//------------------------------// // Level 13 - Hoping For Light // Story: In Want for a Wand // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// Twilight stared at the empty clearing, her mouth agape. The camp had been right there, she was sure of it. Darren quietly joined her side. "I should have stayed", he said. She blinked, shaking her head. "I... This - this looks like they have been abducted!" She pointed at the ground, her hoof moving so fast that the snow fell off in tiny drops. "Look! There are all these footsteps. Boots. And giant bird claws! And here, they had a cart, pulled by horses. We have got to find and rescue them!" Twilight made half a step forward, then her hoof froze in midair as she suddenly hesitated to compromise the crime scene. She shook her head and walked around the camp. "That goes without saying", said Darren. Twilight's eyes darted around, her mane shaking as she tried to take in everything at once. Her breath came in shallow, quick huffs. Her heart beat so fast that she could feel it up in her throat. "We have to follow them, they can't have gotten far", she exclaimed, running after the tracks of the cart. She gallopped along the deep lines and strange footsteps in the snow, ignoring Darren's requests to wait, and followed the path south. Darren shook his head and bent down. He picked up a battered paper bag and peered inside; the shivering sunflower frowned back at him. He tucked the bag into his bigger backpack to keep it from freezing over and ran after the pony. •° Arcus soon gave up his attempts to talk to his captors. Every time he tried to find out something, anything, they either shot him down with harsh commands to remain silent or ignored him altogether. They even would not tell him why they had caught them in the first place. It irritated Arcus even more than his undignified position. Not that Vol'Shalai or Jon had any success either. So he decided to use his senses to gather as much information as possible. As the initial rush of adrenaline subsided and the remains of red mist before his eyes cleared, Arcus observed the humanoids and the landscape. They were moving at a steady pace, heading east, as far as he could tell with the hazy clouds. That was, as he remembered, the general direction of Light's Hope Chapel. Vol'Shalai was now forced to walk, too. They had tied his hands and taken all his stuff; his bags and little pockets, his axe and the pumpkin bottles. The only thing they had left him was a small bag, containing four little things of wood and feathers. He had almost gone berserk when they had tried to take it and they had agreed on tying it to his back, close to him but still out of his reach. The group was smaller than Arcus had initially thought. He counted eight males and six females, though he wasn't quite sure he hadn't counted anyone twice, and, of course, those who didn't make any sound he could not count either. Even though they were a different species, walking on two legs, he made out some differences between them. First, just like the Forsaken, the females had generally higher voices, broader hips and smaller shoulders than the males. None of them was overweight but some wore heavy armor, the others leather and cloth. He just had not noticed before because everyone was wrapped in dark cloaks and scarves, concealing their features. They had tucked their hair under their hoods which nobody ever removed. Arcus doubted it was a fashion thing. Arcus also realized that they constantly stayed in the exact same formation, which meant that the same two guards were always flanking the sturdy cart he was lying on. Both rode on strange mounts, large birds similar to ostriches, their colors of their magificent feathers so bright against the snow that it hurt Arcus's eyes. Red, yellow, purple and blue. One of the riders was male. His mount made long steps, leaving deep clawprints in the snow, so he was probably heavily armed. A longsword's hilt was visible above his broad shoulders. The man never said a word. Arcus started to think of him as 'the Sword'. The other one Arcus dubbed 'the Lady'. She was the one that coordinated the group, telling them when to walk, when to rest and when to send out scouts. Everyone reported to her. As they reached a fork in the road, she insisted on moving on, leaving a watchtower of greyish white stone on the left (Arcus's right side since he was facing backwards) as they hurried on. Arcus managed to catch a glimpse of the tower as they passed it. It stood a few hundred meters off the main road, behind a row of dead trees. He pressed his cheek against the side of the cart to take another look. Yes, it really was bathed in sunlight. The entire sky was covered by the grey shroud but not this tower. Was it protected by some spell? Jon would probably be able to provide an explanation. Did the captors avoid it because the occupants were hostile? Arcus wiggled around, thumping against the floor of the cart, trying to relieve the pain in his limbs. The Lady caught his movements in the corner of her eye. She gave an order in that strange melodious language of hers. They stopped for two minutes and Arcus's shackles were tied together differently. The ropes all lead to two iron rings, one of each was fastened to one side of the cart. He was still bound, the ropes still tight, but now Arcus could move around a bit and, most importantly, he could sit on his haunches. He could peek over the edge of the wooden sides and see the snow, the dead pine trees and the marching group all at once. Jonathan and Vol'Shalai looked at him, Jon giving him a tiny nod. Even though he had not really done anything, Arcus felt a sense of accomplishment. He smiled at the Lady who just looked at him from under her hood as she walked beside the cart. Arcus noticed two maces hanging in leather straps on her back in a way that she could quickly grasp them in a battle. There was something familiar about her but he could not put his hoof on it no matter how hard he tried to remember. For a moment, Arcus felt relieved that there had not been the chance to hurt her. •° Twilight trotted along the tracks, her head low. She only needed to follow the lines anyway. They went on straight through the snow, now and then crossing each other when the cart had dodged a rock or a hole in the ground. She had not noticed it at first but her saddlebags were gone as well. Twilight had put them down at the camp so the enemy probably had them now. She had tried a series of scrying spells but there had been no results. Darren had offered to call for his griffin but she was not willing to fly yet. Hot tears ran down her face. Why had she left the group? Why hadn't she set up a force field? Right, she had been exhausted from the fight with the hound things. But still! She must have been able to do something. She could not even use the parchment she had enchanted because it was in her saddlebags. She paused, then resumed trotting. Her stomach rumbled but it could not be helped. The food was gone. She would have to melt some snow to at least still the thirst... Was it exhaustion that made the lines in the snow spin and wobble like that? Darren tapped her back. She stopped again and looked at him through the mist that covered her eyes. "I am calling him down", said Darren bluntly. "Cover your ears, please." He put two fingers in his mouth and a terribly shrill tone made Twilight flinch before she could move a hoof. A predator's screech answered Darren. The skeletal bird soon descended next to them, flapping its bony wings in quick succession to slow down from its dive. Darren grabbed Twilight around her barrel and heaved her onto the griffin's back. She felt too numb to even protest as he tied her to the saddle and sat down behind her. •° On their second day in captivity things were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Arcus was still not allowed to walk on his own. They had rested through the night. Two of the men had digged a hole; a fire was lit inside of it that barely warmed anybody up. Before sunrise they were already on the move again. At least the captives had been momentarily untied to relieve themselves. That had been immensely awkward for Arcus who could hardly relax enough to get anything out. Jonathan, his face flushed, managed to do it by remembering the alternative which was not being allowed to stop for peeing. Vol'Shalai took the chance to proudly show off everything. He was big, even for a troll. Jonathan quickly averted his eyes, focusing on a highly interesting rock. He could hear the guards clear their throats and shift their weight uncomfortably while the troll cackled with amusement. He was still laughing when they retied his hands. •° Twilight woke up. She felt tired but not as badly as before. "How long... was I asleep?", she muttered. She opened her eyes and slowly raised her head. It was pretty dark. A set of three candles shed some light on her surroundings. "About five hours. It is almost midnight." Darren's deep voice. He was close, maybe a few steps, and had spoken in a whisper. Warm. She was covered with a blanket that smelled like horse. A smell similar to a pony's but not quite the same. It was off-putting... and reminding her of what they had been doing before she had fallen asleep. Twilight gasped. "Oh no! Did we lose them? What if more snow fell?" Fear gripped her heart once again. "There was no more snow. We can still pick up where we left off. However, we should do it soon. I can see well in the dark so that should not be an issue." He stood up from the stool he had been sitting on and went to the other side the tiny room. It was polygonal, almost circular, and three walls were greyish white stone. The fourth wall, the floor and ceiling were made of wood. Pine, if she was not mistaken. "Where are we? Is this a cell?" "No. This is neither prison nor inn. It is the uppermost room of the Crown Guard Tower. We're allowed to stay for the night but as I said, we should take off soon. It is imperative that you do not lose too much body heat and since I cannot provide any, I landed here." "Did the tracks lead you here?" "No." Darren knocked at the door. "They avoided the tower. The captors must be in quite a hurry. However, since most of them are on foot they cannot move as quickly as a griffin in flight. As I said, if we act quickly we will be able to catch up." The door opened and a blonde man in plate armor entered. His tabard showed a simplified yellow sun, making Twilight feel a pang in her heart as she realized how much she missed Celestia's guidance. "Yes?", he asked. Twilight rose to her hooves, folding the blanket. "We are ready to leave. Except..." She grimaced. "Do you have anything to eat?" Before the man could answer, Darren shook his head. "I already purchased something", he told her. Her ears folded down. "I see." She felt awkward with Darren buying the things she needed. The man nodded and pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. "I'll be downstairs. Your griffin has already returned. Oh, and a merry Winter's Veil." He smiled briefly as one would smile to a stranger they did not wish any harm but did not really care about either. "To you as well", grunted Darren. "Twilight? Do you wish to eat here?" "If that's okay with you." The guard nodded and retreated, closing the door behind him. "Winter's Veil?" Twilight raised her eyebrows. "Today is the Eve of Winter's Veil. I figured that you might have lost track of time." "Oh, it's not that, it's just the time difference between our worlds that threw me off", muttered Twilight. "Well, merry Winter's Veil, or, as we would say in Equestria, happy Hearth's Warming." She smiled sadly. "I wouldn't even have noticed if you hadn't said anything. I'm glad I'm not alone... Thank you for taking care of me." "It is my job." Darren sat down again, opening his bag. He pulled a small bundle from it and handed it over to Twilight. "I don't think that 'assistance in case of an abduction' was part of the original agreement", mused Twilight absent-mindedly, accepting the gift. He sighed. "No. You are right. Let us talk about this another time if you do not mind." His tone was quiet but firm. "O-okay." Twilight opened the bundle, untying the cloth, and found a piece of bread and two apples. "Fresh apples in Winter?" "Probably magically preserved, with a time-freezing spell. You do have fruit on a holiday like this, I suppose?" Twilight nodded. "Yes, we do." As she started chewing on the first apple, she frowned. "Isn't there anything left of our supplies?" "There was this." Darren opened the bag again and revealed the sunflower. "Clara!" Twilight beamed and took the flowerpot into her hooves. The plant did not look very happy. It seemed to be alright but its sour expression made Twilight widen her eyes. "What's wrong? You're not looking so good. Did you get hurt?" She turned the pot, inspecting it for damage. The flower shook its head. It used one of its vines to point at the pot. Twilight frowned. "Is it already too tight for you?" Clara shook her head again. "I wish you could talk", sighed Twilight. "We better put you back into the paper bag during the flight. It might get too cold for you." This time, Clara nodded, but the frown would not leave her face. •° There was no food until midday when they took a break in the middle of the road. At least Jonathan assumed they were still on a road. He slumped down as soon as he was allowed to, exhausted from walking in the mud. His legs were heavier than usual and his hands felt numb. Pain slowly crept back into his palms as he breathed on them and rubbed them together as fast as the shackles would allow. The pain was a good sign. It meant his hands were still alive and would not fall off anytime soon. The last thing he needed on Winter's Veil were frozen fingers and toes. Vol'Shalai crouched down next to him and Jonathan thanked the Light that he was not alone in this mess. He was not sure whether that was selfish or not, though. A small piece of bread landed in the snow, just enough to satisfy his hunger for a few hours. Jonathan looked up but the guard was already moving on to Arcus, unpacking some hay from the cart and spreading it in front of him and the horses. He shook his head. The pony would eat anything at this point, he suspected, but it was still a notable difference that everybody got bread and Arcus had to take the hay. Jonathan picked up his piece of bread and ate it, forcing himself to chew slowly. The bread was actually pretty good. Then it dawned to him that he was probably eating the very bread he had bought himself in Andorhal. Jonathan rolled his eyes and forced himself to enjoy the meal. Somebody tapped his shoulder. Jonathan looked up when he realized it was Vol'Shalai. The troll, without a trace of humor left in his eyes, raised his red bushy eyebrows. Blood Elves, mouthed Jonathan in Orcish. Vol'Shalai nodded, then shrugged and looked at the sun. Now?, was the question. Jonathan slowly shook his head. First, he wanted to find out more about their captors. As long as they went in the right direction, he could take his time to think of a plan. Then they would need to break free and regroup, preferably close to the Chapel. He just prayed that Twilight and Darren were all right and did not do anything stupid in the meantime. Something else landed in the snow before the two of them. Jonathan incredulously picked up a shiny red apple. That one had not been in his backpack. He would have remembered the vibrant color. "Did I miss something?", he asked Vol'Shalai. The troll shrugged, looking at his own fruit with the same confusion as Jonathan. •° Arcus watched the priest and the shaman as they ate their fruit. Jonathan was saying something Arcus could not understand. He had never heard that language before. Something was not right here. Did the translation spell wear off already or did he just mishear? Arcus chose to test his first theory and turned to the Sword. "Excuse me, do you have some water? I'm thirsty." The Sword gazed at him, then looked at the Lady. She shrugged and said something in their language, her tone indicating she was only mildly interested. "Well, crap", muttered Arcus. He remembered when they had retied the ropes. That had been the same dialect. How was he supposed to coordinate anything with Jon and the troll if he could not speak anything but Equestrian? •° Darren's griffin landed on a small hill next to the road. The ground was covered by thick weeds, the thorns hidden by the snow. Twilight scratched her front leg when she jumped off the griffin. She quickly returned to its back, rubbing her hoof. "Ouch...", she muttered, eyeing the cut. They had not lost the trail yet but Twilight insisted on landing now and then to avoid freezing to death. She shivered and huddled down under her cloak once more. With a scraping that was hard on the ears, Darren drew his sword. Twilight spun around, suddenly alert. "Is there something close to us?", she asked, trying to keep her voice down. "No." He swung the blade and began to cut down some of the plants. "Oh. I see." As Twilight realized his intentions, she lifted the vines up with her magic and threw them aside to clear the ground. Darren, his hands protected by the leather of his gloves, quickly took the vines and arranged them in a manner that they formed a primitive canopy, big enough for a pony to sit under without the danger of cutting herself on the thorns. They used the remaining vines to get a fire going. It was miserably small, emitting loads of smoke and a sour odor, but it was a fire. Twilight sat down in her new shelter, staring into the flames. "I really hope they are okay", she said quietly. Darren sighed curtly and sat down next to her. Surprised, Twilight looked up at him. "Darren, I've been wondering: Why are you still helping me?", she asked. For a while, Darren said nothing. He poked at the fire with a short stick to keep it going, then, when a few more vines had been incinerated, he flicked the stick away. "Is it so you can go to Equestria?" Twilight raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't be mad if that's the reason." "It is, too..." Darren hesitated again, wringing his hands. He actually pulled a face! Twilight had never seen him this lost for words before. "Are you okay?", she asked carefully. "Yes", he said sharply, making her flinch. "That sounded completely unbelievable", Twilight snapped back. "I'm serious, there is something on your mind, isn't there?" "Yes", he said, this time more quietly. "So? What is it?" He shook his head, then looked straight at her. Twilight expected the temperature to drop again but nothing of the sort happened. She could still see that there was some conflict raging inside of Darren. It had to be something really terrible or embarrassing if he wouldn't tell her, right? Darren cleared his throat. "I value your company", he said slowly. "Thank you." She smiled warmly at him. "You appear to do the same. I want to keep it that way." "Uh... okay?" Nothing else came out of Darren's mouth, so Twilight cleared her throat. "You know, you can tell me anything. I won't look down on you. I think of you as a friend." She looked at her hooves. "We've been traveling for so long it feels weird that you don't say what's bothering you." He looked at her, then shook his head. "I cannot tell you, Twilight." "You can't or you won't?", pressed Twilight on. "Enough", said Darren without raising his voice but it was clear that he wouldn't budge. Twilight's ears went down. "I'm sorry", she muttered. "I know I can be intrusive at times... but I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." "This is not your world", snorted Darren. "You cannot expect us to behave like you. But I will not harm you. You have my word." "Fine", nodded a disappointed Twilight, "If you want to be that way. You can tell me when you are ready. Like Rainbow Dash would say, 'I'd never leave my friends hanging'." She smiled, but the smile froze when she noticed Darren's lack of reaction. Darren said nothing else for the entire evening. He stared at the tiny fire, brooding over whatever was bothering him, without opening up to Twilight. She still saw his motionless shape sitting there, unchanged, when her eyes closed and she finally fell asleep. •° They were getting closer to the mountain range with every day that passed. Eventually, Twilight could make out a structure, a series of towers, tents and small houses. The group of buildings stood right at the foot of a tall mountain, with a strong stone wall surrounding it in a generous arc. The sky right above the houses was clear just as it had been above the watchtower a few days ago, in stark contrast to the sickly grey haze that hung over the rest of the land. The place looked so inviting that it was painfully obvious to Twilight it did not belong into the Plaguelands as they were now. However, there was something next to Light's Hope Chapel that made up for that without any effort. There was a dark fortress, right above the Chapel, and it was suspended in midair. It was made of dark stone, metal and gigantic bones (or the imitation thereof, Twilight was not sure about that) and easily the size of a small town. Like a spider in the web, it hung over the Chapel's tower. Occasionally, an undead griffin would enter or leave it, with a tiny figure sitting on top of it. The skulls embedded in the sides of the pyramid-like structure confirmed Twilight's suspicions: This was a fortress of undeath. What she did not know was whether it belonged to the Scourge or the Forsaken. Landing in front of the Chapel's gate, Darren asked Twilight to dismount. He set an example by climbing off the griffin. He took the bird of prey by the reins, approaching the guards. Twilight noticed that the guards were more alert than the ones in Andorhal, even more than those of Crown Guard Tower. When they recognized Darren's tabard, they tensed up. Then they saw Twilight, a little lavender pony, walking next to him and they relaxed a tiny bit. After an exchange of very few words, they let them in. When they passed the gate, Darren let out a long breath which seemed very odd to Twilight. He did not breathe after all. If he felt the need to exhale like that he must have been immensly tense before. She felt ashamed for not noticing it right away, then she remembered their conversation from the evening before. Was he that worried about Jonathan and Arcus? Or was it something else? Was there something dangerous outside the walls of the Chapel that Darren did not tell Twilight about? She promised herself to ask him once again, as soon as the right moment came up. She tried to focus on something else. As they approached a tent at the far side of the snow-covered lawn, she could not help but enjoy the feeling of having something alive touch her hooves again. The next thing she noticed was that she could not tell whether the Chapel's guards were members of the Alliance or the Horde. All the races she had heard of were present; orcs, humans, trolls, elves and other, smaller people, all of them peacefully talking to each other or going about their business. There was even... "A tauren", mouthed Twilight. She smiled at the gigantic minotaur-like creature who stood before the tent's entrance, getting a friendly yet slightly confused smile from the tauren in return. They did not know each other, of course, but Twilight was immediately reminded of Tak Rivermane, remembering their adventure on the other continent, Kalimdor. This tauren's fur was not brown like Tak's but so dark it almost seemed black. Additionally, he was not as heavily armored as Tak had been. He pulled the flap of the tent aside to let Twilight and Darren in, following them inside. There was nobody else in the tent. The ground was covered with fur and carpets so Twilight and Darren tried their best to clean their feet before going further inside. It was nice and warm thanks to a small iron bowl of glowing coals. The tauren sat down at a tiny table. He readied paper and an inkwell and greeted them. "Welcome to Light's Hope Chapel. I am Rimblat of the Earthen Ring. I need to register your names for reasons of safety." Twilight spoke before Darren could open his mouth. She beamed at Rimblat. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Darren Houndslayer. We are passing through to the North. Is this a place where we can sleep for the night?" Darren looked at her wordlessly, slightly confused by her chipper tone, then he directed his attention back to the tauren. Rimblat wrote their names down and nodded. "Thank you. Actually, you can sleep in here. This is not a busy time. Almost everybody is with their families. However, your kind should not outstay your welcome on these grounds." He gave Darren a stern look. "Is there any chance a big group with a troll, a human and a green pony passed through here recently? Perhaps Blood Elves?", Darren dared to ask, ignoring the jab. "No, there haven't been big groups here for over a month", shrugged Rimblat. "As I said, there hasn't been much going on here recently. Let's just hope it stays that way. The Sourge appears to remain in the areas around Stratholme, Plaguewood and the Noxious Glade, with only a few stray undead creatures roaming the outskirts of the Plaguelands. You better stay away from the Glade. It's directly to the North. There are still heavy toxic fumes emanating from there." "Curious", muttered Darren but did not add an explanation to his comment. Rimblat frowned at Twilight, slightly confused. "Do we know each other? I'm sure I would remember you, but..." "No, you are reminding me of a friend", said Twilight. "He's living in Mulgore, though. Tak Rivermane, a merchant. He used to sell herbs in Orgrimmar although as far as I remember he doesn't do that anymore." "Never heard the name", said Rimblat immediately. "I didn't really think so", smiled Twilight, her expression turning from enthusiastic to polite. "If you don't mind my question: What are you exactly?", asked Rimblat, leaning forward to get a better look at Twilight. She pulled her hood down, revealing a slightly messy long mane and her horn. "I am a pony", she said simply, too tired to show her wings and explain what an alicorn was. "And a mage", added Darren helpfully. "One last thing: Do you have any news from Andorhal?", asked Rimblat. Twilight and Darren looked at each other. "We found out that ponies shouldn't drink Dwarven Stout", offered Twilight. Rimblat laughed. "I am not sure that counts as real news but thank you anyway. Well, if you need anything - food, water - ask for Bettina. I'll leave you to yourselves now. And as I said, you may only stay for one night." They nodded and the tauren left, ducking as he crossed the tent's threshold. Darren sat down on a pillow, removed his cloak and noisily stretched his limbs. The armor did not seem to hinder him much. He was looking more relaxed now, even though his face was still as pale as usual, with dark rings under his eyes. He looks old, thought Twilight. Not because of the few wrinkles in his face but the tired expression in his eyes. Twilight estimated that Darren had died in his fourties, but how old was he really? The moment he had been killed, his biological clock had been frozen so he could be of any age one could think of. Though if she remembered correctly, the Undead Plague had hit Lordaeron about a decade ago so he should be around... fifty? Twilight suppressed a confused groan, sat down next to him, close to the coalfire, and removed her own cloak. It was really dirty but she tried to ignore that. She gratefully accepted the bread and carrots Darren offered her and closed her eyes for a second as she bit into the vegetable. "I can't remember the last time I felt this warm", she said dreamily. "Starswearl's beard, I'm so tired." "I have not been here since... for quite some time", said Darren, "but the Chapel is known for being welcoming towards strangers. Almost everyone living is supporting the Argent Dawn's cause and it is easy to identify enemies here." He frowned at Twilight, then nodded as if making a decision. "Twilight." She perked up. "Yes?" He was apparently going to say something important. Twilight quickly swallowed the rest of her meal and straightened up, giving Darren her undivided attention. "We should keep our distance", he blurted out. She opened her mouth to protest but Darren held a gloved hand up. "No, please let me finish. I must say it, and I must say it now. Twilight, I am endangering you because I am a Death Knight", he explained. "It was not a risk in Silverpine or the Western Plaguelands but since we are getting closer to the Necropolis I must warn you. The - " "Wait, wait", interrupted him Twilight, ignoring his request to let him finish. "What's a Necropolis?" "You saw the fortress floating right above the mountain?" She nodded, her eyes wide. "It was hard to miss, really." "That is a city of the dead, or, to be more exact, it is Acherus, the Ebon Hold." "That sounds familiar", hummed Twilight. "Of course: The Ebon Blade! Like the symbol on your tabard." "Precisely. The land here, except for the premises of the Chapel, is tainted by undeath. Do you understand what that means?" "Well", said Twilight hesitantly, "I'm assuming it means that the creatures here are undead." She resisted the urge to add a 'duh' to her comment. "It does not simply mean that unnatural creatures walk the earth. That is also the case in Undercity." Darren's frown deepened. "Here, the ground, the air and everything that grows and moves is cursed, bound by dark magic. The fact that the curse is this strong is the reason why we still have our base of operations here... and that is why my urge to kill is growing with each day that we remain in the Plaguelands. In undead lands - lands of the Scourge - my blood boils from the pain and - I can't resist the call anymore." He said it quickly, almost blending the words into each other. His usually so accurate pronounciation made way for an accent Twilight had never heard him use before. "The curse forces you to kill? Oh my goodness... How did you manage to stay so calm all these weeks?", whispered Twilight, aghast. She felt her stomach turn and tried to breathe slowly like Cadance had shown her what felt like ages ago. "I did not", he said simply. "That was merely... on the exterior. I dealt quite a lot of death blows if you recall." "Plus, you went away for hours after we set up camp in the evenings", remembered Twilight, her heart sinking as she finally understood. She wondered which was worse for Darren: the pain or the constant urge to kill. "Was that when you...?" "Yes. I hunted down wild animals and creatures so I would not harm you." She stared at him with wide eyes, shocked and unable to think of anything clever to say. "I cannot help it." He raised his hands, as if to defend himself against possible accusations. "It is the prize I have to pay." "Why are you telling me this? Why now?", whispered Twilight. "Right here, on sacred ground, I am weakened. But the pain also subsides, becoming more bearable... making it possible to think more clearly. I - I wanted to take the opportunity to talk openly to you. Especially considering that I haven't killed for days." "What are you going to do?", asked Twilight, shivering. "Hunt down more animals? Keep trying to find the captors of our friends? Please tell me there's a way to remove the pain! Can't I help you somehow?" "You can let me join you when you return to Equestria", he said without hesitation. "Then I would be cut off from the source of the curse and Mr Baker could heal me. Other than that, no. There is no way to remove the pain except by bringing pain and death to the living myself." "I am so sorry!", she blurted, her eyes watering. He smiled shortly but the smile did not reach his eyes. "I just said there is nothing we can do about it. I simply told you the truth so you know why I need to... take walks." "You're hoping that I don't start asking questions at the wrong time or try to follow you when you take those walks?" "Exactly. That is an avoidable risk." Silence stretched out between them as if somebody had given the command to hold their breath. The distant rhythmic tink-tink of a hammer hitting an anvil snapped Twilight out of her stupor. She tapped her chin, inhaling sharply. "You are saying that Acherus is your base of operations, but what about Northrend? What happened to Icecrown Citadel? Isn't that from where the Lich King used to control the Scourge? I mean, not that I don't appreciate your help here... but if you destroyed the source of the dark magic instead of killing blighthounds here, you could be free!" "It is not that simple, Twilight. Suffice to say the Lich King died and people are trying to heal the lands", waved Darren it off. "There are other bases in Northrend - the Ebon Watch, the Shadow Vault - and some of us found a new goal to pursue or they rejoined their own people. The Eastern Plaguelands, once almost completely destroyed, have already improved considerably. But I digress... my point is: The dark magic still lingers here. Even with the head cut off, the body keeps on twitching." He grinned humorlessly. Twilight recoiled at that analogy, then she sighed and massaged her temples. "Okay. I think I'm going to need some time to digest this. I already had my suspiscions but hearing it from you is different. But the least I can do is show respect for your situation. You have taken good care of me and my friends." "If you do not count the mistake of leaving you unguarded on the one evening when it mattered." Twilight frowned. "That was my fault, too! I didn't set up any magical wards to alarm us. Neither did Jonathan even though he told me he could do it. And who knows what Vol'shalai might have had up his sleeve if we had just asked." "It was my duty to prevent this from happening in the first place", objected Darren. "We weren't that far away when the fight started and we still didn't hear anything. The elves must be experts at what they do", said Twilight appeasingly. "So was I supposed to be!" Darren was standing now, his arm outstretched in rage. "Look where it got us! The group is split up, our resources gone, two innocent ponies trapped in the Plaguelands and my employer in captivity! Twilight, even if you are right, even if you say that this is not a question of who was more at fault there is still the matter of who is going to correct this. "For Light's sake, we already have the ruby and the pine stick, there is not even a reason to remain here any longer. Were it not for this idiotic situation, we could already be on our way to Equestria!" Twilight covered her eyes with a hoof, shielding herself from the knight. "D-Darren, please calm down", she begged with chattering teeth, trying to summon a force field. "It's g-getting too cold!" He stared at her with his mouth agape, suddenly realizing that he was pointing at her and emitting waves of frost magic, enveloping both of them in a cold wind. Their cloaks had already skidded away from them, and were pressed against the walls of the tent. The winds died down almost immediately as Darren looked away from Twilight, crossing his arms. He huffed and rubbed his neck, then sat down again, still upset. The thin layer of ice that covered the blankets began to melt as the heat of the coalfire took over again. "I failed you", he muttered, his voice cracking. Twilight looked down at her hooves. "I'm sorry you feel this way", she said eventually. "But you don't have to fix this all by yourself, Darren. I may be a weak pony who needs to warm up now and then. But I will also do my best to rescue our friends. We may have been split up as a group but we are not alone." Twilight walked over to him and reached out with her hoof, touching his hand for a short moment. "We are in this together. Let's help each other, like we tried before. I promise I'll stay out of your way when I have to, just tell me when you need space." She smiled at him. It was a sad smile but an honest one as well. "And thank you for trusting me." Darren shook his head and huffed again. "You sound like..." He glanced at her and changed his mind, leaving the sentence unfinished. "Thank you, Twilight. I believe we understand each other." There was an awkward moment when both said nothing, just looking anywhere in the tent but at each other. Then Darren pointed at the tent entrance with his thumb, the gesture reminding Twilight of Jonathan. "Shall I get some food for you?" "Oh, yes, please, if that's okay", said Twilight quickly, flashing him a smile. Darren left, leaving his cloak in the tent, and Twilight was alone. She took a deep breath. That had been some outburst. If that was what happened when Darren relaxed then Twilight was beginning to understand why he did not usually share his thoughts with others. Not that she liked it when he tried to keep everyone at a distance. It was not really what he had said, though. If you only looked at the words, he had simply admitted his feelings of guilt and his intention to correct his mistake, along with the wish to keep Twilight from harm. But the wave of frost magic that had almost thrown Twilight out of the tent told her more than that. For how long had he been this upset? As Darren had admitted in Andorhal, he had once had a family, maybe even children of his own. Twilight shivered as she realized what had probably happened to them. It was most likely that Darren had lost them to the war and it was even possible that he had killed them just like Jonathan had killed his sister. Now he had lost his friends, the only ones he had ever made since his first, and probably not last, big loss. Twilight had noticed that he and Arcus had begun to truly befriend each other, going from being stiffly polite to sharing tales, jokes and, most importantly, trust. Twilight could feel that even though she and Darren were friends it was not the same to him as his friendship with Arcus. And now it was over - and Darren felt responsible for what had happened. Twilight covered her face in her hooves. It could have been avoided. No matter what Darren said, their loss was also her fault. A sob escaped her and she sniffled, unable to keep her tears back any longer. Good thing that Darren was still gone, he would probably feel worse if he saw her like this. She heard some rustling inside the tent and shook her head, trying to focus again. Twilight followed the scratchy sound with her head and saw that it came from Darren's bag. Of course. Clara. Removing the pretty sunflower from the bag, Twilight smiled at Clara and carefully stroked her head with a hoof. Clara seemed disgruntled. She pointed at the pot, hinting at something once again. "What is wrong with the pot?", muttered Twilight, confused. She tilted the pot this way and that but could not see anything out of the ordinary. Clara angrily shook her vine at the pot. But now that Twilight thought about it, the flowerpot felt heavier than it should. She carefully grabbed as much earth as she could with her magic and lifted it from the pot. Clara helped by tightening her roots and vines around the dirt. Twilight took a look into the pot and found something round and shiny. She removed it and put the the earth and the flower back where they belonged. Clara nodded enthusiastically, pointing at the small object Twilight had discovered. It was a small red crystal orb. Just like Darren had described it. Twilight gasped and frowned darkly at the orb. So this was the thing that had shown the elves the camp's whereabouts. It was not even glowing, just innocently lying on the ground like a piece of pretty jewelry. "Thank you, Clara. I never would have noticed without your help." Clara smiled and hummed a little tune, evidently pleased with herself. Twilight was sure that Darren did not know about the orb's hiding place. He never would have been this honest with her if he had. She would tell him about the orb, of course, and confront him just to be sure, but first there was something else she had to do. She grasped the orb with her magic, lifted it to the ceiling of the tent and smashed it down on the table as hard as she could. The crystal burst into thousands of little shards. Twilight quickly shielded her eyes with her foreleg. When the last piece had fallen to the ground, she floated all of them together to a loose glittering ball, went outside and buried them in the snow.