The Cost of Peace

[Emora Deen]

Tenele looked up at Thar, and he smiled before taking a step back. He slowly faded into mist, which to disappeared. Tenele had the strongest urge to run and throw her arms around Vlad's neck, instead she stayed firm as the two glared menacingly at eachother. Verin's eyes dropped to the spit on the floor, and back to Vlad. A smile came to his face and he took a step back, as a low deep throated laugh billowed up from his belly and filled the room. Then, he too was gone. Tenele still felt his presence, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up.

"Kill him," his voice echoed off the pillars and valted ceiling. Then, he was gone. Finally gone... And his followers charged towards Vlad.

Tenele was frozen in her place, unsure what to do. She wanted to escape, but she couldn't leave. If she left that could void any deal that might lead to a peaceful negotiation with them. 'You mean a peaceful surrender,' Tenele thought darkly. Still, she couldn't get her feet to move, until she realized that Vlad was the one about to be murdered. But, before she could offer any help there was a swoop of fabric and long black hair. Atul was suddenly standing in the way of his men and Vlad. He wasn't himself, he seemed different. He was shying his face away from her, and she couldn't think why. His arms were out and his eyes glaring menacingly at them.

"Go," he ordered, his face turning towards her. Tenele swallowed. His face was as it had been, except he had a deep blue jagged mark that looked very much like scales coming across the right side of his face. His eyes were swirling ocean blue. He was a demon?

A demon that had been guised in human form. That's why he hadn't been able to help them. Verin wouldn't have allowed it, and surely would have stopped him. He had had no choice but to sit and watch. "Go!"

Tenele was shaken from her thoughts just in time to notice she was about to be grabbed from behind by a large guard.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad hadn't been especially worried about the room full of human attackers, but Atul's intervention changed things slightly. Vlad used the moment of confusion to appear at Tenele's side. He pinned her tightly to his chest, favoring her injured shoulder. She felt warm and alive. It was good to know that she was safe, and good to know that Verin was mad. The only question was what to do with Atul and this angry throng of high-ranking outlanders. He too noticed the scales on the prince's face, and it made him hesitate. "This mission is done. We're leaving," he murmured into Tenele's ear, holding her too closely to look at her face. "Do you want me to bring him?"

[Emora Deen]

"Go, I can handle myself," Atul muttered, having very good ears apparently. He was taking a step back, his hair had been pulled from its tight pony tail, and it scattered across his shoulders and just before his face.

"Atul! Stop this nonesense! Don't let them escape!" his father bellowed, walking forward. With every step he took, his body warmed and bubbled, shifting to look like something else. "Send the signal!"

Tenele's eyes widened. "Yeah, like he said. He can handle himself." Her green eyes flashed up to him. "Let's go home."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad narrowed his eyes skeptically on the prince, his eyes connecting with his for a moment. He did not imagine that things would bode well for him after defending them. On the other hand, it was bad enough reporting to Sinead that they'd botched their mission of peace, let alone explaining why they'd absconded with the outlander prince. He was just as happy to go alone. He gave Atul something that was barely a nod, and he and Tenele disappeared from the noisy room and reappeared at the outskirts of the town. Vlad didn't even try to go for their ship. Even if the crew could be assembled in such a brief time, the outlanders could catch up to their vessel soon enough. They would not be sailing home, at least not today, and he wasn't willing to risk aiming for a teleport and running out of strength in the middle of the ocean.

So instead, they wound up on a sandy embankment a few yards away from some straggling huts. The city stood like an enormous sand castle just beyond, and they were close enough to hear horns sounding. "Well," Vlad said as he surveyed the scene with his arms still loosely wrapped around her back, "That makes us officially outlaws."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele turned in his grasp to press her chest flush against his. She through her arms around his neck, forgetting momentarily that her shoulder was stiff and sore. She jolted as a sharp pain cut through her, but after a moment it faded into something tollerable. She hugged him tightly, unable to really remember what she had wanted to say to him.

"If we ever and I do mean ever do anything as stupid and idiotic as this again..." She couldn't even think of what to say. "We deserve exactly what we get." She hugged him tighter with her good arm, slowly letting her weakened one slip down to where her hand rested on his chest.

And suddenly there was a rush of sand. A figure stood in the sand just out further into the desert. He wasn't that far out, but you could clearly see a vast nothingness behind him. His shoulder length black hair was caught in the wind, and his eyes glowed a vibrant blue. He had a tan cloak about his shoulders, and something in his hand. "We better get going. One of you smells of Verin. If I can find you, the others can." His eyes glanced away, as if he were sorry for interupting them.

"How will we lose them if they are tracking us?"

Atul arched an eyebrow. "It will wear off. We must keep moving."

"Won't they just pop in like you?"

"I am different from them," he replied gently, turning towards nothing and walking.

"Hey!! Can't we just port somewhere?!" Tenele called.

"Beyond that point, the sands will not let you," he replied, pointing in the distance at a gatway in the middle of nothing. A remnant of something that used to be.

"Great..." Tenele muttered, resting her head against Vlad. She was tired, but she needed to ignore that. They had to make it through the desert. Don't we need supplies? Water? Food? But, then again Tenele had to remind herself. She was with demons. They didn't need the things she needed.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad hadn't expected Atul, but he wasn't entirely surprised when he saw him, either. He had thought for a few minutes there that the prince was a self-sacrificial fool for remaining behind, but seeing that it had been a bluff gave him new potential respect for the man.

"I'm sure this is a stupid question," Vlad said with a mock-embarrassed chuckle that suddenly deviated into a hard, skeptical smirk, "but where exactly are you going, and why should we follow you?"

[Emora Deen]

"We are heading to a village called Istan. I know someone who can hel you get home." he told them, continuing to walk. "I'd hurry. There is only a short window of opprotunity where we can lose them in the sands." He glanced over his shoulder. "Unless you plan on porting all the way back to Ighten."

Tenele remembered quite vividly what had happened the last time Vlad had tried long-range porting. She grabbed his hand and started tugging him towards Atul and the not so distant gate. "We're coming."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad briefly considered a retort, but surprised himself by keeping it in. He observed that what just happened in the palace must have affected him more strongly than he'd realized. He shook his head. He would think about it later. Right now, he wanted a distraction, and the demon prince was handing it to him. "If you get us lost, I'm using you as my emergency rations," he remarked flippantly, acquiescing to Tenele's pressure on his arm. He closed his fingers around hers almost imperceptibly and they began walking into the sands. There was a lot he needed to talk to her about. And he wanted to know why Atul was helping them. He didn't see what the prince could possibly gain, and it seemed clear what he would lose. "How do you suppose your 'king' will reward your efforts toward our safety?" he asked skeptically as they came up close behind him.

[Emora Deen]

Atul glanced over his shoulder. "My father considers me rebelious and of more or less no use to him. I was merely kept for exactly what he proclaimed to Lady Tenele. A means of forming an alliance, or in this case a surrender." He continued on as they passed through the stone ruins. There was a steep drop down a sandy slope, and beyond that absolutely nothing. Blue skies and light sand.

Tenele's hair was already glowing for the light. It was terribly bright, and her eyes squinted a bit until they could get used to it. "We're going to die," she muttered, as they eased forward.

"Hopefully not," Atul replied, not in the least bit encouraging.

"Hopefully not?"

He smiled to himself, a smile Tenele could not see from behind. Instead he continued on down the slope, slipping a bit as he went. "We need to get as far as we can. Move as fast as we can. This desert is dangerous, and it might not look as if anything lives here, but do not let it fool you. Things beyond your imagination lurk in this place. Devils, and beasts. It is Death, even the very sand you walk on."

"Oh, wonderful," Tenele sighed, reaching up to rub her aching shoulder.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad feigned a shudder and proceeded through the sand. "I could care less about the desert's hazards, but thirst is a concern. Don't forget that we have a mortal with us," he said flatly. Frankly, he had more faith in his own powers than he did in Atul, and he wasn't so eager to forfeit his options in favor of such a vague plan. He wanted some kind of proof that this was the right decision, but he knew that wasn't possible, so he satisfied himself with reminding their guide he wasn't born to their team.

[Emora Deen]

Atul glanced back at Tenele, whose green eyes watched him thoughtfully. He continued on his way as he reached into the bag he was holding. He pulled from it a leather flask. "This should last until we make it to an oasis. I know verywell that she is a mortal," he replied as he placed the flask back into the sack he held. Finally he stopped and turned to them as the wind caught his hair. Tenele had to push hers behind her hair to keep it from covering her face. "Look, you can go back, and face them. Fight off a whole city if you want. Your ship is porbably burned to nothing, or sunk. So tell me, Lord, how do you plan on getting her out of that situation safely."

"Why do you people think that I need someone to get me out of things?" Tenele growled.

"No offence, my lady, but if a vampire couldn't take them on, I doubt you can."

Now that really pissed her off, but she ground her teeth together and didn't make a retort. Instead, she let go of Vlad's hand and walked right past the prince, heading off into the sand away from them. "If were going, let's go."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smirked at Tenele's reaction. He shared a brief look with Atul as the two men began following after her. "That was your fault," he clarified quietly. He flexed the hand Tenele had abandoned idly in front of his chest. "Hold hands?" he offered teasingly to Atul.

[Emora Deen]

Atul glanced at him a bit warrily. "No, thanks," he replied quietly.

Hours passed, and the sun was getting lower. It didn't help the brightness at all or the heat. Oh, the heat. Tenele sighed, burshing the back of her hand against her brow. She felt like she was being baked alive. She had fallen behind slightly in the group. Unlike the men, she was prone to tiring easily, and not to mention her body was finally paying close attention to the painful blows that Gray had delt to her before his untimely death.

She finally decided to rest, sinking to her knees in the scalding sand. "Its too hot," she muttered. The sun beamed on her. Her hair was a brilliant glowing silver, and it rather hurt Atul's eyes to look at it.

"Here," he said, taking off his cloak and draping it over her shoulders. He pulled the hood up over her head, glad to be rid of the awful glare her hair was giving off.

"Tell me," she sighed. "How is it that putting on more clothes is going to help with the heat?"

"Trust the person who has lived in the desert all his life," he replied.

"You mean trust the person who has lived in a palace next to the desert all his life?" she asked, looking up. She was visibly tired.

"The cloak is light colored, it will keep the sun off of your skin, and it will help keep your temperature at a decent level. Not to mention keep that hair of yours from blinding us. Come on, get up, we need to keep moving," he told her as he turned away.

With a groan Tenele stumbled to her feet, mocking a salute to him as she gained her balance somewhat.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad had wound up ahead of Tenele, but he was aware of her heartbeat like a constant monitor alerting him to her condition. She didn't need to tell him she was getting exhausted, but he knew that bringing it up first would make her think he was being condescending. Now that she'd acknowledged the problem, though, he fell back to walk beside her. "I can carry you," he reminded her in a low voice while he focused on the sand ahead of them.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele looked up at him and leaned against his arm as they walked. "I'm fine," she lied with a grin, befor sighing gentle. "I don't need to be carried." She reached down and grabbed his hand again as she rested her head on his arm. "We'll have to rest soon anyway. It will get to be night fall soon. How are you feeling?"