Chapter Six

Kain found himself running down a dark hallway as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew he had to keep running and never to stop. There weren't any lights; just the dim glow of the moonlight through the tall stained-glass windows in the passage. Large statues of armor were displayed in the stone hallway, but Kain gave them no notice. His lungs, his heart, his head, everything; every inch of his body was burning with pain, yet Kain ran with all the speed he could muster into his being.

He dashed off into a passage to the left; everything went as black as the night sky. No windows. No torches. No light. Darkness. Kain slowed from a run to a jog, then down to a calm walk. He soon slowed down to a stop in the suffocating blackness. He blinked, but couldn't notice.

He reached off to his left, grasping a doorknob. He slowly turned it and pushed open the door. Inside was a dark room, dimly lit by four floor tiles arranged in a two-by-two square; the tiles glowing a deep, bright orange. As he walked through the room toward the panels on the ground, he noticed the room appeared to be a bedroom. He stood on the four panels, the burning pain inside him turned into comforting warmth, the same warmth from the campfire.

He raised his arms and closed his eyes, bathing in the warmth. He opened his eyes and found himself in a different room. This new chamber very brightly lit with torches hanging from the walls. The room looked very old, its walls made from a tan colored stone. There were pictures and markings engraved around the walls; murals of legendary creatures. But one image stood out above the rest; a carving of two giant birds facing each other, one bone white, the other a blazing red; the whole depiction took the space of an entire wall, obviously the reason this room had been constructed.

Kain walked over to the mural portrayed on the wall. He ran his fingers along the carvings engraved into the stone; as his fingers ran along the image of the red bird, the figure caught fire. The giant flaming bird flew from the wall, circling around the ceiling above Kain before diving down into him.

Kain sat bolt upright, damp with sweat. He was panting heavily, his lungs short of breath. He looked around, confused; he was still in the sanctuary, sitting in front of the fire pit where he had fallen asleep, his sword still sticking up from the ashes.

"Was it just…" Kain thought to himself as his breathing calmed down.

"Finally you're awake! We thought you had died or something."

Kain heard Trice's voice and looked over to her. She and Garaku had already finished packing their things for the trip.

"Jeez, Kain, you look like you've seen a ghoul, you okay?" Trice said, giving him a worried look.

"Y…yeah, I'm fine." Kain put his hand to his forehead. "Just a bad dream, that's all."

Kain stood up, brushing the dirt and moss from his clothes. He pulled his sword from the embers, a small flame bursting forth from the ground as he did so. For a split second, it seemed to take the shape of a bird, then burned out. Kain looked down at the ashes for a moment, then sheathed his blade.

A loud boom echoed throughout the trees, making all three of the adventurers jump with surprise.

"What was that?" Trice quickly asked in a bit of a panic.

"Someone must be fighting off a goblin," Garaku replied, "the little buggers always carry around bombs in their packs."

Trice's face turned pale with fear. Without warning, Kain threw an arm around her shoulder, making her jump. She looked up at him angrily for startling her, but quickly noticed her was wearing a comforting smile. Having Kain's arm around her made her feel warm and safe; his smile made her forget her troubles, she knew that everything would be okay with Kain next to her. This was an odd feeling, an emotion she was not yet familiar with. "Could this be…" Trice thought to herself as she stared at Kain with her eyes, her new eyes filled with feelings she had never felt before.

"Don't worry! I'll pwotect you fwom dose big, bad gobbies, Twicie." Kain joked as he grinned at her, his eyes squinted and his yellow teeth glowing from his mouth.

"Grr…" Trice shoved Kain off her shoulder and stomped over to Garaku, ripping a map from his hands.

"H-hey, wait!" Garaku protested.

"Shut up Garaku!" Trice scolded as she studied the map. After a few moments, she stormed off in the direction of the exit. "C'mon you slackers!" she yelled back.

Kain, Garaku, and the wyverns trailed behind her.

"Jeez, what's her problem?" Kain whispered over to Garaku.

Garaku let out a small sigh then walked on ahead of Kain. Kain gave up, confused, and continued on.

Time passed rather slowly for the three friends, and after an hour or so, Trice had calmed down. Kain was looking around at the trees and the rocks, a very puzzled look on his face. Trice looked back and noticed his confused look.

"Hey, Kain, you okay?" she inquired, worried as to what was wrong.

"It might just be me, but…I think we're going around in circles…this scenery looks very familiar…"

Trice looked about her at the trees surrounding them. "Hey, I think you're right…but I've been following the map precisely."

Garaku peered over Trice's shoulder at the crumpled map he was holding.

"Um…Trice?" that's the wrong map…"

"What? This isn't the wrong-" she looked down at the map in her hands, a grim look sweeping across her face; the map was entitled "Tahrongi Canyon." Trice handed the map to Garaku, staring at the floor; she was doing her best to hold back her tears. She had tried so hard to not only impress Kain, but also get back at him for making fun of her, but she only ended up ruining things for everyone.

"I'm sorry…" Trice muttered, a slight tremble to her voice, "I've only messed things up, who knows where we are now…"

There was a moment of silence, then Kain spoke up.

"No worries! Where there's a will, there's a way! Hey, Garaku, you said we're trying to reach some barren mountains right?" Kain optimistically asked.

"Y-yes, but what does that-" but Kain was gone, a small pillar of dust left in his wake.

Kain looked up as he leaped high into the air, his hair blowing back and his eyes sparkling brilliantly as they reflected the sunlight. As he flew up above the treetops, he looked around at the scenery before him; lots of trees; what appeared to be an old, crumbling stone tower; and the academy. As Kain felt himself begin to descend, he spun around to look behind himself. He saw several tan, sun-bleached mountain tops; this was their destination.

Kain hit the ground, bending over for a moment from the recoil of the impact. He hastily stood up straight, pointing in the direction of the mountains.

"Thatta-way!" he said with confidence, then walked toward the target without a second thought.

Although Trice and Garaku were a bit uneasy about following Kain, they decided they might as well go along with him as leader, for lack of a better choice.