Trapped!

The trail was beginning to fade.

The group had taken this trail off the main road about an hour previous, under the direction of Arlon.

After a prolonged, sullen silence the entire trip, Xavier spoke, "Any chance that you know where we're going?" No care was taken to hide the contempt in his voice.

Arlon smiled patiently, "I know exactly where we are, and exactly where we are headed. You may not be able to see the disguised path before us, but I have an affinity for deceptive magic. Besides, I've been here before."

Xavier muttered, "That doesn't really assure me," and shot a glance at Miashgon.

Miashgon knew exactly what Xavier meant by that, and that he was possibly correct in thinking that they were walking directly into the very trap he had warned against from the beginning.

Miashgon was about to ask the assassin why he had been there before, when a rather large gust of wind tore through the trees, nearly knocking the travellers from their mounts.

An older looking man, wearing simple robes, colored the light brown of the forest around them, stepped out from the trees into the path that had appeared in front of them. If Miashgon had to guess, he would say this man was some kind of hermit monk. Nevertheless, the horses reared, looks of terror creeping into their normally docile eyes.

The man began to speak, "Travelers, you have entered into a land forbidden to strangers. Turn back now, and spare yourselves the terrible consequences that would ensue."

"Tero, you always were the charmer," Arlon said snidely, chuckling as a shocked look crossed the face of the man blocking their path, "and I would love leave you pests far, far behind me, but first," he edged his horse right up to the man, "I'll need my sword."

The man, whose name was apparently Tero, stared dumbly at the man looming over him for a moment. Finally, after surveying the ominous figure, he spoke in a slightly less authorative tone, "Arlon Sistra! You have made a grave mistake following us into our home. We allowed you to live out on the path, but-"

Arlon snarled, "ALLOWED me to live? You LET me live?" He stepped quickly off his horse, and stared the shrinking man down, "Last I checked, you cowards turned tail and ran before my creature destroyed you all," He spat in Tero's face, and rasped in his ear, "and you took MY property with you."

The man's demeanor changed suddenly, and he stood up straight, wiping spittle from his eyes, "As I stated earlier," he said with a hint of malice, "you made a mistake in coming here."

At that moment, rustling erupted from the forest around them, and before the travelers could react, there was a torrent of wind, knocking the other two off their horses.

As Miashgon fell, he saw a man approach them, mutter a spell of sorts. Before Miashgon could react, his head connected with the ground. Very rapidly, all went dark.

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