Khienro took the broadsword that was offered to him, and swung it around a few times, getting used to its wieght. Or at least used enough to use it. He then followed the others out, and ran upstairs, looking inside the keeper's cell, to see if they hadbeen freed as well. Seeing as they were not, he continued down the ever-winding paths, looking for any sign of Naidele - no, Naidele and Naikada. Khienro didn't know why he could only seem to care about Naidele at times. As he jogged throughout the dark halls, someone came of behind him, reaking with the potent odor of wine, and wrapped his forearm around Khienro's neck.

"'Ello! I 'on't think me master would very much like ye to be goin', now would 'e?" With a drunken laugh, the man continued attempting to strangle Khienro with his broad, hairy forearm. Khienro couldn't help but keep the disgusted expression from his face.

"I don't think he'll be all that impressed with you when he finds out you've been drinking on the job, either!" He grunted through clentched teeth as he pried away the man's hand, then proceded to punch him in the nose, recieving a loud crunch that sent the man sprawling on the ground, screaming. With that, he fled. Looking for anyone. Naidele, Nakaida, Orindil, Aeryn... Anyone but Okandar. He couldn't face him at this point...

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Walking several paces behind her sisters, Alayna kept a sharp eye searching and a keen ear listening for any signs or signals of approach, whether hostile or not.

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((Just a note... I added to my last post...))

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen

Nakaida held the torch up, illuminating the cold stone walls. "I don't know," she said grimly. "But we'll find him - let's try here." And she stopped at the foot of a steep, winding staircase that led up to the northernmost tower, torches at intervals along it casting flickering light. Nakaida's blue eyes were eerily aglow with intense determination.

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**bump from 2nd page**

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen

Naidele nodded and pulled out one of her daggers. She gripped the hilt so tightly that it almost hurt her hand. She almost ran up the steps of the staircase. She wondered what they would find at the top.

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I'm back!

What they found was a solid oaken door, which Nakaida almost ran into in her hurry. It seemed to be locked somehow, and she frowned in annoyance when her efforts found it still firmly shut. "Maybe not here, then," she commented, listening intently for sounds inside, of which there were none.

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"This way!" Orindil called to Khienro, who was engaged farther down the stairs. The stairs leveled out onto a dark corridor, afforded an eerie cast by the stone walls and ominous quiet - contrasting fully to the pandemonium downstairs. Noting torchlight and voices ahead, he rounded a corner -

- and bumped full into Nakaida.

He backpedaled and had his sword out before he recognized the faces. At the familiar sights, he could hardly contain his sigh of relief.

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Naidele had raised her dagger, prepared to fling it at the people who approached, but she nearly dropped it when she recognized who it was. "Khienro!" she exclaimed, "Orindil! Aeryn!" Tears of joy and relief sprang to her eyes, but she blinked them back. Her eyes lingered on Khienro. She was immensly relieved that he seemed no worse off than he had been when they separated. "I was so afraid you were dead," she said softly.

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I'm back!

Nakaida turned and went ghost-white, eyes huge. She gulped a moment, lost for words.

"I - I thought you were...he said..." she stammered, and suddenly tears gathered and threatened to spill. "He said you were dead! He said...he said..." she drew a long shaky breath that narrowly escaped turning into a sob. Breathe in, breathe out...finally she had enough control to look up at Orindil and whisper, "I thought he'd killed you...I thought it was my fault...oh, oh, oh," and here she really did burst into tears. "You're all right - you're here - I'm going to kill him!"

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For a long while Orindil could only stare, at utter loss for words. He'd always considered himself a composed person; if a dragon had exploded into the room, he would have drawn weapons without a thought. But at the sight of the young woman bursting into tears for his sake completely disarmed him.

Especially if that woman was the one he loved and feared to admit to love, even to himself.

He felt the compelling urge to take her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be fine. But for an undefinable reason he could only move to pat her awkwardly on the back... calling himself an imbecile as he did just that.

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Nakaida gulped convulsively, ashamed of herself, and looked up at Orindil tearfully. "Sorry..." she managed. "I was so scared..." her voice fell to a whisper before she swallowed and regained a modicum of composure. She took a long shaky breath while wiping her cheeks, which were quite wet. "We have to find Okandar."

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Aeryn ran up behind Khienro and said, "Like eariler, I'll take up the back to make sure you don't get killed. Go!" He grinned, his dagger bloodly and so was his hand.

They ran up and found the Keepers and Aeryn could have almost wept in joy. He felt so close to them now, like it was his job to protect them. But he felt paticularly close to Naidele, not like a love relationship, but more of a brother-sister relationship. He didn't know why, but he felt like if he had a sister, it would be her. He smiled at her, relived that she and the other Keepers still lived.

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Just became a college freshman; be on sparingly

Khierno's eyes went wide when he laid eyes on Naidele and her sisters. He could not do much but smile as his eyes fogged.

"Dead? You don't really think you'd get rid of us that easily, do you?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly. They wern't even scratched. Apparently Okandar didn't have time for them either. Thankfully. Khienro thought on this, and decided that he would have gladly died for them. And namely Naidele, who had small tears forming at her eyes. At that, his heart and mind finally agreed that he had feelings for her, feelings of love. Smiling very oddly, joy and a hint of love dancing in his eyes, Khienro wiped the tears away and tried to make the reality of the situation return, with little success. Putting a hand gently on Naidele's shoulder, his voice had returned somewhat, though still cracked with his sad, relieved joy.

"I'm so glad you're alright..." He then, with a small jolt, came back to reality. "We need to go... Okandar.... He could be anywhere."

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Naidele smiled back at Aeryn. She liked him a lot. Not the way she liked Khienro. But still she felt close to him.

Then she turned her eyes back to Khienro as he laid a hand on her shoulder and gently wiped away a few of her tears. She smiled up at him with love in her eyes, and they shared a long look. She placed her hand lightly on top of his. "I'm glad you're alright too," she said softly. She wished that they were in a safe place away from Okandar and all this fighting so that she could talk to him, but maybe a time would come for that later. Hopefully.

"You're right," she said, coming back to reality herself, "And I plan to find him, and he will regret the day he ever crossed our path." Now that she was sure that Khienro, Aeryn, and Orindil were alright, most of her fiery spirited attitude was back. "Let's go." She started off down the corridor, not really knowing which direction would be best to take.

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I'm back!

Khienro nodded and followed after her. He didn't care if she was the Goddess of all the earth - which she almost was. Or if he was a dying peasent - and that was pretty darn close... Well, he didn't care who she was, there would be no 'dying in honor' for this situation.

Jogging after the Keeper, Khienro surveyed the hallways that lead up stairs, down ramps, and every which way imaginable.

"Well... I suppose the dear Okandar coward will have decoys in a couple of stations... Just.. Which stations?"

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