch up to him and dispatch him with but a single swing of his sword.

The moment the last Orc fell, Kryn took off running towards Aeril, who had once again become male. She quickly knelt at his side. "Aeril are you ok? I'm so sorry I left you. I should have stayed and helped you! I'm so sorry."

The female barbarian came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder and said. "Tis no use lass, the lad can't hear ye." Seeing the girls eye's go wide in fear she quickly spoke to explain herself. "He's unconscious. Tis a harsh fight the lad fought. He's lucky te be alive. He's got the spirit of a northern man he does. Now if ye give me wee a bit of room so I can heal the lad for you."

Kryn took a step back to allow the spiky haired woman to get close. The woman began speaking in the barbarian tongue and soon Aeril's body was encased in a blue cocoon of magic. She could see cuts close themselves and bruise fade. With a sigh of relief she turned to the barbarian woman and said. "Thank you so much for your help. If we had arrived any later he'd probably be...." She stopped as she saw his eyes begin to flutter.

"Think nothing of it lass, tis a pleasure. But what were the two of ye doin so far from the city at this time. Tis a dangerous area. Yer lucky ye weren't discovered by the cut throats. They've been known to strike travelers by the shore side."

"Let the lass be Genini, she's already had quite the scare. I nary think they'll be doin again?"

"Aye, that I shall. Just remember lass, this desert can be very dangerous. Those Orc ye fought, were nary the most dangerous sort about it. But enough of the lectures, what yer name lass?"

"Oh um Krynalia, but most everyone calls me Kryn."

"And the lad?"

"Aeril." He said as he slowly sat up.

"Tis a pleasure to meet you Krynalia and Aeril. Me name is Genini, and this big lout is me brother Hdace. Are ye feeling well lad?"

"Ya, I am. Thanks for helping me there, I don't think I woulda been able to make it if you hadn't."

"Well its your own fault for being so overconfident. I know your good but attacking a squad of five Orcs alone is virtually suicide." Kryn said as tears rolled down her cheek.

"Well what was I supposed ta do? Let them kill you? Ain't no way I'd ever let that happen!" Aeril said resolutely.

Kryn wasn't sure how to respond. She knew he did it for her, but she was stunned by the force in which he said it. Seeing Kryn wasn't going to respond Genini said. "Why don't we had back to the village, we wouldn't want to get attacked by more raiders now would we?"

The four began walking back to the barbarian fishing village. Upon arriving Aeril said. "Well thanks for everything, but I guess we should probably get going."

"And make me out te be a bad host, I think not lad. I'm the village shaman. Tis right to let you go, without feeding ye first."

"You wouldn't be a bad host or anything." Aeril said.

"Nonsense lad, tis a Northernfolk tradition. Now come eat. Your fortunate to have come today, Hdase was preparing a feast for us. Tis his one year anniversary with Ruby, the granddaughter of Prophetess Wila no less. Tis not every man who can boast about courting the granddaughter of the most influential person in Halas."

"Tis a miracle it happened all. We're only together because of your subtle persuasions, the woman was dead set against our union. But lets not dwell on that, we're together and that's all that counts. Now lets go eat, we can't let all that food go to waste no can we." Hdase said leading them to towards a large hut.

In the hut was a large table set with food. Around the table sat a dozen barbarians, all of which were talking and laughing while waiting to eat. Genini spoke saying. "I must apologize for making ye wait so long, we had to rescue these lads from a group of Orcs. These are Krynalia and Aeril of Freeport." Turning to face the couple she said. "Go ahead and sit at the end the table there."

Once everyone was seated everyone began grabbing food. Aeril who wasn't familiar with a lot of the food ask what it was. Hdace was happy to answer saying. "Well this is Halas 10 lb. meat pie, tis a rare delicacy amongst our people. Its reserved for only the most special of occasions. And then there's some Beer braised bear, Cheesy vegetable casserole, kunzar koi in cream sauce, fish rolls, and one o me personal favorites rabbit stew covered in hearty meat sauce."

Even Aeril couldn't believe the amount of food on the table. "Isn't this a lot of food?"

Hdace laughed. "You don't know many Northernmen do ye lad? There's not much more that a Northernman loves more eating, drinking, and fighting. Eat and enjoy, tis a day for celebration!"

With a shrug, Aeril began grabbing food as the other Northernmen were doing. Kryn who was sitting next to him would cringe as one would yell from across the table to pass him something. Deciding to do something to get her mind off the way everyone was eating she turned to Genini. "So what are you doing all the way out here? Its quite a ways away from Halas."



"We're all mostly here for different reasons. Prophetess Wila sent me here as part o part me training. Tis the job of every shaman te have experience leading a village. Me brother on the other hand, has most likely been sent here because the Prophetess wanted to separate him and Ruby.

"You mentioned this prophetess before, who is she?" Kryn asked.

"Why she's the great Northernfolk high prophetess, Wila McLish. She led our people for many years. Till about 14 years ago, when death slowly began to creep up on her. As is customary to do when a prophet is dying, she passed the mantle on to her chosen pupil Margyn McCann. But The Tribunal saw fit to give her new renewed life, to seek justice for the death of her daughter and to raise her grandchild Ruby.

Kryn, who had been straining to hear Genini, as yet another round of hooting and cheering began. Kryn turned her head to see what all the excitement was about. To her shock and utter dismay Aeril had seemingly gotten himself into an eating contest with the others guys at the table. Deciding to ignore the scene, she turned back to Genini and said. "So why did the prophetess send you out here? I would have thought someone of her position and influence would have more important things to do than to pay attention to a young shaman - no offense meant to you."

"Well that's because I'm her pupil. The position of tribe prophet twas passed down te Prophetess Margyn McCann. She's the one who directs the Shamans of Halas. That allows Prophetess Wila the chance to raise her grandchild, and take on a few students. Tis a great privilege for me te be taught by one such as her."

"I see. If its not to rude of me to ask, may I ask as to why she doesn't approve of your brother? I'm sorry if I sound intrusive, but I'm curious about your culture. You're the first Northernfolk I've ever met."

"Think nothing of it lass. While tis not the Northernfolk way to question things as such, I've come to learn that tis a part of human nature to find the reason everything is as it is. But te answer yer question, in our culture a person skill in battle is very important. Ruby is both extremely strong and very skilled, making her one of the best warrior her age. Hdace is a good warrior in his own right, but Ruby is clearly better than he is. For that reason the Prophetess is very reluctant about the two of them. But she allows it, because both truly care for each other. And most importantly, because Hdace is at least good enough to give her a challenge."

Kryn nodded understandingly, she was about to ask yet another question when she heard Aeril coughing and hacking besides her. She turned quickly to see what had happened. Seeing the stein in his hands, she quite easily understood what happened. With a sigh she asked him. "What did you just drink?"

Shaking his head he said. "Bog juice. I don't know what it is, but it's the worst juice I've ever had. Yuck, that was just gross."

Kryn brought her hand to her forehead. "Dear, bog juice is a very crude type of liqueur."

"It is?! No wonder this stuff was so gross."

Hdace howled with laughter. "Genini was right about ye. Despite the fact that ye can't drink, ye'd make a great Northernman. Yer the first human I've met that could beat nearly an entire table of Northernmen in an eating contest. All ye need to do is raise yer alcohol tolerance, and ye could call yerself a true Northernman."

"Aye, that he could brother. Though it wouldn't be official til he was able te endure scarlet fever." Genini said to her brother who could only laugh in response.

"Scarlet fever? What is that? And why would he have to endure it?"

Seeing that Genini was to busy laughing to say anything Hdace said. "Tis a special drink that Ruby makes. Its so strong even dwarves are wary of it. Its become so popular amongst the Northernfolk that she has to spend nearly two entire day every month doing nothing but creating it. Its become like a right of passage, no Northernman is considered a true Northernman until he's had scarlet fever. The Prophetess herself named it, because ye feel like ye got a fever after yer done drinking it. Not the mention that it'll make ye turn as red as the hair on Ruby's head."

Aeril looked at the bog juice he had been drinking moments ago, recalling how nasty it tasted he couldn't imagine drinking this scarlet fever. Try as he might he couldn't think of any reason why someone would willingly drink something that tasted as disgusting as that. "I think I'll just stick to water and berry juice."

All those around the table began laughing. Aeril looked confused not sure what he had done to get that type of reaction. Looking to Kryn for help was futile, as she wasn't sure what he had done either. "I'm just as lost as you on this." She said to him.

"Hey, what's wrong with berry juice? I like berry juice." Aeril vexed voice asked when he heard someone say something about berry juice.

"Berry juice and wine are for the elves and the fey, ye need te drink something like Minotaur brew, underfoot brown or even boot beer. Those are real drinks. Scarlet fever is too of course, but that's only for the hardiest of drinkers."

Neither Aeril or Kryn looked very happy. Genini decided to say something before things could escalate. "Hdace, the lad can drink what he wants, for all we know that may be the reason he was able te eat more than ye did. Either way, ye nearly insulted our guest. In case ye forgot, the lass is elven herself, and the lad's lover te boot. Ye need to think more about what ye say around humans, they don't think the same way we do."

Seeing the sheepish look her brother had, she knew he realized his mistake. Turning towards the recipients of her brothers unintended insult she said. "Please accept my apologies on behalf of me brothers behalf. He hasn't been around humans long. He meant no disrespect te ye, he was just doing what natural to us. Tis the Northernfolk way te respect strength, so for us the stronger the drink the better it is. Those of us not familiar with other cultures find it difficult te understand that not everyone feels the same way. Which of course is one of the reasons we're out in the first place. After all we coulda formed a small village a lot closer te Halas."

"Well its ok, I guess. Its not like you should get mad at someone just because they gotta different opinion then you." Aeril told her much to her relief.

"I'm glad to hear that." Genini told him. "Yer a brave fighter and a credit te yer teachers. Tis woulda been a shame te have alienated ye due to a small misunderstanding between the way our cultures think. But now seeing as how its gotten dark, the both of ye should likely be heading back before yer parents begin te worry. But please know yer welcome here, come back anytime."

After both had received a basket full of food, they started back towards Freeport. The walk back was mostly silent. Neither said a word, yet neither felt uncomfortable with the silence. When they reached the Freeport gates Kryn stopped Aeril and said. "I had a wonderful time today. Thank you for everything. Today has been a day like no other for me."

Aeril smiled at her. "Good! I'm glad you had fun. I had lotsa fun too. From eating lunch with you at the beach to the big eating contest. I'm really glad we got to spend our last day together like this."

Kryn frowned a bit. Hdace wasn't the only one who should think about their choice of words more carefully. It sounded to much like he really thought they wouldn't see each other ever again. "About what time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Probably about noonish. I want to have as much time as possible to get it done, so I can get back sooner. "

Kryn frowned a bit deeper. "That means I wont be able to see you before you leave."

"Why?"

"I've got chores to do all morning. I'll most likely be stuck doing them until about mid afternoon."

This time it was Aeril who frowned. But he quickly began smiling again. "I know, why don't I come help you. That way I'll get to see you before I leave, and you'll be able to finish earlier."

Kryn's eye's eyes lit up and a bright smile came to her face. "Really! Oh that would be so great."

"Ya! Of course. Just tell me where you wana meet. And I'll be there after I finish getting ready. Then I'll spend a couple hours with you before heading off. Sound good?"

"Sure! That sounds great! Do you know where the traders holiday is?"

"Ya sure I know where it is."

"Ok well meet me there. If I'm not there when you get there just a wait there for a bit. I'll be moving back and forth during the morning doing all the prep work, so I wont have to be going back and forth all afternoon."

"Ok then, I'll meet you there. Shall I walk you home?"

"Sadly you better not, my mother will probably be there waiting for me. She gets antsy when I'm late for coming home at night. So its you'd probably not want to be there, who knows how she'll react. But thanks for offering, and thank you for the wonderful evening." Quickly she leaned in and gave him a small peck on the cheek. She gave the surprised boy a shy smile and started heading off towards her home.

Aeril stared awestruck as Kryn walked off. As this was the first kiss he'd received from someone his age, he felt totally confused. Why did she do it? Should he have done something back? Was that a sign of friendship or perhaps something else? His mind was racing but he could only seem to focus on the sensations coming from his cheeks.

Reaching up to touch his cheek, he could still feel the touch of her lips against his cheeks. Strangely he felt like his entire body was afire, yet his cheek didn't feel hot to the touch. It was more the heat he felt in the midst of a fight, like the rush he'd feel when he was pushing himself to his limit. He didn't understand why he suddenly felt that way. He never felt this way when Varlon or his grandmother would kiss him on the cheek, why would Kryn kissing him be any different? Was it because they were both elves? Did that have anything to do with it? He wasn't sure.

He frowned at himself for not knowing. A true martial artist should know himself and what his body is capable of doing. He didn't like not knowing so much of himself. As he started to walk back to his house, he tried with little success to put the kiss out of his mind and focus on what he would have to do for his test.

He still had his hand to his cheek when he entered his home. Varlon watched as his son walked in, wide eyed with wonder. He quickly surmised what had happened, since he knew the two of them had gone out to eat that afternoon and had been gone ever since. The fact that Aeril hadn't seemingly noticed him as he went about preparing for bed, brought a smile to his face. He too remembered what it was like to be in love. Seeing Aeril was already in bed still seemingly out of it, he offered a quick prayer to both his patron goddess Quellious and the goddess of love Erollisi Marr to watch over and protect Aeril, Kryn and the love they shared before heading to sleep himself.