Sophie walked through the dark forest. She had been traveling for some time now, and was now lost in the darkness. She walked slowly over the moist ground. Her sight was restricted by the ever forming shadows. She was starting to get nervous, gripping her dagger hilt tighter and tighter.

Soon the feeling of being alone had be interrupted. A voice of a little girl had rung out over the forest " Someone help me, is anyone there!" Sophie moved towards the sounds. She moved quickly, heading towards the screams of a child. The voice sounded scared and alone. The cries of the innocent is what drew people like Sophie towards their untimely death.

She stopped moving when she came upon a house. It was a very old mansion that seemed to have risen from the shadows. She also seen a little girl run through two large doors, that where made of beautifully carved wood, the likes of which Sophie has never seen. She called out to the girl " Wait, don't go in their!" Little did Sophie know that her cries where in vain, as the little girl was a ghost, trying to lure Sophie into the Mansion

Sophie moved through the rod iron gates, covered almost completely in vines. She now found herself in a courtyard, surrounded by thick stone walls. In the courtyard the fog was thick, but low to the ground, only coming up to Sophie's ankles. The courtyard had man dead plants and housed an ancient cemetery. Some of the tombstones where sunk into the ground, others cracked or crumbled, while others where still standing strong, but vines and moss growing over them.

Sophie moved onward through the dark. This place gave her a strange feeling, as if it was a dream. It was if she had no control over her actions, and couldn't help but move forward. She stepped up onto the old wooden porch that went around the entire house. Her hand went to the door, shaking. She placed her hand on it and the door moved open slowly, as if she was expected to go in. She stepped in slowly, now standing on elaborate marble floor.

The inside of the house was huge, and finely decorated. There was many rooms straight ahead, to the left, and to the right. There was also two extravagant staircases on each side of the room, both moving around the length of the room, and meeting at the second floor. There had to be at least five stories to the house, including the basement and attic.

Everything had dust on it, and cobwebs where littered in the house. It was if the house hadn't been disturbed in many years. Sophie walked forward a bit, shoes clicking on the marble floor of the room. She now stood in the middle of the room, turning to see all the doorways that she could take. Soon she heard the cry of the girl again. It seemed to come from all areas of the house. What was going on here?

Forests, he thought, always forests. Wherever you go on Imythess, you're bound to find a forest. Lysan hated forests, they were all so dark and creepy. And this forest, especially was terrible. Shadows moved around everywhere, strange noises continually sounding, frightening the life out of him. He walked with his longsword drawn through the perpetual darkness, though he had no light to see - his line of vision a few metres ahead, as the view was blocked by alien trees. They were trees he'd never seen the like of before, and he didn't like them. Why in Veronna's name did I come here? I saw the darkness from a mile off. Norwood is nothing compared to this.

He carried on walking though, in the hopes to find someway out. After minutes of stumbling, tripping, cursing and overall bad walking, he came upon a small clearing, and a mansion - into which a woman was walking. She seemed entranced, so Lysan decided to wait a minute and see what was happening. I could ask for help here? Maybe she lives there... He turned round, but was immediately drawn back. I can't resist... I have to go in, he started stepping - not quite walking, as it was too slow, but gradually he was being almost pulled into the house. I have to come and see what's inside here, I want to come and see.

He reached a mess of vines where he thought the gate was, and moved through. Beyond the gates the ground was much firmer than that of the Forest's, and it was slightly pushed in. He walked to his left - and tripped over a small gravestone. "What the!" he called as he fell, and banged his head on an adjacent headstone. Though, he had no desire to get up, and lay for a moment before dragging himself up. He moved back to the centre of the courtyard, and started forward, hands in front. Then he saw it, a pale shadow moving in a window. What was that? I'm getting out of here, this forest is enough! He turned back to walk down the courtyard, but he stopped halfway round, looking on in terror. He managed to move and charged through the door of the house, flying to the floor. The doors were wood, and so didn't hurt as he crashed through them.

But, he realised, it did hurt as he fell on the marble floor. "Aargh!" he screamed out. He got up and looked at the doors. Nothing there, phew. It must have been my imagination. It had to have been my imagination. I'm never coming here again whatever it is... Lysan heard a screech, and turned round - to bang into the woman he had seen outside. Instinctively, he pulled his longsword up into a defensive posture, and shouted: "Friend or foe?"

Sophia let out a small scream, out of shock anyone else but the little girl she was trying to find was here. she turned around quickly to see the man with his weapon drawn " Put that away, I am friend..." she spoke softly, as if she did not want to alert anyone, but she did not know exactly why this was.

She went on to explain " There is a little girl in this house, she is in trouble. I have to find her, are you coming?" Little did Sophie know that the little girl was beyond help. She turned around a bit, to see a lit candle on an end table and thought to herself " I am almost certain that the candle wasn't lit moments ago..." She picked it up and began to walk through one of the entry ways. The only sounds to be heard was soft breathing and the clicking of their shows on marble.

She began to talk to the man " My name is Sophitia, but you may call me Sophie. Who might you be" She pushed the small wooden door open slightly and peeked through " It was an old kitchen. She stepped in and the candle began to illuminate the dark room. She looked around a bit and found herself a knife. She took it and put it in her pack. She then sat down at the table to discuss their predicament with the new stranger.

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The lich moved about in the attic of the mansion. She could sense too living being in the house " hmm, must be my lucky day!" She then took a chalky stick of white powder and began to draw a circle on the floor in the middle middle of the room. Inside the circle she drew a pentagram. She then moved at supernatural speed to the table, picking up five white candles. She put one at each point of the pentagram. She bent down and blew on each one, using her magic to light them. She then moved over to the table, taking a Vial of thick red liquid, blood from her last victim. She popped the cork out and pored it out over her palm. The liquid filled her palm and soon began to drip into the center of the pentagram, as she began to chant " Dark gods of the ancient time; open your ears and hear my rhyme; I call to thee my faith be true ; Give me the powers to steal the souls of two!" The blood began to bubble in the pentagram and the lich began to glow. Soon she was blessed once more to drain the souls of these mortals.

She let out a laugh that filled the entire house and moved towards the window, looking over the courtyard to see the old cemetery. She pushed the window open and held out her hand " Ancestors rise once more, to trap the fools that enter my door" Soon all the fog that was on the ground stirred and moved into the soft ground. Then nothing happened. Her spell would have slow effect and would work a bit later, for now, she would play with her guests a bit.

She seems nice enough... maybe I can trust her. "I'm Lysan. Who are you, and what are you doing in this house?" He then thought about the forest he would have to travel back through, "And do you know how to get out of this wood? It was a bad idea coming to Balefire; it's all darkness." The table was dusty, but he put his arms down on it all the same. It felt good to be resting, he had not done so in days - for Balefire had been more than he could handle. And who's this girl she talks about... "One more thing, who is this girl?" I want all of these answered if I am to trust her. But, the darkness in the house was enough to make him trust her.

Sophie blew a bit of the dust off the table, letting it float through the sky " I'm in this house because I saw a little girl run inside and she looked very scared. I was lost myself in these woods, so I really don't know how to get out either. You are very right that it was a bad Idea, but maybe if we find the girl, we can find our way out. I really have no clue who she is, or If she can help us, but I am not going to leave till I find her!"

Soon Sophia noticed the little girl peeking in through the door " Hey you, come here..." The little girl did not come, but ran away. It was quiet for a second, then something was wrong. Hands began to come out of the walls and grab onto Sophie. She screamed wildly " Ahh, Get them off me!" Before anything could be done though the hands pulled Sophia through the wall.

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The lich moved the door, spying on the two in the kitchen. She noticed a man and a woman talking at the table. She listened to their every word " They are lost and probably scared in this house, It will be easy to steal their souls!" She said this only to herself an nobody else could here.

Soon she noticed that the woman had seen her. She moved away from the door and summoned hands from the wall " Take her to the basement!" she then ran quickly away, opening the door to the courtyard. She had noticed that the ground was rattling and her undead ancestors where now coming out of their tombs " Perfect!"

ooc: this is me on an alt, I decided this would be the perfect story to bring Gwen into so ill just add her into the story.

IC: Gwen had been in the house earlier, investigated this house. The people of Balefire say that it is hunted and a lich lives within. Gwen had to discovery this for herself. She had recently heard the screams of another girl and had ran down the stairs to investigate.

When she arrived she seen the young girl " Are you behind this?" The girl stared at Gwen with cold black eyes, before running away into the seemingly endless rooms.

Gwen decided to let her go and ran into the kitchen. She found the woman getting pulled into the wall. She tried to reach a hand out, but it was too late. She then quickly spoke, not to the man in the room, but he could hear her perfectly clear " The lich wouldn't have killed her, or the soul would be lost. Maybe she is trying to separate us, fear and weakness makes it easier for them to feed...."

She turned to the man " I take it you where a friend of that girls, I am Gwen. Come with me, we need to find the lich or the woman. If we do not find one of them in time, the girl could die!"

She pushed through the door and entered into the entry way once more. She turned to see the large double doors where open. Outside she could see zombies and skeletons rising from their graves " That is some major dark magic... She then watched as the courtyard gate slammed closed. The lich was trying to keep them inside.

Gwen's hands immediately shot to the doors, trying to close them. They would not budge however, being held open by the power of the lich

"Hey! What's happening!" The woman had answered his questions well enough, and he trusted her. Then suddenly, she was grabbed by mysterious hands - those of death hisself, bony and skeletal. Lysan, in a flash, was up and running towards her disappearing shape. But it was too late, and she vanished through the wall. Lysan flew towards the now normal wall, feeling it hastily, missing parts out. There was nothing, the hands were spectral. He knelt down, not noticing the other prescence in the room. "This ends tonight," he whispered, and punched the wall.

Someone else spoke, but Lysan hardly heard. His longsword was stuck in the floorboards. "The lich wouldn't have killed her," a few seconds he registered what the voice had said. It was a woman's voice, but not that of the one who had been with him for a while. He stood up. "I'm Lysan," he said, and then, "You'd better know what's going on. I don't trust you yet." He then followed her out into the courtyard, as the gates slammed shut. There goes my chance of going back to Taras without a fight. The woman he was with ran to the gates, but they wouldn't open.

He spun round and peered into the dark graveyard. There was definately something moving around there. "Gwen... there's something moving out there. Let's go back inside and find the girl." He held his longsword out in front, ready to ignite it if there was trouble. Graveyard... he thought, then a gruesome revelation came to mind. "Get the hell back inside, something is resurrecting the zombies!"

Gwen stared as Zombies began to come out of their graves. She was in shock about this, never seeing a necromancer powerful enough to summon so many. She soon snapped out of this trance and turned to Lysan " Let's Go!" She began to run towards the house once more. The Zombies reacted and soon began to follow to two survivors into the house.

Gwen began to run up the stairs to the second floor " That girl is a ghost, most likely one of a powerful necromancer. That's the only way she would be able to resurrect the entire cemetery."

She reached the second floor and swiveled her head in each direction, trying to pick a path. Then she looked back and noticed the first few of the zombies at the door
" The Lich has to have a focus somewhere in the house, where she is drawing her power. If we can find it and destroy the focus, she will be powerless once more."

She began walking tot he right, opening every door she walked by " It has to be in one of these rooms. If we cant find it, at least we might find the other girl..." The Zombies began to walk up the stairs now, coming ever closer " We have to hurry!" she began to run while she pushed the doors open, only taking a few seconds to look inside each room. They where coming towards the end of the hallway though. What where they going to do? Her heart began to beat hard, and her breathing became short and rapid.

"Stop a minute, calm down. The zombies are catching up - our best action would be to hide for awhile. I'm sure Sophie'll be alright until we get there." The zombies had reached the top of the stairs, and Gwen wasn't taking enough time to look in each room. Soon, the zombies would catch up and they'd have to fight - and most likely die. I've no intention of dying just yet - I plan to die somewhere that isn't incased in darkness. As Gwen hurried past a room, Lysan took a quick look. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything in there, so he grabbed her shoulder. "This'll do," he said, as the first zombie drew close. The others behind it were far enough off to not see the fight about to take place. "Get in there, I'll take down the first one!"

Lysan brought the sword down onto the zombie's arm. It was a hard blow, but the undead just shrugged it off. It clawed out with it's arm - but missed Lysan by a few centimetres. Lysan stabbed again, the sword passing straight through the monster's organs. It fell backwards, crashing onto the cold, wooden floor. That'll stall it for a while. Then he ran back to the room and slammed the door, not waiting to see if Gwen was in there or not.

Gwen went in the room, sitting on the bed inside to catch her breath. She watched in horror as Lysan fought the Zombies. Once he shut the door she was a great deal less scared " Now what?"

She walked over a bit towards the window, looking out of it. The outside was dark and cold, sending a chill down Gwen's back. She opened the window a bit to let the cold breeze in. She took a deep breath of it and turned back to Lysan " We are going to have to find another way out"

"Shh..." Lysan clasped his finger to to his lips, "They may be stupid, but they can still hear us. Try not to move or speak," he whispered. He was knelt down by the side of the door, peering through the crack. The zombies proceeded onwards, in a trance, walking as zombies do. There was a gut-wrenching moment as one of them put a foot on the door, but moved on. After they'd passed, reaching the end of the hallway, Lysan signalled to Gwen. "Try going down the window, into the courtyard. Cut the bedsheets into strips using this, and abseil down." He threw his longsword onto the bed - not making a sound. He moved towards the window. I'll try and hold you up from this end, when you're down, tie a knot onto something and I'll come after you." Then he looked out the window, "Or, we could try and find another way out," he said lookily queasily at the ground below.

Gwen nodded and took the sword. She began to cut the elegant sheets slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. after each sheet was cut, she began to tie the strands together.

She stood up and showed the makeshift rope to Lysan " The best I can do. Take it and hold on tight..." She talked in nothing more than a whisper. She stepped towards the window, looking down frightened. She took a deep breath and threw the rope down. She put one leg on the windowsill and the other dangled out the window. She held on as tight as she possibly could. Her upbringing did not allow for her to be physically strong, as it was not lady like behavior.

She soon began to shimmy down the rope. She took it slowly. when she was close enough to the ground she let go and landed on the wet ground softly. She now had to tie the rope to something. She moved out into the courtyard a bit more till she found the perfect support. She tied it to the branch. Gwen gave Lysan a nod, showing it was ok for him to go.

While she waited for him she began to think of places where the focus would be. To get the most power out of the focus it would most likely be in the highest room in the house, the lowest room in the house, or at the center of the house. We should probably look in the basement, as it is the closest room and the zombies are blocking our way to the center of the house and the attic."

"Ah, a perfect place to tie the knot!" Lysan said aloud to himself. He took the other end of the sheets - the one he had been holding, and tied it to a bedpost. Then he sheathed his longsword and made for the window. As he reached it, the door opened - revealing several zombies, arms outstretched. Uh-oh! Better get out of here... "Gwen, we've been found!" he shouted down to her. Then, not waiting for the response, jumped out the window, closed his arms in a hug around the sheets and zip wired down to the floor. Here, he cut the makeshift rope and ran towards Gwen. "Where've we got to go? I'll take you, just give me a direction." A zombie fell from the window, crashing onto the ground. Bits of bone and mangled corpse flew everywhere, splashing Lysan in a mixture of rotting blood and guts.

"I can hold my own against a few of these zombies, but we'll have to move quickly." They were in the courtyard of the house - they must've jumped from above it. The front doors were wide open, as if someone else had been moving about. "Someone else has been here - could be the lich. We'd better move with caution." Then he went through the doors.

Gwen smiled at Lysan when he made it down " Glad to see we can have some fun in a situation like this." Then she noticed zombies begin to fall out of the room they had made it out of themselves " They just won't quite will they..."

She turned her head as blood and guts splashed Lysan. She was a necromancer and they used bodies all the time in their magics, but that was still gross. She pointed to the doorway " Your right, we have to go inside"

She followed him closely and closed the front door behind herself. She looked in all directions before pointing towards the kitchen door " I am almost certain the door to the basement is in the kitchen, let's go that way"

She moved through the door of the kitchen, the zombies where not there. She then picked up the candle that was still on the table. She pointed to the door next to the table " There is the basement door, That is one of the three places the focus has to be."

She opened the door and looked past, only to see pitch black. She turned back to him " You first?" She stood to the side to let him lead the way into darkness. She stood behind him, pressed tight to his back. The candle they brought illuminated little in the windowless room, only a radious of a few feet.

"Argh, it's too dark to see. Even if we go inside, we'll find nothing - except perhaps our deaths." He laughed quietly to himself, "Luckily, I learnt a spell a while ago - it may help us a bit." He unsheathed his longsword, took a quick look at it and wiped it on his shirt. This couldn't get more disgusting... The tip - he could feel, let alone see, was a pinkish brown, mixed with a deep crimson. I hate zombies! Once we've found that focus, I'm getting out of this place. He pulled the sword away from his shirt and moved it closer to the candle light. "I won't be able to walk around with it like this..." Then he remembered why he'd unsheathed it in the first place.

The blade ignited and flames engulfed the entire sword, bar the handle. The darkness burst and light flooded the small hallway leading into the cellar. For a moment, everything was visible - a quick glance into the cellar showed musty furniture, lined with dust and ash. Nothing of any spiritual usage could be seen from the entrance. As quickly as it had come, the light faded to an arch around the sword, the flames burning dimly. "I haven't got long with this, just enough time for a quick look round. Then we'll have to go back to using the candle." he looked at her for a second, listening intently. Yes, he was sure of it. A faint buzzing noise, like that of a wasp in the distance, was coming from somewhere - presumably the cellar. But, when he looked through the door, there was nothing again. "That noise wasn't there before I used the spell... Something has happened in there." Without waiting for a reply he walked into the room, and took a few cautious steps before stopping.

Lysan reached out and put a hand on a piece of furniture, which he thought was a table, though it was so rotten the shape it would once of had was hard to see. There was the smell of old, decaying wood, quite new to Lysan. There's been nobody here for years... Suddenly, a wave of fear surged over him, and he hastily remove his hand off the table and brought it to the flaming sword. His breathing became more rapid, and he felt a feeling he had never really felt before. He was scared. The realisation hit him, and he knew that he might never leave the forest again.

Lysan thought back several years, to the time before he was exiled. Around this time, the crops woul be ready to pick - how he had enjoyed the harvest time, especially when he had managed to sneak some extra food away. He remembered laughing and playing in the fields with his brother, rolling around up and down the many hills that surrounded the village. He almost smiled, the reality came back. They're gone... I can't change that. I have to move on, I can't live my life in the past - and I'll start living in the present. Dying can wait, I've got things to do. He screamed out loud, in a warcry-like way, and raised the sword above his head.

There was a flash, and a ring of light appeared towards the back of the room. Lysan moved slowly towards it. "Gwen, stay outside, let me see what's going on." He reached the ring, and looked at the floor. A large circular glyph was glowing brightly. It was made up of three rings, each one further tot he centre than the one before it, sort of like an archery target. In each ring there were a large number of different symbols, some fainter than others. The rings were rotating alternately, and the whole thing had a bluish tinge. Where did this come from - it must be the focus. He stepped closer to it. "What the?!" he shouted, as the cellar door slammed.

Gwen stayed close behind Lysan. He then unsheathed his sword and a burst of flame appeared on the sword. Gwen jumped when she seen this, as it caught her by surprise " Ok, lets look around and then get out of here, this place is creepy..."

The next thing she knew there where rings that gave off a bright green glow. Gwen became frantic " That is definitely supernatural, you have to desecrate the symbol!" After she said this she began to step backwards up the stairs slowly, feeling that something bad was sure to follow.

She turned around quickly when she heard the door slam shut. She ran up the stairs now. When she reached the door she tried to turn the handle, but it would not move. She began to bang on the door frantically. It was being held shut by a spell " She is going to try and protect the Focus!"

She began to run down the stairs made of rotting wood. One of the steps snapped and Gwen tumbled down the few remaining stairs. She finished by hitting against the wall with a thud. Gwen tried to get up. Her vision was blurred and she had a small gash on her head.

She watched in horror as the Lich of the little girl appeared in the focus. She talked in a voice that sounded both like a young girl and a demonic creature " You have put up a fight, making my hunt quite fun. I am sad to say that it must end now, I must feed now. Your souls will be mine, and my cellar will become your graves!"

With that she began to chant a spell, summoning up a skeleton from the dirt floor. It was a hitous monster, bits of flesh hung from its bones. With the point of a finger she sent it to fight Lysan, attempting to weaken his spirit.

While the skeleton fought Lysan the Lich floated over to Gwen " Pity that the gift of youth comes with the price of ignorance. You chose to come to this house, and now you much pay the price"

This would definitely be a struggle