[quote]Bringing his left hand to the symbol upon his chest, he quickly whispered a few words in prayer, but decided not to spend to much time here, he had to figure out where he was, so lantern at his side, Lalna made his way outside the tent. towards the voices.[/quote]

The green lantern offered bright illumination to Lalna's path -- maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed brighter now that he was holding it. Everything around him sparkled emerald.

Just outside the tent flap, he was greeted by a vast starry sky swept by distant purple galaxies and clusters of pinprick stars. The moon was bright and waning over the edge of a great dark mountain that towered in a silhouetted landscape far below. Faintly, he could see a duality of light -- white and blue -- soaring over the treetops below, toward the towering mountain.

[b]"SQUAAAK!"[/b]

A hooked beak and big yellow eyes lunged at Lalna; the gryphon's gray wings flared, and for a moment Lalna's vision was filled with feathers and claws. The beast hissed, squinting in the brightness of the lantern.

A meaty fist gripped Lalna's collar from behind and yanked him back, away from the gryphon.

[b]"Looks like we've got a thief,"[/b] a low voice rumbled with a slightly sadistic air. The big man had a goatee and a bloodstained smock, and he was smirking.

[b]"That's him! He appeared out of thin air!"[/b] the girl squeaked from a few yards away; she kept her distance, her hands clasped at her throat. [b]"Oh don't [i]manhandle[/i] him! What if he's a Lord?"[/b]

The burly man turned his head and spat on the ground, then set Lalna with a suspicious glare. [b]"What if he's a [i]Kith?[/i]"[/b] he hissed with disgust.

The gryphon remained nearby, its feathers puffed and its eyes unblinkingly set on Lalna.

[hr]
[quote]"Hey, hey," she whispered in a placating voice, "don't worry, I don't want any trouble. Sorry to barge in. I was just looking for somewhere to lay low." As subtly as she could, Artemis moved her legs under her, trying to make sure she was ready to move if this kid tried anything. "If you don't want the company, I can go find somewhere else."[/quote]

The little girl was motionless and silent for a long moment -- so much that it almost seemed she wouldn't react at all -- and then a smile slowly grew on her soiled face while her eyes remained unblinking, calculating. [b]"You're hiding, too."[/b] She jerked her head at the window. [b]"From the Pirate scum."[/b] She was quiet a moment longer to gauge Artemis' reaction to her thoughts on Pirates -- and what she saw must have been a point to Artemis' benefit, because the little girl sat down to finish eating her biscuit.

[b]"You can stay here I guess,"[/b] she said through a mouthful. [b]"Why are you hiding? Are you a murderer?"[/b] She grinned at this thought, her eyes gleaming with excitement at the prospect of hiding out in the company of a killer.

A key rattled in a lock in the next room; immediately the little girl leaped to a corner beside the kitchen doorway, curling up as small as she could. She craned her thin neck to see the panel of dim light that played across the floor as the front door creaked open. A strong old sailor shuffled into the house in the next room, carrying an oil lamp. He left the door half-open, and the floorboards groaned as he made his way to the back of the house and started rummaging in drawers, never looking toward the kitchen.

The little girl pressed farther into her corner; she couldn't see the old man from her angle, but they could both hear him. She swallowed dryly, and her lips moved soundlessly: [i]please don't come in here please don't come in here please don't come in here . . .[/i]

[hr]
[quote]Anise flew with the Eggs of the Dragon onward toward the mines of the mountain. Her face set with grim determination.[/quote]

The Mountain loomed dark above her, while the Lake glistened bright far below and behind. Occasionally she might glimpse the gray mist of a spirit or the flash of fireflies or the blink of red eyes in the treetops.

Above and to her left was another gleam of light: a bright, steady green point of light atop the next cliff. It pulled gently at the two eggs that accompanied Anise through the cool night sky, beckoning.

The blue egg's power warned Anise of an approaching consciousness before she would hear the soft rush of feathers on the wind. A gryphon flapped closer, to glide alongside Anise at a distance to her left. Its rider didn't look at her, but had all her attention on controlling the beast.

A second gryphon came up from behind and soared along at Anise's right, its rider also focused entirely on his task; the gryphon-riders were flanking her, intimidating her as they decided what to do with her.

A third gryphon flapped after them, a distance behind. It seemed every sentry on the island had taken notice of the two bright lights flying over the forest.