Chapter 3

Tigerclaw sighed deeply as she closed the eyes of the matron's son for the last time. She stood up to once again survey the gruesome scene, and asked herself if this really would turn out all right. "This does not bode well," she said to the group. "Let's split up to look for any signs of what may have caused this."

After getting affirmatives from the rest of the group, Tigerclaw turned to see Skythropos approaching the body. "If I may, General?" the red-cloaked Kalimundi asked.

"Yes, of course," came Tigerclaw's reply, and she stepped away as Skythropos's movements became more pronounced. Usually it seemed as if he was floating just above the ground, but now Tigerclaw could tell he was carefully studying the body as he walked towards it. Skythropos knelt by the young man's head and reached out his three-fingered hands to rest on the dead man's forehead.

"I sense…" he began, "a great deal of fear lingering in the traces of this one's mind; panic and confusion. His concern lies with his very life, but also… worry over… homeland… a parcel…"

"That's enough, Skythropos," Tigerclaw interrupted. "Thank you."

Skythropos removed his hands from the dead man, and stood back up. The careful observer would note that he seemed to look off into the distance for a moment. "From what I could gather I believe this man was returning to the village before his death, carrying with him something of importance."

"Truly?" Tigerclaw exclaimed. "That's the first good news we've had all day. DeFrain! Blackbeak!" she called out to the two seafarers. "Search along and around this path. See if you can find any stray parcels or bags!"

"Wawk!" came Blackbeak's affirmative.

"We're on it," said DeFrain while lifting his eye-patch to reveal his left eye, its strange coloring denoting its magical properties.

'This is good,' Tigerclaw said to herself, 'If we can at least find the salve then his sacrifice wasn't in vain.' She again looked to the body of the matron's son, studying it. Even though it was true that they were close to Xaos's territory, the mere fact that the young man lie here dead puzzled her. "Ehud," she called to the warrior just a short way's off, "what do you make of it?"

Ehud perked up at Tigerclaw's call and turned to walk back towards her. "It's pretty strange. I don't really know what could have done this. It doesn't strike me that Xaos himself would come out this far just to kill this one boy. And if he was responsible you'd think that he wouldn't just kill the guy, but also-"

"Ehud," Theodore interrupted from a short way's off.

Ehud paused momentarily, then realized what he was getting at. He could also see a change in Tigerclaw's expression. "Oh! Sorry, General."

"It's all right," Tigerclaw said, her voice somewhat subdued. "Continue."

"Well, like I was saying-uh," Ehud's voice cut off suddenly as he felt his foot run into something. "What the devil?" he said as he glanced towards the ground. There, stuck under the lip of his boot was a good-sized root extending towards the middle of the path. "Huh…" Ehud said, the syllable drawn out in contemplation. "Check for injuries around his feet," he called out to Theodore. Ted quickly complied and, sure enough, something odd showed up.

"His left ankle does look swollen," he called back to Ehud.

Within a few quick paces Ehud was back by Tigerclaw and Theodore, examining the ankle for himself. "Yeah," he said. "He definitely tripped over that root right before whatever happened to him… happened."

"He was being chased," Tigerclaw surmised. "Maybe by some sort of wild animal?"

"That might be it," Ehud said. "That gash at his neck doesn't look like a sword wound."

"However," Skythropos interjected, "Xaos's dark aura is enough to frighten off most wild creatures in his vicinity. Not a bird has sang since we entered this forest. And what animal would kill this young man, then simply leave him here?"

"A valid point," said Tigerclaw, "I think we can rule out the wild animal theory."

"Then what could have done it?" asked Ehud, exacerbated. "If nothing's out here, then what killed him?"

Before Tigerclaw had time to think of a response she noticed a commotion up ahead on the path. Suddenly, Blackbeak burst out a patch of underbrush, triumphantly holding a satchel over his head. As he walked back to the path he called back to the others, "Wawk wawk!" the second "wawk" drawn out in what could have only been the penguin equivalent of "Tada!"

"Hey!" DeFrain's voice called from another direction, "Careful with that, you swab!" he shouted, pointing at the hook grafted onto one of Blackbeak's wingtips. "Don't rip that bag!"

"Wawk," Blackbeak replied, completely confident in his ability to do just that.

"Excellent work, Blackbeak," Tigerclaw exclaimed as she and the others ran towards the penguin. Blackbeak handed her the bag, and she could see that inside were a number of glass vials with cork stoppers, each filled with a white liquid. "This must be it. Quickly Blackbeak, get this back to the village as fast as you can."

"Wawk!" he said with a salute before he took the satchel back from Tigerclaw. He paused, though, and looked back to the body of the matron's son. "Wawk?"

"No, don't mention it for now. I'll tell her myself." Tigerclaw replied.

"Wawk, wawk wawk wawk wawk wawk?" he asked desperately.

"I don't know…" Tigerclaw said. "Just… make something up. Hurry!"

"Wawk!" With that Blackbeak dashed off the way the group had come with surprising speed for a penguin.

"What a trooper," DeFrain said as he watched Blackbeak run into the distance. "Why'd you send only him?" he queried Tigerclaw.

"Because we may not be going back just yet," the General replied. "I need to figure this out," she explained.

"It's a mystery to me," Ehud added.

"The only lead that we have right now is Xaos, right?" Theodore said.

"Xaos…" Tigerclaw pondered, her chin resting on her thumb. "Xaos… Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"What is it?" asked Ehud.

"Xaos didn't put up much resistance when the Ravandans took back their village. Perhaps he's simply been biding his time; waiting for something like this to happen. In their current state, the Ravandans aren't in any shape to put up a fight, and if he knows this then… he may be preparing to strike their village once more! It's a risky move, but we need to investigate Xaos's castle to see if that is what he's up to, so we can warn them before it's too late."

"When hasn't a plan of ours been risky, General?" DeFrain asked, looking eager.

"Point taken," Tigerclaw said. "Come on, everyone! Let's go!"

…

The tears would not stop. The sorrow would not cease. The guilt would not fade. Crying was the last thing Elise Redd wanted to do, but it was the only thing she could do right now. She had seen the horrible things she had done since being turned into a Fallen. A horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that the horrendous acts would not cease. Even after now her body would still be under Xaos's control, and he would have her ravage and murder according to his twisted plans. 'No,' she quietly told herself, 'he'll let me murder.' Beside her the old Kalimundi stood still, seemingly watching over her, but there was no comfort to be found in the shadows inside that dark hood. After a time, he stirred slightly, and returned to the sitting position that he had been in before. "I apologize if my tone was accusing," he said, his voice once again its original timbre.

"Apology accepted," Elise said angrily through short breaths. "You know, you've really shown me the light, old man. You know what?" she said, sitting up. "I think maybe I won't go back. Maybe I'll just stay here. You could magic me up some more furniture… maybe a lamp. We can have plenty of long, boring conversations until eternity. How does that sound?"

"I apologize, Elise Redd," the old Kalimundi continued. "But, if you had not come to that realization there would be no point in returning you to the physical plane."

"What point is there now?" Elise shouted. "I don't want to go back to just be Xaos's slave!"

"The answer lies not with Xaos, rather with yourself," the old Kalimundi replied.

"Damn it! Just talk to me straight, would you?" sobbed Elise.

"You would do well, Elise Redd," advised the old Kalimundi, "to calm yourself and really listen to what I am saying."

"Fine," Elise said with a sniff. "How does the answer to all of this lie in me?"

"As I explained," he began, "Xaos's technique of creating the Fallen derives from his combining two different spells. However, by that very nature, the properties of each individual spell are weakened. That is how you, your consciousness, is able to sustain itself here, because your will has not been completely subverted. In a similar fashion, if you were to return to your physical body you would be in control, because the creature that has taken your place is still, at its core, you."

"You don't have to remind me," Elise growled.

"Yes, I do," the old Kalimundi countered.

"Why? To remind me of how I need to get rid of all that?"

"No," he answered. "The answer does not lie in taking away something. Taking away is Xaos's method. The Fallen are created by taking away the good in a person. Doing the opposite would still only manage to create something less than human."

"So then…" Elise mused. "The answer lies in combining the good with the bad."

"Yes," the old Kalimundi replied. "You have taken your first crucial step into a greater understanding of yourself."

"Do I get a prize?" Elise asked sarcastically.

"The prize waiting for you at the end of this ordeal is your body and your life," he answered.

"That's good enough for me," Elise replied. "So, how do I 'achieve balance' and whatnot?"

"That is something you must learn on your own, Elise Redd."

"How? I can't do it in here. This isn't living."

"Very astute, Elise," said the old Kalimundi. "To accomplish that, you must first return to your body."

"And just how do I do that?" asked Elise.

"You must… break into what you see as yourself," he surmised.

"Break into what?" Elise was about to give the old Kalimundi another earful, but as she glanced around she again noticed the only structure present in this place. "Ah…" she said, the pieces falling into place. "The mirror. That's pretty clever wording, old man. So, I just gotta do something with this mirror," she began as she stepped towards it.

"Wait," called the old Kalimundi.

"What?" she sighed impatiently.

"Have you any doubt?"

"Doubt?" Elise repeated. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"If there is doubt in your heart, one more ordeal faces you before you can return to your body," he explained. "You must face it yourself. I cannot help you."

'What is he talking about?' Elise asked herself. Not wanting to waste time by being trapped in the old Kalimundi's speeches, Elise continued to the mirror the same way she had done before. She steadied herself, ready to face that monstrous reflection once more. But, as she turned to face the glass, something unexpected happened. This time there was no image in the mirror's face at all. Very confused, she gazed back at the old Kalimundi. "Hey," she said, about to ask him what this meant. However, before another word escaped her lips she impulsively inhaled as she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. Slowly turning her head to look downwards she could see a long knife had plunged into the flesh of her arm near her shoulder. Her sight traced up the knife to a hand clenched in a fist. The knife disappeared as it went under the long black sleeve of a trenchcoat, from which the fist was also emerging. She looked up past the coat's collar to a face that was decidedly not her own. "Well, well, well. How long has it been, Elise Redd?" it's owner asked, emerging from the mirror's face.

"Yukiyo!"