"What he said," Kjan said after a moment. "Best of luck to you in your travels. And it's Armadur, should you ever feel compelled to compose an epic ballad concerning your experience." Bowing graciously, he followed quickly after the Phantom.

Just as promised, they were met at the door by a slightly disgruntled Erdhod. "Been waitin' a whole two minutes on ye, laddie," the dwarf grumbled, getting up from his spot on an empty barrel. "Was nearly forced t' take yer downpayment an' leave. Lucky for you, I was feelin' compassionate. An' now I'm not. We're leavin' now, or it'll cost extra."

"Looks like we're leaving now." Jate announced, heading out of the room. Ash quickly followed. He had been hoping for at least some breakfast, and maybe even a few more minutes of sleep, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.

Catching up with the Phantom and crew, Ash saw a short fellow talking to Kjan. A dwarf, he realized. Hadn't they been looking for one of them? Everything happened at once.

Being the last one up, Dante stumbled in, completely unaware of what had transpired. All he knew is that one of them had most ungraciously yanked him up by the shirt collar, jabbered something about the illustrious Phantom being rather displeased, and gave him a good shove in the direction they were headed.

"Washt 'er 'ands..." he grumbled sleepily, scarcely knowing what he was saying himself. What kind of good nights rest did this place provide anyhow? He felt like he'd been cuddling with their weapons, while sleeping on the back of a dragon.

Groggily, he stumbled on towards the rest of the group, blinking hard to try to find his bearings, and consequently running straight into Ash.

Jumping back, he said in a tired defensive voice, "An' stop pokin' me..."

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<center>
"The piano is able to communicate the subtlest universal truths by means of wood, metal and vibrating air."

"Right," said the Phantom, a touch tersely. "Now it is." He did a quick count of the party - as it was probably a bad idea to leave someone behind - and fastened the clasp of his cloak, motioning to Erdhod. "Lead on, then."

They made a somewhat motley party, trailing out of the courtyard in what were still the early hours of the morning, and headed by a somewhat grim-looking Phantom. His mood tended to reflect on the rest, which was generally a positive thing. However, learning that someone who knew every secret you possessed and would have no qualms about selling them off was no longer loyal to you and had abducted your resident royal personage, to boot, was not particularly mood-lifting for anyone.

He surreptitiously tore down a Phantom Grey poster as they passed it, and tugged his hood further up. Erdhod grunted. "Bit unpopular, you are."

_________________

"On the contrary," Kjan said, pausing to pull down another of his own. "We're some of the most popular men in the kingdom. Everyone wants to meet us. They even had these lovely portraits done in our honour." He held one up briefly to examine it, then pulled his own hood further up as well. "I'm thinking of putting one up in my quarters when we return to the Keep. Maybe even send one home for father dearest to hang in his study. It's not a bad likeness, really, if one ignores certain details."

Half a day. Half a day, and already Eledhe was in a spectacularly foul mood. Liell was almost enjoying it, in a bizarre sort of way. He hadn't heard half of that impressive collection of expletives for twenty years, and she was quite as good as ever. He got a strange sort of satisfaction, grinning through the barrage of insults to emerge unaffected. It got an icy glare every time.

He was quite as interested in the princess, whose glare - if looks could kill - would have sent him past the seven levels of the underworld and into the proverbial eighth. Eledhe's was quite venomous but somehow not quite so effective. There was also the multiple times they exchanged looks of extreme dislike with each other. All in all, he was satisfied with the arrangement.

Eledhe, on the other hand, was not quite so upbeat about her current circumstances. She could use several words to describe Liell, all of which were likely the type to scandalize mothers and delight little boys, and some that were worse. Silvryn wasn't exactly a prime traveling companion either, though even Eledhe had to admit that under the circumstances she hadn't expected Her Highness to be especially sunny.

It wasn't sunny outside, either. Retracing their steps up through the steep mountain spurs was a less than enjoyable experience, and when one added in the drizzle, which was half frozen and half melted enough to slide uncomfortable down the back of your tunic...

Eledhe banged her toe on an uneven stub of rock and swore colorfully. Liell kept walking, shoving Silvryn ahead of him and completely ignoring his curse-prone companion.

Whoever's idea this was...Eledhe recalled that it was hers. It didn't improve her mood.

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Haiyya took her time in the stables, making sure her saddle was cinched tight and all her packs and instruments strapped securely to it. The dappled mare expressed impatience, thought, worrying the straw-strewn floor with a forehoof until the bard smacked her on the withers. "Aye, now, what's the rush? Sure, they're not giving me the full story, and sure, they're off on some high-stakes adventure, but the difference between them and us, m'girl, is that they're on foot. So don't you fret, we'll catch them up."

She finally mounted, swinging up into the saddle in the stableyard, then guided the horse out onto the road outside the inn. As it was the only road in the mountain hamlet, it wasn't very hard to determine the direction of the motley party. It didn't take very long to trot up alongside them, either.

"Greetings again!" she called cheerily, waving with perhaps a tad too much exaggeration. "Where are you off to, this fine morn?" As long as she was the one asking the questions, she didn't have to answer any herself.

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<center>Nothing but the Rain</center>

"Same direction as you, it seems," said the Phantom, quite obviously avoiding the inquiry. He was more brusque than usual, though not as directly reminiscent of a thundercloud as he had been earlier. For him to be cheery, under the circumstances, was hardly to be expected.

They were out of the town now, onto the narrow mountain paths chiseled into the stone, and the party fell into single file as the way grew somewhat steeper. Several rises and dips later (mountains tended to do such things) the road forked sharply, one curving away into slightly foggy and higher ground and the other descending sharply. Momentarily, the Phantom consulted his map. Past Sixpeaks was a valley, before one descended onto level ground that continued for quite some time before reaching Y'rydha. The other fork veered away into higher mountains. Predictably, they couldn't have some easy traveling. The Phantom sighed inwardly and turned to Haiyya, who had ridden along thus far. "'Twas pleasurable making your acquaintance," he said, bowing. "If you're ever singing about the Phantom somewhere and the general populace doesn't like you, you can't say I didn't warn you."

He evinced a smile, and turned to indicate the spot on the map to Kjan. "This looks like the most fun I've had since putting frogspawn in Dante's bed. Off we go, then."

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Kjan looked at the indicated location on the map, then up at the Phantom, then back down at the map. He studied it for a moment more, then pulled a face of disgust. "I truly, deeply pity you if that is the best thing to happen to you in twenty years," he announced at length, lowering his hood and looking up at the higher road a touch dubiously. "I certainly wouldn't call it more fun than frogspawn, at any rate. Or rather, the reaction to said frogspawn. The frogspawn itself, as I recall, was a bit too prone to getting everywhere except where you wanted it." He looked at the map once more, seeming to consider. "Maybe a bit more fun than burning stockings, though," he conceded eventually. "Any idea where along this little convoluted path of fun our destination might lie?"

----------------------------

Silvryn Seilhera didn't panic. She didn't fret or agonize or worry about anything unduly. She prided herself in her ability to meet even the most dire of situations with a clear mind and an icy resolve. It was, after all, only because of that ability that she was still alive at all. She had stared down countless foes, escaped many difficult situations, by simply taking the time to think things through and devise a suitable plan of action. Unfortunately, that resolve was beginning to threaten to give way.

She had had plenty of time to think, their trek having begun long before the sun was even starting to rise and neither of her companions proving especially talkative. Not that the silence bothered her - she wasn't particularly interested in conversing with anyone who had abducted her in the middle of the night. But all of her silent contemplation had provided her with one very clear insight: this was going to prove a very difficult situation to escape.

The Phantom couldn't rescue her. Shouldn't rescue her, at least. Even if he was capable of tracking them and surpassing their considerable haste, following them would mean abandoning the quest for the Heartshard, and that was to be avoided at all costs. Silvryn was well aware of what such an artifact could do for the rebellion, if in the right hands. Or what it could do in the wrong hands. Surely, surely the Phantom was intelligent enough to make the obvious choice? One hostage was not worth forfeiting an entire rebellion, royalty or not. He knew that...right?

"The two of you are partners, then?" she asked, if only to get her mind off of such thoughts. Worrying would serve little purpose in this situation. "Tell me, what was the price? I'm quite curious as to how much deposed royalty fetches in today's market."

"The highest bidder determines the price," said Eledhe almost delicately, idly spinning a throwing star between her fingers as she walked. The edges, sharpened to the finest razor sharpness, blurred a little as they hissed through the air. Eledhe was well aware it could have an intimidating effect; she wouldn't have developed the habit without cause. She turned her gaze, blue eyes hard and sharp as cold sapphires, on Silvryn opposite. "I assure you, your Highness, we will exert every effort to ensure the price is quite as high as possible."

Eledhe rarely laughed, and when she did, mirth was hardly a factor in the equation. Therefore the sound was hardly comforting. She tossed a likewise mirthless grin in Silvryn's direction. "I hardly think my lord Regent" - somehow the title was equally as mocking, from her lips, as was the jibe your highness - "will be unwilling to quite dent his coffers for such a cause. After all...we can't have ghosts returning to claim their thrones, can we?"

The star stopped in midair. "Better they stay ghosts," said Eledhe, smile as sharp as its edges teasing her lips. She tossed her black braid over her shoulder and strode ahead.

_________________

Oh, what a fine morning. Trekking with little sleep, no food, and up a mountain at that. Jate looked dubiously at the little path running along the mountainside. A man could get killed walking that. Turning to give an inquiring look at Ash, all he received in return was a stare and a motion to follow the others. Jate heaved a sigh, and wondered what on earth this thing they were pursuing was. How could it be more important than the royal personage they needed to put on the throne? He chewed his bottom lip, lost in thought. A little too much lost in thought. Stumbling on some rocks on the path, Jate muttered a low oath and tried to concentrate on keeping his feet on the path.

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going on a journey through my old claims

"At the end," said the Phantom, mien speaking of grim resignation. He squinted up at the sky, which was a bland shade of dull grey that promised, if nothing else, a decidedly unpleasant jaunt into the higher regions of the mountains.

"We goin' or not?" grunted Erdhod.

---

Two hours later, the Phantom was beginning to wish he'd voiced his prophecy when he'd thought of it, because so far it was fulfilling itself wonderfully. Or dismally, depending on how you viewed things. Drizzle was pelting down relentlessly, and slowly turning into a most unpleasant kind of sleet that didn't settle nicely like snow, but seemed magically attracted to that one spot where it could slide down the back of your tunic.

It all put the Phantom in a most violently bad mood.

He barked his shins on an outcropping of rock and muttered something colorful under his breath, shoving his hands in his pockets. Erdhod was stumping along ahead of them, surly and monosyllabic but for the occasional direction he tossed over his shoulder.

A gust of wind swept through the ice-crusted rocks, howling mournfully, and for the first time, an eddy of snow blew past. The Phantom imagined he could see the air losing warmth.

"Oy, master dwarf!" he shouted ahead. "Are we coming up on a suitable form of shelter any time soon?"

Judging by Erdhod's unresponsive back, probably not. The Phantom growled something incomprehensible and most probably very uncomplimentary, and halted to turn back to the straggling party. "Right, keep your eyes open for something resembling shelter of some sort, you lot."

_________________

Kjan wasn't having fun. He'd experienced uncooperative weather on a journey before, but this was bordering on malevolent. It was as though the very forces of nature were determined to make this trip as miserable and difficult as possible. Despite never being the particularly superstitious sort, he was also beginning to strongly suspect that this mission was cursed.

He considered pointing out that they hadn't encountered anything remotely like shelter in the past two hours and likely wouldn't until they reached their destination, but the Phantom probably knew that. So, instead, Kjan simply yanked his hood up further, drew his cloak closer, and muttered something about the cursed cold.

A patch of unseen ice on the path gracefully removed one of his legs from under him and forced him to catch himself on the rough stone wall to their left. Injury was then added to insult as a few tiny stones rained down on his head. Kjan glanced up to determine the cause and received a pebble in his eye for his efforts, though he could have sworn that he also glimpsed a flash of movement at the top of the wall.

"Erdhod!" he called out. The ensuing noncommittal grunt was close enough to acknowledgement for Kjan. "Anything besides dwarves live in this area?"

"Would anythin' in its right mind?" the dwarf shot back.

Kjan didn't consider that to be much of an answer, as he happened to have encountered quite a few individuals who were decidedly not in their right minds (the Phantom included, on occasion), but he also doubted that he'd get anything more specific out of their uncommunicative guide. That had only been the dwarf's second complete sentence in as many hours, and the first had been to inform Kjan exactly what would happen if he asked again about the distance or time required for this little jaunt through the mountains.

Uttering a few more curses under his breath, Kjan pulled his cloak even closer and resumed walking.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all. Yes, the women were missing, the two leaders of the group had their likenesses plastered on wanted posters all over town, and they were following an ill-tempered dwarf heavens-knew-where. Oh, and the weather on this bloody mountain was being <i>so</i> lovely.

But, on the bright side of it all, Ash was discovering a new part of himself- the irritable, sullen part. His normal obnoxiously cheerful demeanor was gone, replaced by a grim frown.

Slipping on the wet rocks, he glanced over at Jate. "I would guess that you're regretting ever having laid eyes on us." he commented flatly.

Oh. Lovely. It had started to drizzle. As if the path wasn't small enough and slippery enough already. Jate had had enough trouble trying to navigate the small stones that sprang in his way, and now he had to balance as well as not slip on them. Tripping over a new boulder that grew up before his eyes (he swore it was laughing at him) Jate steadied himself on the rock wall nearby. And cut his thumb. "Oh bloody levels of the-" he muttered, then stuck his finger in his mouth and continued to think up some nice curses. He was so intent on the path that he nearly missed Ash's question.

"I would guess that you're regretting ever having laid eyes on us." he said in a dismal tone.

Jate opened his mouth. "Gee, what would've given you that idea," popped into his head, but he hesitated. True, he was a captive. True, nearly dying of cold or drowning in a river wasn't exactly his idea of fun. True, he was in the company of the most dangerous man in the kingdom. And yet...Jate couldn't help but think of his conversations with the Phantom and his followers. They all seemed so....passionate. They really believed that they were right. Jate had always heard only the nobles side --could the peasant's actually want the Regent gone? He realized Ash was still waiting for an answer.

"Well...it has been an interesing time." There. He was safe for the moment. But now he needed time to think of this new turn of his thoughts.

_________________
going on a journey through my old claims

Kjan gradually slowed his pace until he was walking alongside the two members of their party who actually seemed willing to converse. Not that he didn't appreciate silence at times, but when he was trudging along an icy, uneven, endless mountain path in the relentless rain/sleet/snow/whatever-it-happened-to-be-at-the-moment, he would take any form of distraction that he could get.

"At least you've got one advantage over the rest of us," he pointed out brightly. "No matter how bad it gets, you have the comfort of knowing that you weren't stupid enough to volunteer yourself for it. You get to blame us for everything that goes wrong because we made you come. But when we get hurt or maimed or possibly killed, we've no one to blame but ourselves. And maybe the Phantom, just because I've found nearly everything to ultimately be his fault anyway."