Mature: Desert Moon

[Emora Deen]

Atul was tired. Dead tired. Nearly thirty-six hours without sleep. His body felt numb, and he knew that as soon as he laid down he would be down for the count. His feet trudged along down the hall heavily. He'd searched all day for information on that man, but without anything to start with it was pretty much impossible. He hadn't seen him again since Tenele pointed him out. He asked the guards to station extras in the hall near her door until he figured the mystery out.

Atul stumbled into his room, stripped off his shirt, and fell across the width of the bed with a loud huff.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's nerves jumped to attention beside Tenele. He'd been lying with her in bed, though he didn't feel much like sleep. His trunk was ready for travel, and he'd had a large backpack of books set aside from the research downstairs to work on while the humans rested along the way to the queen's territory.

The sound of Atul in the next room pulled him upright. He'd left the door open so he could hear when the man returned. "He's back," he murmured, gliding to his feet to check on the king.

[Emora Deen]

It took Atul little time to fall asleep. Normally a quiet sleeper, the King was so tired that he snored. Laid over on his stomach with his arms hanging off the bed, he looked a little pathetic and rather vulnerable.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad walked slowly into the king's room. He didn't smell blood, or sex, this time. He just smelled the man he loved. The snoring was so adorable it was hard to resist. He stopped at Atul's side and crouched beside him to watch his sleeping face. "I love you, Atul," he whispered, kissing his cheek, and then his lips.

[Emora Deen]

Poor Atul was too tired to register the man in the room, or the feel of his lips on him. It was a sleep reminiscent of the power-nap coma he went into when recovering from using his magic. His nose twitched, he sucked in a deep breath in a loud snore.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smiled at him. He smiled a lot more than he used to, now that he knew them. This was his chance to repay them. "I will make you happy, my king," he whispered. "I'll see you again soon." He made his way out of the room, leaving the door open behind him, and spent the rest of the night listening to them both breathing (and snoring). When dawn approached, he rose and silently slipped into his traveling clothes, which mostly involved a huge hood to evade as much sunlight as possible. He gave Tenele a gentle squeeze and a kiss. "I'm going, my love. I'll miss you."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was half a sleep when he woke her to leave. She mumbled his name, curling her arms loosely around him. "I love you, good night," she sighed, curling into the covers.

Shehara was waiting for him with a carriage that was spelled to move easily over the desert dunes. It was pulled be a strange creature that looked to be half camel and half reptile.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad set his case and books in the back of the wagon and climbed in with her in a graceful swoop. He glanced back at the palace one more time before ducking inside. Odd, he never felt this way leaving Lowight. "Good morning, your highness," he greeted the queen as he took a seat diagonal to her in the cab. He hadn't anticipated a carriage. Atul always led from horseback. Then again, not everyone shared his dedication to equality. And personally, Vlad had no complaints about being kept out of the sun. "Do you enjoy travel?" he asked his hostess.

[Emora Deen]

"Heaven's no," the woman sighed. "I'd much rather have my mages send me places using magic, but the sands won't allow for it. Thus, I am forced into a box for days on end. But, my home is far less dry. The valley is rich with tropical color and plants. Its hot, and humid, but there is safety from the sun in the canopy of trees. I think you'll enjoy it there." She rapped her foot across the floor of the carriage and it lurched forward. "I am very pleased to have your company, Lord. I hope you enjoy mine."

[Soran Nightblade]

"Travel is always better with company," the vampire obliged with a charming smirk. In the back of his mind, he was wondering if Tenele and Atul were waking up yet, and what they were doing.

[Emora Deen]

It took many days and many nights to travel across the loose desert sand to the harder dry earth near Hajara’s border with the Monorrow Valley. The hard earth eventually led to a cavernous brown mountain range made of porous sandstone and marble. It took two days to cross the mountain and descend into the valley blow.

It was sweltering, humid, and filled with thick, lush plant life. The trees were greener than any green in Ighten. The flowers were large and tropical. There were hazards hidden in the bush, giant insects, snakes, poisonous plants, and deathbeds of quicksand. The caravan kept to a well-traveled path, but even it was not spared the occasional python or cobra.

The capital of Monorrow was located at the center of the massive valley, near a small grouping of foothills and a large lake. The surrounding village was crudely constructed compared to Hajara’s capital, and the attire of the villagers wasn’t much better. Shehara’s palace was half-built into the small cluster of mountains. It was a fortress, very much like an ancient temple at the bottom, but towards the highest point, out of reach from any sort of weapon, the construction was light and airy, made from wood posts, gossamer curtains, and lattice-work.

“Welcome to my home,” Shehara sighed as the carriage door opened. “I’m so glad to be out of this damned thing. So many days cooped up inside, absolute torture. And a wasted trip, at that. Well, one good thing… I can get out of these dreadful clothes.” Shehara exited first. The people in the courtyard fell to their knees in front of her, bowing so low that their foreheads touched the earth.

Shehara paid them little attention as she sauntered passed and through the thick stone threshold of her palace. The inside of the fortress was dank and damp, the cool stone collecting moisture in the air until the walls sweated. Moss grew across the floor, and there was an old woman with a hunched back on her knees scraping it away, patch by patch.

“This way, Lord Dracul,” Shehara called to him.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad observed his surroundings with curiosity. He followed behind Shehara while surveying the architecture of the building. The long journey had been boring, but Vlad was well accustomed to patience after his hundred of years of life. He'd made it through all of his texts, and then reviewed them a second time, passing the hours while the caravan slept each night. It was good to know he was this close to encountering the creature that might restore his marriage and the happiness of his would-be fiance. He found himself expecting the rock golem to be there at every next turn. "I can not imagine what inspired you to seek the throne in Hajaris," he admired as they walked. "You must have great respect for the king, to leave a place like this."

[Emora Deen]

Shehara chuckled. "I have my reasons. I wasn't always Queen. I married into the throne, much like Espha will..." The Queen turned into a large dark room. The ceiling was high and supported by wide square pillars. Tendrils of light filtered in from square vents in the ceiling. "Come in. We can discuss the arrangements."

Shehara motioned for her guards to close the heavy wooden doors to the throne room. She ascended the podium and sat stiffly in her damp stone chair. "I'm sure your in a hurry to see him, aren't you? Maybe, even in a hurry to get home to your wife?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad grinned. "It would be a lie to say no," he acknowledged. "I don't wish to be an ungrateful guest."

[Emora Deen]

Shehara laughed. "Oh," she sighed, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be a very cooperative guest." She whistled softly and a large bare chested guard stepped up to her side. She leaned into him and whispered softly. The guard turned away and went to a crank at the far end of the room.

"Now, some things are about to change," Shehara told him as a metal door in the floor opened. "You must do exactly as I say, do you understand? Obedience is the key to survival, Vladimir."

As the lift brought the creature up from the hole the room seemed to just fill with lifeless stale air. The magic in the room wafted away ever so slowly. Shehara lowered her face so that her curly ebony hair hung in front of her, shielding her.

The large stone creature towered over seven feet, with massive stone arms that were littered in layers of granite chips. He had moss growing in patches and between the cracks of his joints. His face were clumps of pebbles and stones, and his eyes were deep black holes. He grumbled, flexing around like a creature that had been cooped up for far too long.