Vergor Thunderstar alighted on a rock deep in the forest. He dropped the Jewel onto the rock from his talon and watched the sunlight reflect off its shining surface.

"My pretty!" he cried. As he admired his newest toy, he was suddenly blinded by a bright light. As the light dimmed, he could see the figure of a great man. The man stepped forward, regarding the stormwing with disdain. Vergor bowed, as best he could, cowed by the man's intimidating presence.

"The Jewel is not yours to keep. I am only letting you guard it for the time being. And you had better guard it well as the Tortallans are already searching for it."

"It is safe with me, Mithros." The God nodded, satisfied and disappeared with another flash of light.

Daine, back in human form, looked around for any signs of their riding party. Her companions were no where in sight. Kaddar's unconscious form lay on the ground in front of her. She gently shook him. He sat straight up, reaching for his sword. Daine put her hand on his arm.

"The fight's over. I couldn't control your horse so it rode off. I had to follow it to try to calm it down, but now I think we're lost." Daine was getting hysterical.

"Slow down, don't talk so much. It's making my head hurt." Kaddar rubbed his temples.

"But you're the Emperor of Carthak! And you're lost! And it's going to be my fault," Daine moaned.

"Calm down. We're fine! With just you and me we can move much faster anyhow," Kaddar reasoned. "You always argue that you can take care of yourself." Kaddar smirked. The prospect of being alone with Daine was agreeable for him. Daine gathered up both of their horses and began walking through the forest.

"Where are you going?" Kaddar called after her.

"Stormwing hunting."

Kel ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Perhaps we should send a message back to the palace so they can scry for our missing companions. We've been searching for hours with no luck."

Neal looked at her. "Are you mad? Do you really want the King to know that we've lost the Emperor of Carthak and the Wildmage? It was your job to keep them safe!"

"Hey! While that is true, the most important thing is to get them back. And you, Meathead, are the only one here with the Gift. So as your commander I suggest you send back a message to the palace," Dom interjected. Neal grumbled as he searched through his bags to find a mirror. He squinted as he used his Gift to reach Alanna. Her face showed up on the shiny surface, looking displeased. Neal smiled at her, sheepishly.

"Hello Alanna, how are you?"

"What is it, Nealan?" Neal saw a figure come up behind Alanna, and Numair leaned down and peered into the mirror.

"What happened? Is Daine alright?" Alanna raised an eyebrow at Numair.

"Is the Emperor alright?" she asked pointedly.

"Well, about that... might I ask you two a favor?"

A.N.: Hey guys. We're still alive! And look! We updated! It's been a shamefully long time and we apologize sincerely. But here's some new stuff! So read... and... REVIEW! YAY! We like reviews, they make us happy. So please do. Adios! We promise to update soon! Really!