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Gol nods in acceptance of Atrum's request, that he and Esmerelda run at the first sign of trouble. The four of them depart from the group and begin heading west toward the mining village. It is not long before the signs of carnage meet up with the four survivers, signs in the form of dead bodies struck down where they stood, faces frozen in terror and surprise.

Ever so often, Gol nods and mumbles something to himself and heads off in different directions, seemingly taking a road that passes much too close to Haven...but the road remains clear of threats despite the mounting carcasses causing tensions to rise.

Suddenly, Gol's head snaps up and anyone looking at him notices a look of surprise, coupled with an almost imperceptible smile, replaced quickly by fear. His pace quickens, but he cuts Atrum's question off by saying, "No threat, not to us. Hurry."

In the distance, one of the gates begins to take shape with broken bodies at its base. Shortly before the party second guesses entrusting a boy who can hear spirits to guide them, shortly before Atrum gives the order to run, movement can be seen amongst the dead, movement of bloody clothes that look all too familiar. A few harried steps forward and it quickly becomes obvious that the bloody, stumbling bodies belong to Teela and Eilonwy...

Esmerelda breaks away from the group and runs forward to embrace her friends. She starts to cry again, but this time it is tears of joy. "You're alive! What happened? Where have you been? Corbyn betrayed everyone at the castle- they're all dead!" Overcome with emotion, she collapses sobbing at their feet.

Teela stands there dazed for a few moments, shock evident in her expression. "I don't quite remember . . . Corbyn . . . betrayed everyone? Everyone is dead?" She collapses in front of Esmerelda and embraces the other woman. "Aeric, Shea, Bob, everyone?" She finishes with a cracked sob, as she joins Esmeralda in tears of mourning.

One grey-gloved hand, smeared with ash, raises in a vain attempt to wipe the blood out of the glazed, blue eyes. At Esmerelda's words, the pale skin becomes impossibly paler. As Teela collapses, the youth places a shaking hand on her shoulder, standing obviously through sheer willpower alone, and stares out at nothing.

After a few moments of sobbing with her friend, Esmerelda finds the breath to speak. "As far as I know the only ones to survive are the few you see before you, Ren, Ingram, Quen and Sethreal. Ren went to Winter Haven and the rest are on their way to Caldonia with King Galen. We were on our way see if the villagers were okay when we ran into you. And Corbyn - That bastard wasn't the only one to betray us. Kidwynn and Maximus tried to slay me. If it hadn't been for Gol, I would be dead as well right now."

And paler still at the mention of Galen... Upon hearing the further betrayal, the eyes narrow uncharacteristically. "Blackguards..." comes a low growl, and one fist clenches.

Meeting Gol's eyes, the young seer gives a nod of thanks to the boy so close of age.

"I thought Kidwynn was angry at Corbyn--I don't understand. Why would she kill everybody? I thought she vowed to protect us! Why did Corbyn betray everybody in the first place?" She says the last in a whisper "I do not understand all this death and murder--why can't people just love each other?"

In a quiet, strained voice, "Even love can turn to murder; think of Lord Malcolm's for Rose..." Despite the grim words, the hand on Teela's shoulder is gentle, attempting to soothe.

A new bitterness seems to be entering into the youth's tone, the eyes far more jaded. At the moment they are filled with tears that do not fall, the expression a mix of cold rage and hauntedness.

Corbyn had always named the seer gullible; ironically, the youth had never been able to fully trust him. But now it was too late to bother with the plan dear Woden had been working on... So many friends gone...

Deep breathes are taken and except for a slight clenching of the slim jaw and some rapid blinking, the youth resolutely remains outwardly composed.

As Mohdri has been keeping an eye towards the woods he pipes up,

"I really hate to sound insensitive, and I know this is going to sound that way, but we really shouldn't stay in one place for too long. No sense in giving the Elves a stationary target."

Giving Teela one last big hug, Esmerelda pulls herself together.

"Mohdri's right, we need to keep moving. We have to see if any of the villagers survived and if they're safe. As for Corbyn, I told you he was a bastard and not to be trusted. Kidwynn I don't understand. I hope her oathbreaking essense is burned forever by the Fire King!"

She helps Teela to her feet and turns to Gol.

"Will you keep leading on, my friend?"

"Unless anybody has some basic healing accessible, I'll have to use a potion in order to heal us quickly. I don't know if you wanted to preserve them since it sounds like we'll be in dire straights for a while. Eilonwy is in the same condition as I."

The seer looks rueful, "I am afraid she is correct. We both may be determined enough to crawl but..." There is a slight swaying as the youth leans on Teela.

OOG: both at 0.

"I think we can wait long enough for you two to get healed. It's a goood thing we ran into you, Teela, we did not have any healers with us..."

There is a slight rusting from one of the nearby piles of debris and a canine's head appears, followed by a crouching, animal form with a beat up satchel hanging from it's side. She sniffs at the air warily and looks around before coming out of her hiding place. She limps towards the voices.

Gol places one hand on each injured and they begin to feel better immediately. Within ten minutes, all wounds have been healed.

"Mohdri and Esmerelda are right. Let's keep moving."