Author's Note: So I've cut out a bunch of what's actually involved in this mission, and mashed other parts together, because it would just be super boring to write or read about the entire thing and would also be insanely long. Again, sorry for the crazy gap in posting and thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on following the story. :) Hope you like this chapter, review to let me know what you think! Also this wasn't as re-read and reviewed as much as usual, so please tell me if you see any mistakes or things that don't make sense just in case...

Ever since the ancient quarry had been cleared, merchants set up shops there for all who traveled through. Ceileigh had returned several times to either buy things or kill new monsters that tried to take up residence. She'd also explored a few other underground passages, looking for supplies or items Madeleine asked for. None of those places had been as humid or smelled as rank as this one.

Water from the falls ran under the door, forming a very narrow, swift-running stream on the left. Thick batches of ferns and other plants sprouted from every crack due to all the water, and mushrooms jutted out of both walls. A path had been hewn out of the right-hand wall, leading to a wider area with a tunnel on the right and a narrow stone passage on the left. The stream veered into the passage, disappearing through a vertical crack at the end.

Ceileigh followed the stream and put her eye up to the crack. The smell of feces and rotten fish made her gag a little. A group of saurians rested below, atop a large pile of fish bones. She stepped back and glanced at Leandor, who immediately stepped up to look through. Watching him, she was proud of what a good team they'd become. They often knew what the other was thinking without having to say it. They had a rhythm when fighting so that they all but moved as one. It made her feel close to him, like they were connected by an invisible tether. Don't dwell on it, he doesn't want you, she reminded herself as she turned back out of the passage.

Puddles of water with dead things marinating in them dotted the ground, and Ceileigh wrinkled her nose in disgust. Despite being well-stocked, Zayne and Tuck couldn't resist plucking several handfuls of various curatives while Ceileigh and Leandor scouted out the tunnel.

"What here could be of use against the dragon?" Leandor wondered aloud, holding up his lantern to see farther.

"Who knows how long these ruins have been buried. There could be all sorts of things in a place like this," Ceileigh replied. "Perhaps they hold information from the last time the dragon came?"

She found a very old wooden table against the right side of the tunnel, with an unusable lamp and a few crates on top. As she opened the crates, a pair of bats swooped down but dropped seconds later, skittering across the ground as the remnants of lightning danced through them.

Ceileigh nodded thanks to Zayne as he and Tuck walked up and he nodded back with a small smile. Tuck quickly crouched and gathered up the bats. "These could provide nourishment," he said, hooking them onto his belt.

"I refuse to eat those unless I'm starving to death!" Ceileigh exclaimed with a laugh. "Besides, they're charred!" The mage looked taken aback but didn't say anything.

The path curved right and down a small set of wide stairs. A group of rats the size of small dogs were gathered in a puddle straight ahead, fighting over something no longer recognizable.

"I am not eating those, either," she said with a raised hand at Tuck before he could say anything. He shrugged and they turned left down a torch-lit hallway with several openings on either side.

"Either Jean lit these or bandits are nearby," Ceileigh muttered. Leandor and Zayne both made sounds of agreement. They all snuffed out their lanterns and set forth with weapons drawn.

The first room seemed innocuous enough. They found a few fat bags of gold hidden in thick patches of gentian root near the back. As they left, the sound of bones clattering together sounded behind them and they looked back to see red mist swirling around several walking skeletons that had just formed.

"Let's scatter those bones!" Zayne shouted as they turned to meet them.

After smashing the skeletons to pieces they gathered what bones were useful and continued on. Water dripped from cracks in the ceiling, creating distracting echoes.

"'Tis dark and unsettling, this place," said Tuck, looking around warily.

After searching and gathering from whatever rooms weren't locked, they came to an open doorway with a floorless passage between them and the next room. There was a wooden walkway hanging above, and a lever to the left of the doorway to lower it with. Staircases descended from both sides of where they stood, and they decided to explore them first in case Jean had gone that way. Neither one led anywhere but there was a chest at the bottom of the left side with a fire-enchanted sword in it.

Over time, Leandor had gained equal say in what loot they kept or sold, so he didn't ask permission to keep items anymore. "I believe this would be useful," he said, unsheathing his Bastard Sword and replacing it with the new, red-orange glowing blade.

They went back up and Ceileigh pulled the lever by the door. The wooden platform swung down on ropes and chains, settling flush with the floor so they could get across. They barely had time to take in the room – dark, wet, full of brown stone pillars and platforms – before a high-pitched whine filled the air and skeleton magi stepped forward in three different places, the red light of their magick giving away their positions. Two threw fireballs that Ceileigh's party easily dodged or blocked, but the platform they were on was small and they had to move and spread out if they wanted to keep avoiding the projectiles.

Deep water hid the floor so they had to jump from platform to platform, drawing closer to the magi while avoiding their fireballs and shooting back with arrows or magick. Zayne was knocked down by one of the mages' spells just as he landed on its platform, but he quickly recovered and destroyed it with a burst of wind that blew its body apart. Ceileigh shot an arrow into the second one's hollow eye socket, causing it to stagger and fall into the water.

The third was still shooting from a platform farther back. Leandor made his way there and swung his fiery blade through its neck, sending head and body clattering separately to the floor. The rest of the party joined him and one by one they crossed a very narrow, unstable stone bridge to a final landing. As Ceileigh went over she peered down into the dark water and she swore she could see something red swirling beneath the surface.

They found a chest full of arrows and armor pieces in usable condition at their destination, along with a heavy slate that had writing chiseled onto it in another language. Ceileigh kept the arrows and split the armor among the pawns to carry back and sell. They picked up the slate too just in case it was important.

A doorway at far end of that platform led to another brown stone hallway, which, after several twists and turns, opened into a very large room with two rows of pillars running through it. The first four pillars had lit torches on them, illuminating a recently broken body in a brown robe several yards away on the floor. Brother Jean, no doubt, Ceileigh and Leandor said with a glance. Various chests and red-striped barrels dotted the floor. Zayne was telling them that the barrels were explosive when they noticed a vague shape, tall, broad and gray, swaying at the back of the dim room.

"There, Arisen! Cyclops!" Tuck called out, pointing his staff at the giant beast, who up until then had seemed unaware of their presence. Ceileigh exhaled sharply and shot the mage a dirty look as the monster turned in a slow circle, dragging an enormous club against the ground as it faced them. Unlike others Ceileigh had faced, this one wore a helmet, metal arm bands and a loincloth with a metal plate on it.

"I've never seen one with armor," she said in surprise as she readied herself, thinking that the room didn't seem so large anymore.

"I have, master. They are all but invincible with it on, but once the armor is broken off the creature can be taken down," said Leandor, and Ceileigh nodded once in acknowledgement.

"There's not much room in here, we have to defeat this thing before it catches or crushes us," Ceileigh said urgently, turning to her party. "Alright, once the armor is off, go for the hands and head. Watch out for that club and don't get stepped on. Let's go!"

They ran forward, Ceileigh and Leandor immediately darting behind the cyclops to climb it from behind with the help of their blades. Leandor's blade left red hot gashes in the hide. The creature bellowed angrily and reached around to grab them but they were too low. Tuck blasted it repeatedly with holy magick, weakening it while Zayne used a brontide spell to strike with whips of lightning.

The cyclops shook like a wet dog, throwing Ceileigh to the ground. She landed hard but was able to get her breath and footing back quickly. Leandor glanced down to make sure she was okay, then kept climbing to reach the helmet. The beast focused on Tuck and Zayne, stomping and swinging its club.

"I grant you lightning's fangs!" Zayne shouted, infusing the party's weapons with crackling magick. Ceileigh went to work on the cyclops' legs, doing what damage she could and distracting it the two pawns on the ground.

"A tusk has broken loose!" Leandor called just before it hit the ground and rolled away. Ceileigh staggered back from her continual assault to see that he'd already hacked away most of the helmet and said tusk. After getting in one last burning slice across the neck, Leandor dropped back to the ground and ran to her side. He saw the way she hid a wince and cradled her left side a little, but he told himself to trust that she could get through the fight.

Now that Ceileigh and Leandor were out of the way, Tuck brought up a line of fire under the monster's feet and Zayne sent balls of lightning into its face. It bellowed and dropped its club, swinging its fists in a blind rage. They all kept up their attacks, barely managing to stay out of the beast's reach, until it grabbed Zayne and swung him up to eye level. It roared in his face, then smashed him up against the wall with a crunch that made the rest of the party flinch.

Zayne struggled against the massive hand but it was no use; the cyclops pushed harder until he felt like his very bones would explode. His companions' attacks were doing nothing to stop the beast either. He could barely breathe and his vision dimmed with stars dancing at the edges. He quickly drew on a great amount of thunder magick and blue lightning rushed out of him into the hand, blowing it back in a shower of sparks. The sorcerer dropped to his hands and knees on the ground as the beast roared again in pain. Tuck ran to help him as the cyclops turned and stomped angrily toward Ceileigh and Leandor, its injured hand smoking.

"The barrels!" Ceileigh shouted. They were fairly heavy but she and Leandor managed to pelt a few at the monster before it reached them, taking chunks out of the legs and blackening what skin remained. Another blast of holy magick from Tuck at that point knocked the cyclops to its knees and they finished it off.

"We should take Jean to Gran Soren for burial," said Ceileigh, taking off her helmet and wiping her hair out of her face as they walked to where the brother's body lay flattened on the stone floor. Tuck pushed orbs of healing magick into them as they went.

"Here, use my robe," Zayne offered. They laid the deceased monk in the maroon garment and Leandor and Tuck each lifted an end. As they did, something fell to the floor with a clink.

"It's a key," said Ceileigh, picking it up. "It looks old, he must have found it in here. Maybe it opens one of the doors we couldn't get into before." She tucked it into her belt pouch to show Brother Haslett.

With help from Zayne's levitation abilities in the watery platform room, they managed to get Brother Jean back out of the Watergod's Altar. Ceileigh's side was really hurting by then but she tried not to show it as they somberly presented his body to Brother Haslett.

"Jean…dead? I…I see," he said weakly, looking dazed. "If only I had been brave enough to follow after him. Perhaps a second set of eyes could have prevented this tragedy."

"We found this slate inside as well, and this key. The key was with Brother Jean, perhaps he had found a way forward that we did not see," Ceileigh told him. "We brought both in case they're important to your research."

"Yes, sites such as these often house engraved slates and other ancient texts. Some have held revelations of vast importance. I see here this one mentions the dragon, but more translation is needed," said Haslett, examining the slate with tears in his eyes. "It looks broken - oft times, age will splinter slates. It is critical we retrieve every piece of the whole."

He tucked the piece of stone under his arm and the key in his belt pouch. "I do not wish Jean's death to be in vain, ser. I will do all I can…I will gather a new party and continue to survey these ruins in his stead. That he may know some small comfort in seeing his work here completed, I ask your aid, ser. Will you provide protection for the next survey party?"

"Of course," Ceileigh assured him.

"Thank you, ser! Then let us return to Gran Soren so I can gather more men.

"Look at all these things, just sitting here all this time," Ceileigh marveled as she pulled out yet another valuable item from a chest in the room where they'd fought the cyclops. Brother Haslett's new team was working busily to find more slates at the other end of the room and in the room the key led to. Since Ceileigh's party hadn't gotten to search the area very much the day before, she and Leandor were looking around to see what might be useful while Tuck and Zayne kept an eye on the men. They'd already been there several hours and filled multiple large sacks.

"What do you think that was in the water yesterday?" she asked Leandor as they gathered loot.

"I do not know," he responded, then glanced back at the group before asking, "Should we investigate?"

She smiled at him mischievously. "Alright. Let's leave these bags with them and go take a look," she said, nodding her head toward the monks. The other pawns were mildly disconcerted when she directed them to stay behind and protect the group, but they obeyed.

Ceileigh looped her arm through Leandor's as they walked along. "I am shocked that you would shirk your mission duties to go exploring," she teased.

He chuckled. "You are curious, and I believe the other pawns can handle the situation. Besides, I prefer your company to the others'…or any others," he shrugged a little as he thought about it.

Ceileigh couldn't help but smile even though his words made her sad at the same time. "Oh everybody knows you don't like anyone. You probably only like me because you're compelled to," she joked. "If I wasn't the Arisen you'd be scowling at me just as much."

"That is not true," Leandor said with a small smile. "I scowl at you quite a lot, in fact more so as time goes on." Ceileigh laughed and agreed, and they walked on for a while.

"In all seriousness, I could serve without liking you at all, and would still do so to the best of my ability. Fortunately for me, I enjoy your company very much." He paused. "Unfortunately for me, caring for you makes my duty even more stressful."

Ceileigh squeezed his arm and looked away, examining their surroundings so Leandor wouldn't see her tear up. "You know, when we started out I never expected to hear things like this from you," she said in a deceptively steady voice, willing herself not to cry.

Leandor considered. "Nor did I expect to say them," he said, glancing down at her. "However, I have changed with time out of the Rift, and because of our friendship."

"Yes of course," she agreed, turning back to smile at him again with dry eyes.

They reached the platform room soon afterward and went to the edge of one in the middle. "Look! There it is. And over there too," said Ceileigh, pointing to different parts of the dark water below them.

"Is it one large creature or many smaller ones?" Leandor wondered aloud.

"I can't tell without more light. It could be one long serpentine body – see how it flows? But I'm not sure. Are you able to hold your lantern closer?"

Leandor laid on his stomach and held his lantern over the edge, as close to the water as he could manage. Ceileigh crouched next to him and threw a small chunk of meat from her pack into the depths. Immediately a cloud of tiny, dark red creatures swarmed around it, devouring it in seconds and even jumping out of the water a little in their frenzy.

"I didn't expect that, they look almost like shrimp but smaller!" Ceileigh exclaimed. "And they behave like predatory fish! How odd."`

"You never encountered anything like this while fishing in Cassardis?" Leandor asked.

"Never, and neither did anyone else or I'm sure I would have heard about it," she replied. She threw a few more pieces and they watched them be eaten before heading back.

"Master, I think I had a dream the night before last," Leandor said as they walked.

"Are you sure?!" she asked in more surprise than before. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I tried," he replied gently, without anger.

"Outside the castle yesterday," Ceileigh realized. "I'm sorry."

"Think nothing of it," he said sincerely, and she flushed as she was reminded of his similar words the night she kissed him.

She cleared her throat and asked, "What was it about?"

Leandor didn't want to relive the details, so he kept it brief. "You left, or I lost you somehow."

"You mean I went off on my own, or I died?" she asked.

"I believe…death is what was represented. It felt final, and too devastating to be anything else." He paused for a moment. "The bandits were in my dream," he said, looking away in shame for a second. "When you were taken, I was afraid I had failed you completely. That I would find you dead. I have not stopped thinking about that even though the danger is past – not even while I sleep, it seems."

"That's probably why you had it," she agreed. "With humans, what we see or what happens to us while we're awake effects our thoughts while we sleep. That's part of what dreams are. They can also reflect feelings and desires, or let our imagination run away with us. But I don't want you to worry too much."

Leandor gave a small sigh but smiled down at her. "I will try."

When they returned, Brother Haslett's team was still working so Ceileigh's party ate a late lunch while watching them, then drifted apart to help move various pieces of rubble and whatever else the monks asked of them. Zayne and Leandor ended up back together eventually, scouting out a newly uncovered passage while a group of monks waited at the entrance.

"How long have you served your Arisen?" Zayne inquired as they moved forward with their weapons and lanterns at the ready.

"Over a year."

"It seems you feel the same for her as I do for mine," he said with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" Leandor asked.

"You care for her as more than just the Arisen, do you not?"

"We are friends as well," he agreed, curious about where Zayne was going with his questions.

"You hold her overly much," said the sorcerer, smirking a little now.

Leandor thought for a minute, taken aback. "Do you mean putting my hand on her back? I suppose I do it when I am especially concerned for her safety. Is it inappropriate somehow?"

"No," Zayne shrugged. "But is safety the only reason you do it?"

Before Leandor could answer, one of the monks called to them. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Ah, here is another opening," Zayne said, pointing at a gap in the rocks, then called back to Haslett's men that they had. The monks joined them to help clear the rubble, then the two pawns kept watch while they explored the room that was revealed.

Leandor thought about what Zayne had said while he watched. He realized that touching Ceileigh was as much for himself as it was for her. Physical contact with her reassured him, it made him feel happy and peaceful. He liked when she held his arm or hugged him or when we danced… He frowned a little.

Haslett's voice broke into his thoughts, and when he looked over he saw Ceileigh looking at pieces of stone with the monk so he joined them. He felt slightly embarrassed to look at his master even though there was no way she could know what he was thinking about.

"Yes…we have all the slate pieces now and the message is becoming clearer. I will not rest until its meaning is deciphered, ser. For the sake of Brother Jean, and all of Gransys. The Faith will see it done, in that you may believe," he told them. "In the meantime, we will tell Ser Maximillian of our success here."

When they exited the cavern, Ceileigh stepped aside with her pawns while the monks headed to the capitol.

"Thank you for your help here," she said to Tuck and Zayne. She gave them each some gold for their masters and gave Zayne a wizard's hat she'd found and had no use for.

"It has been a pleasure," said Zayne with a slight bow. "I look forward to seeing my Arisen again, I miss her when we are apart." He gave Leandor that small smile again before he and Tuck walked back to the Riftstone at the waycastle.

"What was that look about?" Ceileigh asked Leandor as they watched them go.

"I do not know," he replied, staring after Zayne thoughtfully. He'd just realized that the reason he was so distracted in other realms was because he missed Ceileigh. She filled his thoughts when he was away and he was always impatient to get back to her. He almost resented having to help other Arisen now and in fact did so less and less as time went by. He didn't know how it was possible, but now that he thought about it, the less he wanted to go the less he seemed to be called.

Finally he turned back to her. "Shall we return home?"

Once back in Gran Soren, Ceileigh and Leandor went to the Pawn Guild to ask about the creatures they'd found in the water, and told him about their mission while they were there. According to Barnaby it was called The Brine, and was yet another monster called forth by the dragon's coming.

"The Brine is made up of many creatures, 'tis true. Yet they think as one, and so are referred to as a collective. If you have seen it once, it will already be in every body of water. Be wary now when you enter deep places," he warned them, then nodded toward Ceileigh.

"The time for preparation is almost over, Arisen – finding those slates was the first step toward defeating the dragon," he told her.

"'Preparation is almost over?'" she asked in surprise. "Surely I'm not strong enough yet?!"

"You will be what you need to be," he returned somberly. "What those slates contain will aid you."

Ceileigh left with worry coiling in her gut. She had become quite confident in her abilities over time, but what Barnaby said gave her a chill and she had a hard time falling asleep that night.