Hey, I changed my name! Yeah, Dae Elen was too serious for me, as (despite my rather depressing fics) I tend to be more of the jester type. Plus BluLoster is my screename almost everywhere else, so it makes for less confusion and lets my friends from school find me easier. As for where it came from.... Let's just say a acquaintance of mine had an obsession with calling me seafood names and when I dyed my hair blue that just fueled his annoying habit....

Schools starting back up soon, so I'm gonna try to get as much written as I can now. The last chapter kinda sucked, or at least I thought so, so I'll try to make this one better.....

Also, I might not be updating for a while cause I'm in the process of rewriting all my original chapters. I took a look back and realized the first few were complete crap. I mean, complete and total worthlessness. I can't believe they were actually that bad. I did the first one and it moved up from three pages to seven, with a lot better content. So I finish all of those and then start writing new chapters again. I don't wanna release the rewrites periodically cause I need to keep everything consistent.

Raziel looked up through the treetops into the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun that's light speared through the foliage above. It was noon and the party was finally leaving the old temple of the sungod. They were walking through the deep forest outside of it to return to the Umar Hills. From there, the plan was to return to Athkatla, though all in the party seemed reluctant to have to take Raziel there. She, however, was a calm as could be, almost unnervingly so, for someone marching perhaps to their ow fneral.

No one knew what her exact punishment would be. To optimists, it would seem logical that she be imprisoned for years, but that was unlikely. Athkatla rarely imprisoned people for long periods of time, at least not since Spellhold was put out of commission. Unfortunately, being a serious arsonist would most likely merit death. Burning down temples, even if no one was killed, was seen as a horrifying offense. Raziel seemed to understand this and had resigned herself to her fate, though the others refused to believe this would be her fate.

Thankfully, the journey was going to be a long one. The horses, unfortunately, had run away during the night. Raziel suspected that Amauna had had something to do with it, as the horses had been tied tightly to a tree by Jaheira's account. Still, there was no real purpose for Amauna to have done it, so Raziel had said nothing. Perhaps there was some greater effect in the long run of them not having horses, but Raziel had not wish to attempt to fathom a God's purposes, or that of his ghost child priestess.

So the party was in for the long walk back to Athkatla. Not that anyone minded. Each of the companions was secretly still trying to find a way to get Raziel out of this mess, and Raziel herself, despite her calm demeanor, was also hoping to put this off as long as possible. She may have expected death for a long time, but in truth she wasn't really comfortable with the notion.

Suddenly, Jaheira, who was leading the company, stopped. The others came out of their thoughts as well, stopping to stand by the half-elf.

"What is it?" asked Imoen.

"Hoof beats," replied Jaheira. "Can you not hear them?"

"Maybe they're our horses," said Kelsey.

"No," said Raziel, coming to stand beside the druid. "They are galloping. If they are your horses, they are running in fear of something. It is more likely that they are a group of people riding here."

"Who would be coming to an old abandoned temple in the middle of nowhere?" asked Kelsey.

"Either a group of foolish adventurers," began Jaheira.

"Or someone looking for me," said Raziel. She shivered unconsciously. She was becoming more unnerved by the moment, though she hid it well.

A group of horsemen came riding into view soon after. The men were heavily armored and their garb seemed oddly familiar to the members of the company.

"Knights of the Order?" said Kelsey, confused.

"But they promised us more time!" said Imoen.

"Obviously Anomen was impatient, as always," said Raziel dryly.

"I knew we couldn't trust that bastard," growled Sarevok.

"Do not jump to conclusions," said Jaheira. "They may not be here for Raziel, or they may just be here to help. It could be a coincidence. Either way, stay quiet and let me do the talking."

"Coincidence my ass," growled Raziel.

The knights, upon seeing the companions, decreased their pace. The rode slowly up to stand in front of Jaheira, but did not dismount. Sarevok moved in front of Raziel somewhat possessively, partially blocking her from view.

"You are the druid Jaheira, yes?" asked the front-most knight.

"I am. Who asks?" replied Jaheira evenly.

"I am Sir Atherin, a paladin of the Order of the Radiant Heart. I was sent by our Prelate, Sir Anomen Delryn, to aid in the capture and return of one Raziel, also known as Liaedra."

Sir Atherin looked over Sarevok's shoulder and saw Raziel, glaring defiantly at him. "I see you have already found the elf. Why is she not bound?"

"Raziel is an old friend of ours, and agreed to come with us of her own free will. She poses no threat to any of our company, and will return with us to Athkatla," Jaheira replied.

"I'm afraid that is not longer an option. Prelate Delryn instructed that we be the ones to return her to Athkatla, dead or alive. She must be handed over to us."

"Dead or alive? What are you talking about!" cried Imoen angrily. "We had an agreement with Anomen, and we'll be taking her back, alive, free, and uninjured!"

"She will come with us willingly, or we will have to force her return," said the knight firmly.

"Then you will have to force her, and us also," growled Sarevok, unsheathing his sword.

The knights drew their weapons also, and began to move towards the group. They seemed reluctant to fight adventurers who had done legendary good deeds, but their hand had been forced.

Sarevok saw his opportunity and turned to Kelsey quickly. "We need a distraction," he growled.

"What?" asked Kelsey.

"A distraction, you fool! We can't take out all these knights without casualties of our own, and we will be in deep trouble if these knights are killed. But if you make a big flash, or a fireball or something, I can get Raziel and I out of here."

"You?" Kelsey raised an eyebrow.

"Dammit, sorcerer, I'm not going to murder her! I'll watch after her, I swear it. Just do something!"

A huge grin broke on Kelsey's face, and Sarevok knew he would be paying for his comments later. The Kelsey turned back towards the knights, who were just about to engage Jaheira and Imoen.

That was all Sarevok needed. He grabbed Raziel's wrist and tugged he along with him as he ran off towards the forest. She struggled somewhat, unsure of what he was doing, but he dragged her along anyway.

Sarevok had no idea what spell Kelsey had cast, only that there was a blinding flash of light behind them. Sarevok continued into the forest, running as quickly as he could, and hoped that the others could hold of the knights long enough for them to get away.

Slowly, the knights' vision cleared from the blinding spell Kelsey had placed on them. The light had merely been a flashy signal to Sarevok, showing that the coast was clear. The knights shook themselves and looked around, noticing that Sarevok and Raziel were gone.

"What did you do, mage!" growled Sir Atherin

"Sorcerer. And I just blinded you guys for a bit, I swear!" said Kelsey.

"Sir!" said the mage/cleric the knights had brought with them. "The sorcerer appears to have cast a teleportation spell on two objects."

"Indeed," said Atherin, smug that he had caught Kelsey's plans. "Can you track the spell?"

"If given a few moments, yes," said the mage, smirking at Kelsey.

"Oh no, please, don't!" said Kelsey. If the knights had been listening, they would have heard the mocking undertone of the statement, but they seemed to be too full of themselves to notice.

"Right," said Atherin. "We'll go ahead a bit and set up camp for you to trace it." The knight gave a mocking salute to the companions. Then he and his fellow knights re-mounted and rode around the companions, heading up the trail.

As soon as they were out of sight Kelsey burst out laughing.

"What is it, Kelsey?" asked Imoen. Kelsey couldn't answer, as he was still laughing hysterically.

"Spit it out, Kelsey!" growled Jaheira.

Kelsey pointed to a empty space on the side of the trail, still laughing. Jaheira looked at the spot, then back at him, confused.

"Um, weren't there rocks there before?" said Imoen.

Kelsey nodded. He still chuckled slightly and smiled broadly. "Two actually," he said smugly.

Even Jaheira had couldn't hold back a smirk.

After a long, fast paced run that left even Sarevok breathless, the two escapees stopped. Raziel took a moment to catch her breathe before she looked up and glared at him. He was looking intently around, as if searching for some noise or movement in the deep dark green of the forest.

"What the hell are you doing?" hissed Raziel.

Sarevok looked back at her, his eyes burning bright with a mix of apprehension, anger, and wariness. "Saving you, fool," he growled.

"I didn't need to be saved," said Raziel. She glared at him with an equal fire burning in her eyes. "Nor did I want it! And what of the others? You may have just abandoned them too death, or worse!"

"They can take of themselves remarkably well, Raziel," he growled. He turned back to watch the forest.

"So quick to rationalize kidnapping me and leaving them to die, eh, Sarevok?" she said mockingly.

Sarevok growled and whirled around. The fire in his eyes had become an inferno, and before she could do anything he had her pinned against a tree. His hands held her wrists against the bark and his whole body pressed against her, not allowing her to move in any way. He stared straight into her eyes, his face inches from hers, and she trembled at the fury she saw there.

"I didn't leave them to die," he growled quietly. "I would never leave them to die. The sorcerer knew what he was doing. And as for kidnapping you, I don't care how much you think you want to die, you're not going to. I won't let you. Is that understood?"

Raziel was staring at him with wide eyes. She nodded dumbly, but he continued to glare at her. They were close enough to kiss, Sarevok realized. He immediately pushed that thought away, not wanting to know where it came from.

He stepped away from her quickly as if burnt. Raziel's whole body felt weak as its support moved away, and she shook a bit, barely able to keep standing. The encounter had left her almost numb. Still, she almost missed the contact.....

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I overreacted. But my nerves are shot. Kinda hard to focus when a bunch of people are after your blood, ya know?"

Sarevok nodded slightly, and in his eyes she thought she saw understanding. She sighed.

"So where do we hide out?" she asked.

Sarevok shrugged slightly. "I am not sure. Since the knights are not following us, Kelsey must have done something more than simply distract them. Any ideas?"

Raziel thought for a moment, and then a small smile crept onto her face. "One..."

"And what would that be?"

"We could go and see an old friend of mine. I've always relied on her advice before, and she'll be able to tell me if I should give myself up or what to do other than that." She sighed. "I'm honestly not sure what to do with myself. I didn't plan on living this long. I've relied on her advice to guide me before."

"And this friend of yours can help you?"

"Yes, she is very observant and wise, among other things. And she is a seer, so if Amauna was sincere about Amaunator wanting to help me, she'll be able to find out."

"A seer?"

"She can see a bit of the future, and if the Gods want to send a mortal a message and have no other way to do it, she can act as a kind of a vessel, an embodiment of their voice and spirit. She's a remarkable girl, especially since she is rather young."

Sarevok sighed. There was obviously no dissuading Raziel from her path now. "So, who is this girl and where does she live?"

"She lives in Candlekeep." Raziel smiled. "And her name is Elysia."

And there you have it! Mmmmm..... can you say "sexual tension"? He he he....

For the whole death penalty thing..... I have no idea what the law would be, but seeing as Raziel burned down a bunch of temples to a God who was a hero when he was human..... I have to assume the penalty for such a thing would be death. Plus, it adds a little more drama...

Next Chapter: Sarevok and Raziel travel to Candlekeep! Atherin realizes he screwed up! Jaheira, Imoen, and Kelsey have a talk with good old Ano! And the return of Elysia! Ya didn't think I'd get rid of her, did ya?