Subsequent to the uneasy alliance between the two groups, they set out—on Val'rize's insistence—on a forest path unknown to the elves, located a bit farther off the glade, Lorfindal's estimation—which was almost always correct—being a half mile. Val' refused to answer till they were on open grounds—such as the path—when he would know if any eavesdropper was lurking in the shadows.

  The path was ten metres wide, the length unknown to the elves; the ground was uneven, small pebbles lurking at regular intervals on the hard, brown, rock-like ground; the path was flanked on either side by the titanic greenery of the Aelinder Forest, hundreds of metres tall trees, dense shrubbery and shadowy undergrowth making it the perfect place for an ambush. The vampires and elves marched side by side as the tall trees' shadows watched over them in anticipation. The combination of the forest's wildlife's liveliness and the muffled clop-clop of their rides—just powerful horses, nothing magical and fancy—the only things hindering the ever-growing unease to creep up and falter their senses, making them doubt the wrong thing at the wrong time.

  Legulus rode alongside Val'rize, symbolizing the dual power system of the group.

  "Now that we find ourselves in open space, and obviously you vampires can catch any eavesdropper even—sorry, especially—in this tenebrous situation, when the sun lights our path no more than a torch slightly above us would," started Legulus, "why do we not open up a bit?"

  The warriors trailing behind them listened in anticipation, part of their concentration on the exchange, part on any imposter and another part on their allies, who they trusted no more than their enemy, beyond the circumstances of the alliance.

  "Why do we not?" shot back Val'rize, hinting at Legulus to open first.

  "As far as my mind could remember, it so happens to not be us who wanted to begin a new era of trust and comradeship between our two races." noted Legulus.

  Val'rize let loose a sigh, before shaking his head slightly, the action not giving any clue to what he thought, for Legulus at least.

  "We're heading towards someone who has more knowledge about situation we find ourselves in, than any arcanum known to vampires." answered Val'rize.

  "What if we elves know of an arcanum more knowledgeable than your asset?" began Legulus.

  "Point the way, and our rides shall follow your finger to the degree." replied Val'rize.

  "I would prefer to know about your scholar before that." expressed Legulus.

  "I believe we have taken our leap of faith in guiding you to the greatest repository of Arcane knowledge we vampires rely on, in the belief that you will respect our privacy." said Val'rize, obviously not pleased with having to lay it all on the line. "Why don't we understand the true nature of what was stolen, by having some sort of identification."

  Legulus silently contemplated, knowing that the only known card they possessed was this. A minute passed in silence. Legulus shrugged, not seeing any harm, yet.

  "The only knowledge we were armed with—which the Empire tells us to be the only information that they possessed—was a name, and the level of danger it posed." began Legulus, slowly, letting the words sink in. "The magical artifact's name is 'The Coyote's Whisper' and the Empire says tells us the scripts attribute it to be one of the most dangerous Necromantic Artifact in existence, though they say it is cursed."

  This silenced the group, even the elves, to whom this information had been confidential according to the Empire, all except Lorfindal, the elite's mobile arcanum of knowledge.

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  "So, what else do you have to offer?" asked Legulus.

  Val'rize remained quiet for a minute.

  "What do you know about Necromancy?" asked Val'rize. Legulus turned in his saddle.

  "I do not wish to know about what Lorfindal knows." said Val'rize. "I wish to know what you do."

  Legulus turned and resumed his earlier position. He moistened his lips, ready to get serious knowledge.

  "All of which I have been taught about Necromancy is that it concerns death-related magic, and that it's a branch of the vampire arts, which further fueled our assumption." began Legulus, looking at Val'rize, one eye on him, one eye on lookout. "Presently, this part of our knowledge is an enigma between us, neither helping, nor hurting us, though the latter could be possible."

  Val'rize nodded, no emotion seeping through his pale face.

  "Do not talk so lightly about Necromancy, nor about the Crimson Arts, for though they are not connected to you and are not connected themselves, for the wielders of their power they are so profound and inter-connected with their life goals, that they would hack you to death if they get to know that you have connected the two Arts and speak so lightly about it, each angry at the connection of the other with their Arts." said Val'rize, the pent-up anger perceptible merely through his words, his bearing giving no clue as to what he thought.

  "I'm extremely sorry about the disrespectful and arrogant approach I resorted to earlier, and sincerely apologize." apologized Legulus, angry at himself for the arrogance of his words, an attitude which he never had, which had been the primary pillar for his ascension through the ranks. How could he not realize that the elves were the ones in need, not the vampires, for they were the ones who were attacked, and the ones with little to no clue about what was taking place. The vampires were allying merely for the one fact that they do not possess knowledge about the artifact in question.

  "Apology accepted." said Val'rize, waving it aside. "So, tell me, why did the Empire so poorly guard the artifact, when they clearly knew the importance of the said artifact?"

  "The Empire has been having problem with rebels, so soldiers had to be spared." said Legulus. "And anyways, who would want to steal a cursed artifact? For Runic ones themselves turn into a curse for some."

  Val'rize nodded.

  "Necromancy is not death magic by a far stretch, that is just a misconception." began Val'rize. "Necromancy's basic is drawing power from life-forces, be that a badger's, or an elf's. Everything has a life-force, even trees, for to grow you need life, for life you need a life-force. Hence, Necromancy is—ironically—life magic.

  "I do not know much about Necromancy, but I believe that they create their artifacts by diverting the life-force from a life form to an object, and somehow establishing a mid-point where they can decide how the artifact shall function. Though it is the most widely accepted, this is just a theory out of many, and, alas, not accurate.

  "Necromancy has been dormant for a while now, for about—some scholars say—five millennia, for it was abandoned as—however it was performed—it consumed the life-force of the wielder too, bit by bit, till they became a soulless corpse and turn into something so horrid, that the notion of turning into one of those creatures scared the bravest of the brave."

  The path remained quiet, the warriors silenced by this exchange, most of all Lorfindal, whose natural scholarly keenness overrode his warrior's sense and made him vulnerable for a few moments. The muffled clop-clop of the horses' hooves resounded louder than ever, the wildlife quietened by something, something too malignant for them to be accustomed to, its grasp reaching well beyond what their eyes could see in the forest, urging them to flee, though the urge was not of the malignant entity's grasp, but of the creatures' sixth sense, animal intuition. Sadly, elves and vampires do not possess that intuition. A bend crept up ahead of them, ten metres away or so.

  "So, what about the Crimson Arts?" asked Legulus.

  Val'rize's answer was on the tip of his tongue, when twin flares speared the sky from no more than a hundred metres away, ascending rapidly into the azure sky, one gold, one red, smoky gust trailing behind each of them like a comet's, the tip spewing out more smoke by the second, streaking the sky with the implications of danger. No sooner had these two jets of smoke surged upward did another volley follow them.

  Val'rize turned his head towards Legulus, donning his headgear, just like Legulus, whose full gear was strapped on to the horse.

  "That's the scouts."

  Legulus nodded.

  "And they've let loose the second volley."

  Legulus nodded.

  "Meaning they want us to retreat."

  "I'm not leaving a single warrior to the enemy without trying." said Legulus, the authority back in his voice, the powerful firmness back into his voice.

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