Jarreth grunted as he hoisted himself up onto a large boulder at the base of the Memphian Falls. He had an unfortunate encounter with a boar not two days before and an injury to his leg had yet to fully heal. At the very least, he could manage to walk and perform other athletic tasks, but that had no bearing on the comfort that those actions entailed. He stood for a second to catch his breath, taking a moment to retrace the complicated leap-frog effort he had given to get this close to the falls. It was an obscure route, but it was the most effective to avoid getting wet. While the option was availible, he decided to save being cold and damp for when it really mattered. He had been cold and damp for too long, having travelled to Cascadia by foot during the rainy season. Regardless of his trials and condition, he had heard from a local merchant that there were very famous caves behind the local waterfalls. Judging by the quality of the jewelry being sold at that stand, Jarreth felt it worth the effort to see the caves for himself. He assured himself that he would probably find little of importance in a heavily explored cave such as the one he planned to visit, but he went anyway out of having nothing better to do.

The remaining portion of the journey would be relatively painless. Hopping forward a few stones, making sure to land only on his good leg, he managed to reach a small outcropping on the cliff face that led behind the booming waterfall. He barely even noticed the deafening noise as he crossed the threshhold and caused echoing footsteps to flow deeper into the cave. With a small amount of time spent muttering to himself, he eventually managed to combine the right words to inblaze a light spell onto his palm. The entrance to the cave was not particularly interesting, but most caves held treasure at their base rather than in the mouth.

Rith was currently in his disguise of Peral Forbus. Peral was one who one lony left the cities and towns and orders of buissness. This was such an occassion. His instantaneous arrival spooked the merchant that he was having talks with. "You have what I want I am sure, " Rith smiled calmly as he immerged out the shadow of a large crystal. He adjusted his monocle and held out an empty hand to the man bearing a torch before him. "Yes sir, I have it right.....," the merchant said as he fumbled around in a pocket of his robe. He his hands then frantically searched for an ebon gem that had fell out of his pocket not too long after his entrance into the crystal caves.

"I....I have...it somewhere ...around...here.. somewhere," The man laughed nervously. Terror, the tainted wisp stayed in the shadow of the crystal he was pleased to fufill his irratated master's mental command. He twirled about in the shadow as he conjured a demonic being. A tall bony creature was brought from the abyss and stood beneath the ball of purple light. "H-h-honest I g-g-got it here.... no n-n-need to fret," the man continued to nervously laugh. Rith wached him and retained his patience, but was furious at the the man's failure. Terror whriled about the demon and it became invisible. "I-I-I-I....," The short fat merchant was able to say before his throat was griped by long invisble bony fingers. The fat man's feet dangled as he feebly attempted to remove the demons hand from his throat.

"Where is the Soul?" Rith said calmly as he searched the man's thoughts. The man seemed as if he was trying to reply, but the firm grip made any words he could muster garbled. Rith was displeased. The man had gotten the soul, but had LOST it. He heard the sound of footsteps echpoing through the halls. The demon threw the upon the ground. There was a sickening snapp as the man landed on the ground and thenskidded across the harsh floor,scrapping away at the skin on his arm. [COLOR=purple]"Terror. Hide him and clean up this mess,"[/COLOR] Rith sent to Terror's mind as he moved towards the entrance of the cave to see who interruppted his pleasure with this man. Rith's cane echoed at every other step, but his feet went without making any sound.

Jarreth's eyes flickered from place to place across the walls, ceiling, and floor as he moved deeper into the cave. Perhaps it was to make up for the lack of a flickering torch, since he was more accustomed to the wooden fuel sources than the magic which emanated from his hand. He had made the decision to dabble in his limited magical skill, something that was learned more out of luck than necessity, only because he could not garuntee that the cave would be dry enough to allow a torch. Rather than be endangered by leaving himself with damp torches and flint blocks, he spent a few hours trying to recall the words to the illumination spell that he had been taught ages ago.

While Jarreth was not entirely comfortable with the concept or influence of magic, he had to admit that he could see a lot better with the supernatural glow in his hand than if he had several torches to spread around the room. He put this train of thought aside, perhaps to prevent himself from digging into an inner debate, as he caught the first signs of the crystals rumored to populate the caves.

Kneeling down, the dirt beneath his boots scratched in protest. Moving the light close to a small bunching of crystals, he watched a rainbow of colors reflect back outward to throw the various shades onto the ceiling and back wall. They were definately marvelous to look at. He could not imagine what the sight would be if he managed to find the formations that filled the cave from wall to wall. The most curious attribute: the tiny cluster of crystals were all colorful, except for a single, black shard. He carefully reached down and attempted to lift the entire group off of the base stone. In order to raise it, he had to resort to his sword. The blade was used as a pry to snap the minerals off. Jarreth was more than upset when the resounding snap resonated through the cave and the black shard seemed to tumble off. He only hoped that he did not ruin something rare as he collected the gems and the fallen shard and placed them carefully in his pack. Standing back up and brushing off his pant legs, he sheathed his sword and continued to walk further into the caves. He could not hear much due to the roar of the waterfall outside, but he noticed that the crashing noise was becoming exponentially quieter the deeper he went in.

Rith's eyes gave of a purple glow as he walked through the darkness. His eyes quickly scanned over every thing as he walked pasted crystals large and small, not only looking for the visitor, but the ebon gem the rotten minion had misplaced. Rith would have preferred that the man had tried to swindle him. Rith would not only enjoy watching the torture and likely death of the man, but he would be able to find where the soul was. Rith recalled who easy it was to entice the man to work for him. He held a large bag of gold before the man and told the merchant that if he were to act as middle man in particular transaction he would see much more gold in return. The merchant of course had the thought he would not only acquire that gold, but live to make use of it. If the man had successfully brought the dragon soul to Rith's hands, then Rith would have fulfilled his part of the agreement by showing the man the illusion of a mass of gold before his swift execution. The execution would no longer be swift. The man would be tormented until Rith lost interest in the feeble cries and screams of the man or the man's body could no longer endure the torment. The later was more likely as the former failed to come first out of the thirteen other men and they seemed far hardier than this chubby fool.

A Smile crept on Rith’s face at though of torturing the man for his mistake. He knew that terror would also take pleasure from the man’s torture and Rith even envy the strange creature. It could verily do as it pleased with the man so long as the man still lived afterwards. Rith was stuck searching for this visitor and a gem amongst a cave of crystals. Perhaps he should have left terror to deal with the unwanted visitor. Rith would no longer use random fools to obtain such precious objects. The soul of a dragon is not something that Rith should have allowed to come in the man’s hands. Rith now wondered what he was thinking at the time.

Rith soon saw a shimmering light in the distance. Shining through a multitude of crystals it seemed much brighter and glorious. Rith’s cane echoed through the cave as he slowly approached the light. The outline of a figure slowly came into view. The figure slowly became more and more defined. He could tell now that is was a human male. He seemed to be using magic to light his path rather than a torch. He continued walking towards Jarreth, having no want of straining his voice.

The overall feeling was of surprise as Jarreth tried to peer down deeper into the cave. While his light only really helped him define shapes close by, he was relatively sure that the cave ran almost straight back into the mountainside. This was odd since caves tended to run in intricate overpasses and turns. He was unaccustomed to such direct travel, which made him wonder if he was missing anything by using the unfamiliar light that emanated from his hand. While his feet habitually carried him forward, his attention turned to the side wall. The shadows and glows cast by the bumps and crystals that lined the sides of the cave were very distracting and he realized that he might be missing a lot of his surroundings due to bad perception. Being a hopeless collector, the sudden thought sprang to mind that if he could not easily find these passages, others might not have found them either. Abandoned alcoves were the bread and butter of rare finds. To test his luck, he veered away from the center of the path and began to run his glowing hand against the wall. To his amazement and luck, the light ceased bouncing directly back from the rock and instead filtered into a barely accessible crack that ran half way up the height of the tunnel. The light was just strong enough to break the other side of the fairly long squeeze. Jarreth could not resist.

Sliding his pack to his side, he inserted a foot and followed with the rest of his body, slowly inching his way into the crevice. It was not as tight as he had originally assumed, so his moderate experience with squeezing in and out of tight situations aided him in escaping to the passage without much complication. When his eyes refocused on the small room, he was absolutely astounded. Almost every inch of the room was covered in rainbow colored crystals.

Rith was not pleased to see Jarreth's attention quickly tooken to the wall. He was even less pleased when Jarreth vanished into a crack in the wall. The light shimmering throught the crack and wasn't as well amplified by the crystals as it was before. The man seemed to be alone or else whatever was following him was lost somewhere else or watching too stealthly for even Rith to notice.

Peral could not be caught going hrough such a crack. He needed something else... Rith silently casted a spell and changed into a tall looking wizard. A large pointed hat rested upon his long purple hair. A purple robe hung on his body and dragged on the bumpy ground. Rith's small cane appeared now to be a raggedy wooden staff. Stopped as he got to the opening that Jarreth had went through. He felt ove his purble mustache and lond beard. "On second thought I think we can do with a smaller beard," Rith thought to himself as his fingers stopped on the beard. The beard shortened till it covered only his chin and was no more than an inch long.

Rith then proceded through the crack it was not wide enough for him to walk through casual, but not narrow enough to be difficult. Rith's slender frame slide through the crack with a good bit of ease. The passage was a bit longer than Rith had expected. Rith was almost out when he found something hidering his movement. The bottom of his robe was caught upon a sharp rock. Rith's eyes turned from Jarreth to his robe. "Stupid rock," Rith muttered loud enough to be audible to Jarreth.

Jarreth's eyes were captivated by the sheer beauty that surrounded him. Rainbows flickered back and forth, bouncing from crystal to crystal to make a prism of light. It seemed impossible that the single light coming from his palm could cause such an intricate weave to form. His vision faded away into a dark recess that moved deeper into the rock. As far as he could tell, the small crack he had entered might have been a shortcut to the main path he had originally followed. That was not his primary concern as he gaped at the mineral deposits around him. The rumors were true after all; he had just expected a longer journey before validating them. Idly he looked at each cluster of crystals and was struck with the realization that none contained a single black shard. He cursed inside his own mind as he accepted the fact that he had indeed broken something rare in his haste to lift the crystal off the cave floor.

There was a disturbance that shook him back to the present and he turned to view its source. A man had spoken behind him, and this was news indeed. Turning around and directing his palm in the apparent direction of the voice, he saw a fairly thin old man making his way through the tiny stone slit. The attire of the stranger did not give itself to a traveller, but rather it seemed to belong to someone of higher stature or power. Jarreth was not pleased to be followed by such a man. His eyes glimmered with a white hew and he had a strange sense that the man was just as ill-intentioned as he had worried at first glance. This did not mean anything from time to time, so Jarreth stood his ground and made no awkward reaction. As far as he knew, he had drawn the attention of a fellow curious soul to the hidden crack and that was the extent of the encounter. With a friendly voice, he offered, "Would you like a hand? The last few steps are rather difficult to place, especially in your loose attire."

(>.< Took long enough didn't it? and it isn't even that great. I'll do better next post.)
Rith whirled his head to look at Jarreth as soon as he heard his voice. A sudden look of shock came across Rith’s faces as he looked over Jarreth. Rith was not really shocked at all, but he could play the part well and intended to do so. It allowed him to take a good look at Jarreth without seeming overly strange and would work with his explaination of why he had followed Jarreth in the first place.
Jarreth had the build of one who could put up a considerable fight. Even if he had the gem Rith could think of no smart way to assure Jarreth that it belonged to him. Rith decided that attempting to kill Jarreth would be entirely too bothersome and Terror was not one to take well to pain which lessened his use against Jarreth. A simple plot came to Rith’s mind. He would make sure whether or not the man before him had the gem and if he did things could run smoothly from there. He would just need to acquire a name he could scry upon Jarreth to find out where the gem is placed or who it is handed to. Rith could later on send a few skilled members of his guild to retrieve the gem without even being noticed.

“Oh my! you startled me. I thought you were Ataris, my traveling companion,” Rith said after his wide eyes had returned to normal. “Ah, Yes. The last few are quite a difficulty. It think a hand would very nicely. I’m afraid if I try to bend down the problem well only worsen.”“I am Kiplar Varhanils. May I ask the name of the kind traveler before me,” Rith smiled as he attempted to skim the surface of Jarreth’s mind. Rith wondered for a moment why his false name seemed so familiar to himself, but he could not think of the reason and more importantly it was quite irrelevant at the moment. Rith’s purple eyes turned an icy blue as waited for a reply.

Jarreth was glad to see a fairly friendly face after the initial surprise had been swept away by realization. He questioned how the man did not see him as someone besides his travelling compantion, given the amount of light near his face since he entered the caves, but allowed that to pass. He assumed the aging man was not accustomed to travelling caves and simply lost his mind for a few minutes, but he could not say for sure. Jarreth stepped toward the crack in the wall, his palm up and outstetched in offering to Kiplar, while he responded.

"I apologize, but I am not Ataris, nor have I seen anyone else in this cave. In fact, I was unaware that you were walking around in the dark just like myself until you came up behind me."

His speech was cut short as he realized that he should have seen this man or his companion at any distance due to a necessary light source. The crystal-filled caves were pitch black at this depth and it would be near suicide to trapse around without being able to see. Something was different about the man, Kiplar, and Jarreth could not help but become at edge.

Before continuing to speak and introduce himself, the rock he had stepped on to close the distance between himself and the stranger slipped and tumbled aside, causing Jarreth's body to jolt downward by less than an inch. It was just enough to be surprising and he shook his head with a smile and made a comment.

"Perhaps you will be helping me stand up rather than you receiving help out of that crevice."

Rith gave a few tuggs at his robe and feigned attempted to get it loose. Rith's act seemed to good to be true as the robe came off of the rock without a tear. "Well, It seems as though worst is over with. I suppose I should have tried to pay a bit more attention to so narrow a passage," Rith smiled.

He blinked his eyes for a moment and smiled, "Speaking of walking in the dark, do you mind dimming the light a tad, my eyes don’t adjust as quickly as they used to. You need not apologize for not being Ataris. I had my doubts when I saw your light. He usually wanders about without one. I figured he might have made a light if he found an interesting creature or meant to gain my attention.” Rith knew that his explanations gave room to suspicion, but any other words would have similar effects on such an occasion. Rith could tell by the man’s thoughts that he was not by any means witless. Rith knew he would have to be mindful of his words around this one. Rith waited for Jarreth response and hoped that in included a wholesome introduction.

"Yes, precaution is the most valuable tool to a traveller," Jarreth agreed. "Except, perhaps, for a torch."

Jarreth was fairly impressed that the robe did not tear when Kiplar pulled at the cloth. He assumed it was relatively strong material to have survived the tugging, especially given the sharp corners of the heavy rock, though it seemed far too thin for that. Shaking the thoughts off when Kiplar made his next request, his mind shifted to his response.

"I apologize, I have not had to stare at it as you have," came the first piece of his comment while the light in his palm dimmed down to a dull, shadow-casting glow. "As far as your friend goes, I will remain by my apology for the sake that I have troubled you into this passage by being in these caves and not noticing you sooner. I cannot say what I think about this man, Ataris, who walks in the pitch black but uses a light to look at things in detail. I have met those who see in the dark almost as well as in the light, but they do not need a light to watch those things more closely. Regardless, I would be interested to meet this man should I happen to run across him."

Jarreth's attention was drawn back down to the floor at a patch of crystals which seemed to glow in an awkward angle in the diminished light. He much rathered a bright light over the depressing dimness that he was now staring into, but for the moment it would have to do. With a sudden snap of thought, he asked, "Tell me, friend, what brings you to these caves in the first place?"

Jarreth seemed to be doing well to hold back his emotion, but Rith could tell that he was not too happy about the depressing light. Rith figured there was no reason to make the man miserable at the moment. It would be better to speak with one who felt more comfortable. “I mean not to be picky, but you needn’t dim it this much. I am sure you are not one to see well in the dark and are uncomfortable with this dimmness. I you have no better differation between birght and dim then please, by all means make your light back to it’s original splendor. My old eyes will adust soon enough. Concerning Ataris, I believe you misunderstand me. Ataris is what some would call dumb and deaf. I simply call him mute for he is very far from deserving to be called dumb. He needs no light to look at things iin detail nor does he need to. Mostly he uses light to gain my attention. I have also seen him play with with light when he finds an interesting creature he wishes to play with,” Rith explained. Prehaps it would not hurt to bring in terror to play the part of Ataris. Terror had already killed the merchant with his rough play. The man’s heart failed him as was usually the case with Terror’s victims. Perhaps after Terror cleaned up his mess he could come and entertain the man’s wish to see Ataris. Rith paused a moment before speaking. He needed an explaination that would also include the ebon gem.

“Ataris and I were out here in hopes to seal away. Anovar, a foul demon who seems to come back ever time we deal with him by normal means. My robe is of course for the ceremony. After setting up for the ceremony, I found that the black gem needed was not present. I recalled that Ataris had it at before we entered the cave. I found it ill that he had lost an ebon gem in a cave of crystals. I sent him off to find the black gem quickly, while I finished setting up. A few minutes later, I was slightly surprised to find a light in the opposite direction of where Ataris was supposed to go, but I thought that he might have some good reason to be over there or maybe he was merely goffing off as he usually does,” Rith Explained.

“And what of yourself? I don’t think I’ve even caught your name yet.”

The light in Jarreth's hand began to glow slightly brighter, a little more than half way between what it was at its dimmest point and where it had began. It was a workable middle ground: the light was bright enough to fight off the encroaching shadows, but it would be easier to adjust to for the old man's eyes. With a grateful nod, Jarreth thanked Kiplar.

"Thank you, I hope this might be more convenient for both of us. I am sorry to hear about Ataris," he added. "I am not sure I would have left him with his own devices in these caves, myself, but perhaps I am too wary."

Jarreth listened to the remainder of Kiplar's explanation while trying to derive any hidden meanings or inconsistencies. The man struck Jarreth as someone with a dark heart, something he saw when he caught the man's gaze, so he was a little skeptical about the removal of a demon. While the robes were ceremonial enough, Jarreth was just as inclined to believe that he was going to summon a demon rather than banish it. Jarreth hated magic.

So wrapped up in trying to figure out this old man's secrets, he missed the connection between the black gem and the black crystal that resided in his backpack. Looking around with the light, he considered the beautiful colors that radiated in all directions from the crystalline structures all around.

"I apologize for my rudeness," came a sincere response, "I am known as Jarreth. I must wish you luck in your search if you want to find a single crystal in a cave of countless. Especially since some of these patches here actually have black shards among them."

Jarreth seemed very selfless, by how dim he had made he had made the lights in the first place. Such selflessness was a weakness that Rith would not soon forget. The man was fair; he managed to get a decent compromise to fit both of their wants. Rith applauded that. He could see the making of a leader in the man. It was now more than a possibility that he Jarreth would sooner or later stand in the way of his plan’s.

“I believe it is I who should be doing the thanking. Afterall it was you who was kind enough to dim your light. You have no need to be sorry, but perhaps I should have been as wary as yourself. Maybe then I would not be in this foul predicament,” Rith chuckled.

Rith found Jarreth’s thoughts of himself interesting. The man was not one to be underestimated for sure. Perhaps Rith’s skills were not what he believed them to be, but this man did not know anything for sure, but the thought alone was enough to disturb Rith. Rith wondered if he should elaborate more on the demon, but decided he would save that for later, perhaps it would be what he need to get out of a tight corner.

Rith did not care that the man apparently had not seen so much of a relationship between the crystal he had found and the one Kiplar was searching for, but it did not matter. His reply was all that was needed to know that he hled what was needed. Rith was presented with to options, convince Jarreth that the ebon gem was what Jarreth had found or stalk Jarreth and retreuve the gem secretly later.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Jarreth,” Rith smiled before pausing. A puzzled looked came across his face as he asked, "There are black shards? I though there were only colorful and clear crystals to be found normally in this cave."

He could not help but take another look around the now visible room once again as Kiplar continued to speak. He noticed that the crystals on the ceiling had grown much longer and thicker compared to the slightly tiny forms on the ground. All of the minerals reflected light equally as well, the rainbow of bent light unphased by height and mass, but it was still of interest to Jarreth. It was odd that he could not locate a single black shard in the entire room. He must have made a very rare find, but it was a pity that the rare color snapped so easily off of the rest of the stone base. But then again, it did not look like it had snapped off of anything.

The curious circumstance of his happening across the black crystal finally entered his mind. There was no snap or heavy impact when he seperated the stone, and the shard that remained seemed smooth on both ends. Not just smooth, but shaped. It would be almost impossible to accidentally break off a crystal with that angle remaining on the butt end. Perhaps Jarreth could be a help after all, but he was yet wary about the intentions of the strange man. Once he put the idea of magic in his mind, he was hard pressed to forget it.

"Yes, perhaps you are right, Kiplar. In these caves, a black shard might just be a trick of the shadows to pollute the colored light normally given by the crystal. Regardless, it could make matters more difficult. Perhaps we could get out of this crowded space if you are certain what you seek does not rest within it?"

Jarreth was looking around. Rith did not need to probe his mind to know what he searched for. It was obcourse impossible to find a black crystal that was apart of the cave, unless it was brought forth by some meddling mage. Rith took time to look around the cave as Jarreth did. It was a beautiful sight to see such shimmering lights, but ultimately swallowed by darkness. Darkness held beauty on it's wn to Rith but it was only because of it's ablity to inspire the imagination to horrific nightmares. Darkness by it self was a dull nothing. It need a spark of light to define it. Whether that light was in one's mind or shimmering in rays from crystals, the light was what made darkness seem so beautiful.

Rith's mind returned to the matter at hand as Jarreth's mind turned to the shape of the ebon gem. Jarreth now knew he had what Kiplar sought after. Yet he did not even mention it to Rith. Jarreth's distaste for magic easily read off of his mind. The repeatition was not good to hear. What then did Jarreth think of the light which shined from his hand. Was that not magic? Rith decided to put it beside him. He could not have Jarreth following him about all day. "Yes, I do not think that it shall be found dawdling about, but I do not wish not interfere with your own life. I'm propably too old to be chasing this demon around, but if it means stoping the thing from causing wide-spread havoc then I suppose my journey must go on. I believe this will be the last time Ataris handles the important equipment," Rith said as he carefully made his way through the narrow passage. this time he made sure his robe did not get caught upon a rock.