Merrin didn't get it. How could she not? He forced himself to forgive her - from what he could glean, she'd lived a sheltered life far away from the stereotypical Garthag-type mage. It was, admittedly, a brighter aspect of her that she didn't remind him of Meiltha or anything to do with Meiltha. However this meant that Kendath had to explicate. He didn't want to explicate. If only his power of speech were a tad more charming... He could do without his moments of aphasia as well...

"He's going to use it against us," he reiterated, placing more emphasis on his words as if this could somehow turn her perspective. "It means I shouldn't have come near you last night. It means we should... we should stop."

_________________

*spasm and throws party* *eats everyone*

I made a banner for the occassion... again, you don't have to use these but I was in a state of euphoria the other day

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i273/ ... ystal2.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i273/ ... arthag.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i273/ ... rrin-1.jpg

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Merrin spun around so fast that she nearly stumbled as the ship rolled gently, color draining from her cheeks. "No!" she'd stammered before she could stop herself, expression that of dismay incarnate no matter how she tried to smother it. She almost had to clench her teeth to stop the words tumbling out - she could feel them on her tongue, pleading to be voiced. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you...

But - we should stop. We. She wasn't the only one. Merrin felt simultaneously cold and warm all over, a bizarre sensation that nonetheless made her nearly dizzy with astonished realization. "But he's wrong," she said again, as if in turn to convince him of her perspective, searching his face in wide-eyed consternation. "Kendath, I..." her head reeled. No! She couldn't say it, not now. Not when there was every possibility he would...think he had to protect her? Think that they couldn't -

Merrin realized, to her own abject horror, that she was on the verge of tears. "No," she said helplessly, shaking her head and holding back the tears only by dint of sheer determination. Her fists were clenched so tightly, in order to stop them rising to wipe away half-existent tears, that her nails almost felt as though they might draw blood. "No."

Why was there nothing else she could think to say? Even Merrin didn't realize the intensity of her own gaze, mutely imploring him to say he hadn't meant it, to say he didn't care about Garthag, to say -

I love you. But even Merrin couldn't summon the words.

_________________

"No, it's not..." Kendath's voice trailed to a figuratively screeching and anticlimactic halt. For lack of speech, he almost flapped his hands at her, as if beating down her most unexpected and explosive reaction. It didn't help that tears were swimming in her eyes, now more intense than ever and piercing him right through. It was in this awkward moment that, unbidden, he pictured the dashing Prince Feldwar, sweeping his lady fair off her feet and consoling her with a lacelike string of flattery - none of it rehearsed, of course.

He opened his mouth. His mouth emitted a sound somewhere between a grunt and a croak. He closed his mouth.

He opened it again. "Merrin, I don't mean..." Curse it, curse it, curse it! Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair and reflexively began pacing, though the immense concentration involved in balancing on the rolling deck relegated all efforts at charm completely. He decided to be blunt. Unlike being tactful, he was good at being blunt. "It's not that I like it. Garthag... curse it, Merrin, I've been around mages like him! They make manipulation an art, and sentiments like... like these is an open invitation to stab one of us in the back! He even said it himself - we would die for one another. He's already seen an advantage!"

The vehement pacing stopped. He was panting, though the physical effort had hardly drained him. He returned her beseeching stare for a few frozen seconds, then turned away, letting his eyes roam over the plain of surging waves. His voice betrayed nothing when he spoke again. "He's going to try and kill both of us when this is over. And this is hardly a reason to give him an upper hand."

_________________

Merrin could have pitched Garthag into the rolling sea beneath their feet then and there without even a second thought. Without a fragment of a second thought. How dare he? How dare he deny her her one solace, her one ray of light in the roiling abyss of darkness into which she was every day venturing further? She'd lost Wyvern. She'd lost Vryngard. She had the weight of a world - innumerable, myriad people - the fate of an entire race resting on her shoulders, when she was only a month past the age of nineteen. Her family was far away, and Merrin would have died before letting them know the peril she walked willfully into. Gods, she couldn't sleep at night for gut-wrenching fear of facing the Lich and of failing, of dying without a hope and knowing that at her death thousands died with her - everyone she held dear doomed at her failure.

"I'll protect us," she found herself saying, throat dry and eyes swimming no matter the effort she exerted to stop it. Angry, she dashed a hand across her eyes, the need to uncurl one of her clenched fists almost an ordeal. "Kendath, the gods wouldn't let Garthag kill us, not after all that."

She knew all too well the extent of his faith in the gods. Out of sheer desperation Merrin forced herself to meet his eyes, forced every word out. "You're all I have left. I...if I don't do this, if I don't do it right..." her voice was breathless and Merrin could feel tears welling in her eyes again. "So many people will die. So many. And dragons. If I have to do it alone..."

It was the hardest thing she felt she'd ever done, to keep going when every moment she watched his face, waiting in dread for what could come at any moment. "I won't let him take that away! I can't do it by myself, I can't, I can't..."

Merrin nearly felt dizzy. She put out a hand blindly, grip fastening with white-knuckled intensity on the railing. Her voice broke, falling to a whisper. "I need you."

_________________

His eyes were enchanted by the sparkling sea as he stared out into the open waters as they set sail, at least for the moment thoughts of consuming vengeance and two troublesome companions were gone. Or not, Kendath had already sneaked to discuss some matter with the captain, no doubt the talk was about him. Ever since last night he had felt like being stabbed in the back by the gazes of Merrin and Kendath, apparently he had gone too far by pointing out the truth about their relationship. Or were they scared of him killing them? Had it not been clear from the beginning that once they would be done with the lich then they would not have a new cause to fight for or against together? They were so naive to take all of his words with utmost fury, not to mention they had no apparent skills in manipulation for every word he had said thus far had been a budge towards survival for them.

They could not remain as they had been, for once they should freeze their hearts so that not everything they had strove for would be torn and put to waste. Yet the fact that he had pushed this too far was so brightly clear as the sunlight hit the tears filling Merrin`s eyes. Garthag`s gaze was somewhat neutral as he looked at them, but still it was cold, a fact he could not change. The two were still embroiled by a sea of emotions that seemed to crush them beneath it`s waves and suffocate them when they could not sail where they wished to. Garthag would have to watch not to shake that balance, in their current, rather delicate state either of them could go ballistic and try to kill him. Yet Garthag knew the need to talk to them as they were certainly pulling out their own conclusions and letting themselves dwell in their anger towards him. It was so easy to blame Garthag who would want nothing more than to see the lich defeated and who was concerned for their chances against the shadowers.

And naturally being a cold hearted, ruthless, self serving and power hungry mage he made the perfect target. With sluggish steps Garthag left the quarterdeck and gazed at the sparkling sea with a quiet smile before turning to the sea of chaos that was about to unfold. Quietly as he possibly could, he strolled to the two having their emotional discussion, the source of their contempt might just throw them into blind fury, but Garthag knew that he had to take a chance with the two once in a while. Garthag stopped some feet away from them, remaining on a distance where he could react to attacks. Garthag forced himself to use the type of words or to be more correct the tone that made him sound sincerely concerned, but unfortunately his eyes would have the same, cold, piercing message.

"Now which one is it that makes you so upset?" He inquired, the conflicted created by his voice and eyes almost made his chuckle, but he suppressed it knowing that it would make him even more inhuman. "Was pointing out the truth about you two and warning you two about the possible effects of your relationship so shocking? Or is it that I said that I was going to kill you? Or just perhaps the fact how you see me? A monster."

Garthag continued the inquiry and for now his eyes concentrated for a while on Kendath, he being the more dangerous and explosive one in such situations, but also because he took him for a monster. A monster? That word had such a disgusting sound to it, everyone would want to avoid you and some even kill you. Garthag did not deny that he would have deserved the title for what he had done in the past, but to be condemned by two people he had never actually hurt? Well in the end it was better to keep the two in the shadows, they could not change their portrayal of him too much, it wash away the fear from them perhaps. Not too beneficial to Garthag`s agenda.

_________________

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!

Kendath stared at Merrin in frozen silence, at utter loss for what to say. A number of responses surfaced to mind, the most persistent of which sickened even himself. He could hear himself saying it, forcing out the biggest lie he'd ever told in his life, each syllable a snarl, So you'll have to do it by yourself. No, Merrin, you were wrong. I never... Her tears then would be nothing compared to this - nothing.

If only she would stop staring at him like that, with those blue eyes, now glistening with tears, that could pierce him right through more easily than any sword. She looked so frangible, with her hand clutched on the railing and her heart in her gaze as she looked up at him. A strong gust of wind could have blown her right over. He wanted so badly to forget Garthag and take her in his arms, tell her everything he'd been longing to tell her....

It took every measure of composure he had to keep his face impassive, his voice steady. "I'll kill him," he said grimly. "Not tonight. When we get to Baste. I won't wait for the same fate from him." He turned and, ironically enough, caught sight of the mage in question walking towards them. Lovely. Garthag's appearance was the last thing he needed at the moment, especially when they happened to be discussing Garthag's demise. But the mage didn't seem to have heard, for he went right on with the inquiries that, to Kendath's ears, sounded the very epitome of irony.

"I don't know about you," he replied, shrugging. "But the knowledge that I'm going to die once this is over puts me in a fine old mood, wouldn't you say?" He mimed raising a glass to Garthag in toast.

_________________

Garthag hmhed at Kendath`s words and shrugged with a rather careless face. Merrin looking away at the railing with her eyes in tears made it clear he had upset them to a great degree, Kendath acted normal, but he could go ballistic at any moment. He was not a man who hesitated to kill, if he thought that the person deserved to be disposed of, hardly surprising.

"Ah... that... don`t be so serious, I might not be even in a condition to kill you after the battle that unfolds with the shadowers. You take it as, if my threat was going to be your fate, I hardly doubt even I am that powerful once I regain my powers. Yet you can`t make it without me nor can I with you so there`s no point of talking about the matter I guess, when the time comes we all know.

You two worry too much, just concentrate on the facts, the three of us have a better chance of survival together, I am not all powerful, other people depend on you and you need to steel yourselves for the upcoming battle...."

Garthag stated blankly, remaining very objective about the situation, maintaining his ever cold attitude and again reminded them that there were others out there needing their help. They could not risk to fail now and if they wanted to succeed then the help of Garthag would be vital.

_________________

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!

Kendath pondered Garthag's words, stated in all pragmatism. They sounded temptingly believable, and even if they weren't stated in all honesty, Garthag was a decent actor. He had to be, else his so-called empire in the north would never have flourished. How many others had died believing his veiled promises? What he said last night... the icy glint in his eyes, the inhuman way he threw out his crimes as though discussing the weather...

The threat was too real.

"You could be right," he conceded, folding his arms across his chest not merely as a gesture, but because it placed his hand a hairbreadth away from brushing his falchion. "But the fact remains that you would kill us if you could. As for the battle, I have no idea what you mean. We're after the Celestial Shard. If the Lich dies in the process, that's an added bonus. But I doubt it." He pointedly looked Garthag up and down. "You're not even half the mage you used to be. What makes you think you can defeat this undead creature, even with our help? As for survival, your pretty fireballs may be convenient, but Merrin and I survived perfectly fine without you. Give us a reason why we should keep you around."

_________________

Garthag`s thoughts began to run rapidly as he began to answer as to why he would be valuable keeping around, he could not reveal the one backing him up because he didn`t even know who she was. It was true that his power had vaned a great deal and that he might not be able to destroy the lich, not to mention hurt him. Yet he doubted that the shadowers could be left alone, without being dealt with nor would the lich allow the shard to be taken away from him. He had gathered seemingly a great deal of power, for what purpose he did not know, but the threat was still there. Kendath seemed to be willing to ignore it, hoping that it would go away or that the gods would solve it for him.

"No you didn`t" Garthag suddenly pointed out "You never survived alone remember? You survived thanks to your dragons and after your dragons were gone you needed me as much as you hate to admit that. Or must I remind you about a dragon that was about to kill you before I saved you?. And if you even think you can get near the shard without my help then think again, the lich is no fool and will have plenty of minions no doubt.

If the shard is of great importance I suspect he will be guarding it himself, not letting any of his minions fail and it seems like his style. Yet you do make a point about my power, but... with the help of either of the crystals I could muster it`s strength in order to defeat the lich and you hardly can wield it. And please, don`t underestimate my powers just because I have not been as impressive as before..."

He said as he gazed at both of them, knowing well that they might dislike the idea, but it might be the only working way to solve the matter.

_________________

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!

"I do not underestimate your powers," Kendath growled. It was the truth - underestimating Garthag could very well be the last thing he ever did. The mage may not have his full magic, but he remained as cunning as ever, demonstrated by the sense of security he'd lulled them into right after their passage through the time portal. Bandying facts of the status quo, was he? Two could play at that game. "I don't question the practicality of having you around. Only your capacity for letting us live afterwards. How do I know? Finishing us off would be what I would have done, if I were you. But I'm not you, am I - which is the only reason you're currently not rotting in the desert, two thousand years back in time."

He paused and mulled over the rest of what Garthag had said, which just so happened to be accurate. He hadn't thought of it before - of course the Lich himself would be guarding the Celestial Shard, and he doubted their luck would hold in that case. Garthag was the only one among them who'd actually met the Lich in person... or was he? Could he, even now, be lying about the Lich's existence, simply to secure his presence among them? It was a possibility, but, Lich or not, the Shard would be well guarded.

"You mentioned something about the Crystals," said Kendath flatly. "Explain how time travel has anything to do with this."

_________________

Garthag shrugged again this time out of speechlessness, but didn`t stop from answering Kendath`s inquiry`s and scratched his beard with a thoughtful face. The lack of information about the crystals on Kendath`s part was his advantage, he could not determine the truth and could only suspect betrayal. Besides Garthag wanted the crystals as they held a great value to him, it was about restoring the honor of his brotherhood. Yet the killing part was not certain, Garthag had threatened them, but only after that had they suddenly become suspicious as, if it had not been clear earlier. Besides he had grown rather used to talking to Kendath and Merrin, they provided incredibly fascinating entertainment.

"Well truth be told the only reason I would want you dead is because you know... one day our paths might cross and I have my ambitions, I`d really hate to have you stepping in the way. Anyway... how about we make a pact? I won`t kill you and I can keep the crystal? The crystal is one of the few things that remains of my brothers so that makes me it`s rightful owner. Sounds all fair and for one I am not a liar, I have only told you the truth thus far....

And about the crystals, time travel is one thing, but as it would prove useless I have an alternative. Being powerful magical items, the crystals withhold great power that can be utilized as a weapon, perhaps decreasing the crystals power, but it would be a worth while trade in order to dispose of the lich.

So I have given my reasons and a fair deal, why not put aside your suspicions and let us continue our journey quietly?"

Garthag suggested raising his eyebrows with an expecting and certain tone in his voice.

_________________

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!

"You're asking us to trust you, then," said Merrin. She still stood by the railing, copper-tinted hair tossed by the cold wind. It carried a bite, exacerbated by the threat of rain in the air, and her cloak had blown back in the breeze - but she made no move to gather the silver-grey folds around her shoulders. That, and the tense wariness that suffused her posture and her expression - and her hand still white-knuckled on the rail - told how hard she had to concentrate in order to see past Garthag's placating words.

As far as she could understand, that was what it came down to. But Merrin remembered all too well the chilling calmness of the night before, the tone in which he'd told her she was a fool to love, told her there was every possibility that once the Lich was dead, he'd see no more need for the Chosen of the Gods. She remembered too well to believe him. Merrin was shaking her head before she even said anything. "You've given us no reason," she flung at him. "No reason at all. You're asking us to give you the Crystal - which we can't promise - and trust that you'll let us stay alive."

A toss of her head in order to clear the hair the wind whipped across her face might have been misconstrued as defiance, if it hadn't been followed by the most challenging blue-eyed stare that it was possible for Merrin to give. This paled next to the stone-eyed calm that Kendath and Garthag seemed to achieve effortlessly, but she attempted it nonetheless. "Even I am not that naive, Garthag. It's not good enough."

_________________

The word trust had no meaning in Garthag`s life, hardly ever, perhaps when he was younger until the night when he burned down his village. The people of his village and his family had trusted him to be there for them, protecting them and instead he had burned them alive. Garthag shook off the unpleasant memories with a slight grin at Merrin that showed his dislike for her words.

"Trust Merrin? Do not be so childish, fact is that whatever I might do in this world I can never get you to trust me and in fact I wouldn`t trust me, if I were in your boots. Trust is a thing you two share, but trusting me? Not even Kalma could trust me... well on the other hand that worked both ways I guess.

I am offering you a deal, I do not ask for your trust, but I am a man who keeps his word and I am no liar."

Garthag said with great confidence knowing that his words were true in a way, it was only what he had left out that Merrin and Kendath didn`t know of, which to Garthag was not lying. Simply keeping facts to himself that he wasn`t been inquired about.

_________________

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!

Kendath's mind raced, and without mind's consent he began pacing again before stopping himself. What Garthag offered was a baited deal, with both ends favoring himself. He was hiding something - why would he still need their help defeating the Lich if what he claimed about the Crystal's power was true? And if it was true, there was no telling what the mage would do once the artifact was in his hands. He would have supreme leverage, not only over them, but over whatever designs he had for the future. To let Garthag have it was folly.

But at the same time, Kendath couldn't deny the truth - that Garthag was a mage of decent skill and would be invaluable in the battle against the Shadowers, especially now with the... absence of their dragons. They had only to keep Garthag in check, on a leash. Garthag on a leash. Kendath had the most persistent feeling that the last person who'd attempted this was rotting in some remote location off the edge of the map.

Nevertheless, he grimaced and plunged headfirst into Reckless Plan Number One. "We'll help you defeat the Lich," he said slowly, meeting Garthag's gaze in perfect deadpan, "if you help us regain the Cloud Crystal. Final offer. Take it or leave it."

_________________

"Certainly and as I said before, I won`t seek to exterminate you off the face of this world once we are done. I like that we could reach a civilized agreement instead of stabbing each others in the back all tough I understand that you hardly consider me human, thus making me most untrustworthy.

Yet that is a discussion for another time."

Garthag said spreading his hands with a happy face, he did not take Kendath as a liar or one to break his word. They had reached an agreement that satisfied both and ensured both of the safety even after the whole charade of companionship was over. Garthag did admit he liked having those little chats with them, seeing them angered and thrown into very emotional states when he remained cool as the winter breeze.

Rest assured Garthag actually felt safe for a while as he walked up to the railing and placed his hands on it, gazing at the sea with a rather hypnotized face, but remaining aware of his surroundings at least at some rate.

_________________

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!