Garthag smirked slightly and nodded with blood dripping from his side, he tried hard not to complain as he was no longer angry the pain was far more worse. Reason was such a *beep*...

Meanwhile Garthag sweeped over the two dragons, Reno and Jemx, and made his way past them to Garthag who had called him.

(Btw LDM its your turn to post Dragonlance Rp)

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Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Almost having reached the end of the tunnel, Merrin suddenly halted in dismay. "The dragons - " she said, realizing that there had been no touch on her consciousness to indicate that Wyvern, too, had arrived. Knowing sickeningly that it was over, that they had failed, she watched dully as the dragons landed to receive their riders.

Betrayal, disappointment, frustration, guilt melded together into despair and Merrin turned away. I am so stupid - SO stupid... she thought furiously, fists clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms. Everyone who ever told me I was naive was right...

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Kendath reached the end of the tunnel and instantly braked, leaping into the shadows as to evade the Meiltha's notice. His efforts were wasted, for Demon's sharp eyes caught him anyway.

Hello, Kendath... His familiar consciousness coalesced with his former rider's. His innermost thoughts were unusually impassive, unreadable.

Warms my heart to see you enjoying yourself.

Demon quietly snarled under his breath. I warn you now, Kendath, you wage a losing battle. I will not betray your presence to the others, but for your own well-being heed my words.

A man long dead once said to me, 'What is power but the illusion of what you lack? And what is friendship but the gift of eternity?'

Demon seemed almost to waver as his mind fully bonded with his former rider's. An instant later his thoughts were encased in steel. You are weak, Kendath. Never forget that.

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Merrin's relentlessly optimistic side kicked in after a few moments of staring listlessly at the sky. Well, you weren't going to get the Crystal anyway, not if the gods hadn't told you to, it said persuasively. And you'd only just met Semri, so why are you so dejected about losing her? At least you have Kendath. You'd rather have him than Semri anyway.

Merrin reluctantly agreed with this, but inexplicably the last point made her extremely aware of Kendath beside her and the silence between them now seemed awkward rather than merely despondent. For a moment she felt less dejected, if not positively cheerful, and then with a sickening jolt the realization hit that now the Meiltha had both crystals - and they could unleash their power on the gods. The very thought made her quaver.

She glanced up at Kendath. "I suppose if we want to reach Wyvern by nightfall, we should start down," Merrin ventured, trying to read his expression - but as always, it was relatively inscrutable. He likely thinks me silly and naïve as well, she thought wearily, and again wondered why she cared, when her world was falling to pieces around her ears and nothing she did seemed to halt it.

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No tears. No remorse. Just that unquenchable hollowness, as if a void had been carved into his soul, as Kendath watched Demon lift into the twilit sky and fade into the sunset. At least he's happy, he found himself thinking with a bitter chuckle. And at least I have...

Excellent question, actually. What in the abyss did he have? No dragon, no Crystal. Nothing but a young Renegade he'd thought foolish and naive until the past few days.

Yet who had he been to call her foolish and naive? She'd done more for the Renegade cause than he'd ever had. And to rub salt on the wound, his insults had simply been a guise to mask his own inner war.

Merrin's words jerked him from his gloomy revelations. "Right," he said in a half-snarl. He turned to start down the mountainside. A moment later he sighed and turned back around. "Are you all right?" he asked in the gentlest voice he'd used in years - something that surprised even him.

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Merrin, in the act of following him, removed her gaze from the ground (which she'd been studying rather miserably) and met his eyes. "Yes - I mean, under the circumstances," she replied, and attempted a smile. It faded after a moment, leaving no trace of its presence, but Merrin was slightly heartened and came down the steep path to stand beside him, eyes roving over the bleak expanse of rock and virescent miasma that was the mountains.

"I - I wouldn't be, if it weren't for you," she continued shyly, and added softly: "Thank you, for helping me fight that spider. You could have run, with Semri -" and her expression took on a barely perceptible tinge of bitterness "- but I'm glad you stayed."

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Startled, Kendath rocked back on his heels and had to backpedal to avoid stepping off the mountainside. In response, he only shrugged because he had nothing better to convey.

He started back down the vertiginous path, marking the Sigil of the Dragon and angling in that general direction. Descending the slopes proved more perilous than ascending, for the road was dotted with crumbling cobblestones and jagged boulders.

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By the time the pair reached the place Merrin's silver dragon had left them, the sun was long gone and the moon, tinted green through the unhealthy fog shrouding the mountains, was waxing luminescent.

Stumbling with weariness, Merrin felt Wyvern brush her consciousness questioningly. I'll explain once you've come, she told him, but she knew he could sense that not all had gone well.

"Wyvern's on his way," she murmured for Kendath's benefit and sank into a sitting position on a broken chunk of rock, ready to sleep where she sat and wanting - more than she was willing to admit - to escape grim reality into a world of dreams.

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Semri and Evlyn each mounted thier repective dragons. "Reno, Evlyn is my twin, which means Jemx is yours, we're Meiltha now."
What????
"We never belived in the cause, we only wanted to fight, now we can have the power as well." Reno flew on debateing with himself before Jemx flew next to him. Brother.... Jemx gently blew on Reno's snout and suddenly the whte dragon felt the exaltation he Jemx had felt in battle aginst the Renagades, and it was the same way he felt. See we are not so diffrent.
No...well then i suppose i am Meiltha, but will you accept me brother?
Of course Reno, we'll rule the world together.

Semri and Evlyn smiled at each other. "Lead the way Garthag." Semri called

(sorry but all this has to be done)

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Made by Lembas

Kalma quietly eyed the two other dragons and snorted loudly as Garthag mounted him, he did not like these two dragons ecspecially the white one as Kalma had come to think that most of them were already dead by his own claws. No matter, they would prove themselves useful in future struggles. Kalma spread his wings and rose into the sky, the three riders and dragons speeded towards the frozen north to the bastion of Garthags and Kalma`s power.

Garthag gazed quietly at Semri as they flew high in the sky, few questions ran trough his head as he pondered wether she was being honest. Was she only there to fight? If things went wrong this would not be a two sided war, but a three sided one.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Semri shivered in her white silk tunic as snow began to cover the ground. "Sister, why don't we just fly back to you're halls. We have both of the crystals, we don't need him."
"No we don't, but your weak from the cut he made on you're chest and the poison. Garthag needs us for the moment, therefore we are safe for the moment. If we went back we would have both him and the Renagades to worry about while we tried to heal you."
"I suppose, but i don't trust him"
"Neither do i." She shot foreward slightly. "Garthag how long till we reach you're home, Semri needs attention....and so do you by the look of things."

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Made by Lembas

Garthag grinned at her words and muttered some words as his white robe was stained with blood dripping from his side, his magics were not able to heal anyone and ironically a priest might have come in handy yet the gods were not smiling upon them. Garthag pointed into the horizon where gleamed the far reaches of the white tundra, the highest mountain covered with snow was a magnificent sight.

Yet on the base of the mountain swarmed thousands of humans in their camp, all gathered there to serve and to turn the mountain into a fortress. Kalma dived lower and sweeped over the humans, these simple barbarians naturally covered in the ground as dragons had a bad habbit of snatching humans for lunch. Kalma quickly rose and headed straight for a cave opening in the mountain, they landed before the cave and Garthag sighed in relief. He slid off the back of Kalma and gazed at his `friends`.

"Right this way..."

He said leading them into a network of tunnels, it was simply impossible not to get lost, if you did not know the way. Soon they arrived to a big open space, there layed many personal items of Garthag and of course all the treasures that Kalma had come to gather. The sisters might be tempted to steal something yet Garthag and Kalma had set powerful spells to guard this place. Garthag headed for a chair in the corner of the cave and sat down besides it, he called in a couple of servants and ordered to bring medical supplies. Kalma calmly walked up to his treasures and layed before them, inspecting their guests.

As soon as Garthag would regain his strength the two could begin plotting how to gain the crystal, if the sisters would not be willing to give it up willingly.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"How do you stand this cold?" Demon rumbled at Kalma. His infernal nostrils flared, exuding his steam-tinged breath in the frigid air. Having been born in the desert, he abhored his new environment.

Granted, Garthag's stronghold was nothing short of impressive. He wondered with slight apprehension what this wily wizard had in mind.

----------

Kendath stumbled over to a spot across from Merrin and let himself slide down as well to rest his aching legs. He wondered vaguely where Merrin intended to go now. The Renegade fortress perhaps... where he doubted they'd be greeted with joyous fanfare.

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Evlyn and began to tend to Semri with the help of some servents, Reno looking on anxiousely. Jemx sat down solidly next to Demon, ostentiosely ignoreing the treasure piled about him.

_________________

Made by Lembas

"I am a white dragon am I not? Was born here and here shall be my home, wether it is cold or not..."

Kalma snarled in response as Garthag was helped to tie some bandages around his body to cover the wound and when the mage was finnished in patching up the wound he approached the sisters.

"Hand it over"

He commanded.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

At the command, Demon made his best attempt to hide his bristing. His calculating glare shifted from the white mage to the Meiltha. Who had the better chances, he wondered. And how much could he tip the scale should it come to all-out battle...? He instinctively reached out to ask for Kendath's advice, before realizing the advice in question would not be forthcoming.

Resigned, the bestial black dragon settled back on his haunches to watch and determine.

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