"How far did you say this village is, Tolan? I don't know how time is kept in this world, but Karen and I have been awake for quite a long time."

"Well, Alex, if you hadn't decided to wake us up two hours before class started, especially when we both had classes that didn't end until five o'clock, then you wouldn't be so tired."

"You didn't mind at the time, Karen."

"Well, I would have if I had known we were going to be pulled into another dimension that ran on different time!"

Tolan rolled his eyes. "To answer your question, Alex, it should be about a half day walk from my cabin. That's just an estimate, though. I don't do much travelling. In fact, one of the things we need to pick up is a map."

"That doesn't instill much confidence in me."

Calem glanced at Tolan. "It's less than that. You always stayed at the cabin whenever I went into town to get something that we needed. I've timed how long it takes and it's only about a three hour walk."

Alex started walking backwards so he could face Karen, who was bringing up the rear of the group along with Erris. She was still holding her injured hand. "How's your hand, Karen?"

"Stop asking me about my hand! It hurts, but it's just a superficial wound. It'll heal. It serves me right, anyway. I wasn't paying attention to the attacker and it cost me. I'll be more careful next time."

"Sorry. I won't ask anymore."

"Thank you. Besides, with all that lies ahead, I'm sure this won't be the last injury."

"You're probably right. Let's just hope that this is the worst it will be."

Karen looked at Erris, who was walking alongside her. Erris' face was completely expressionless and Karen couldn't remember the last time she had blinked. "Erris, what was the name of that creature you transformed into back there? It looked very fierce. I don't think I'd like to meet one face to face."

The sound of someone speaking to her brought Erris out of her trance. "It's called a Torumus. Don't worry, though, because you'll never meet a real one. The animal comes from my world and doesn't exist here." A look of pure hatred formed on her face. "For that matter, it doesn't exist in my world anymore, either!"

"Why not? What happened?"

Erris lowered her voice and sighed. "Tolan, you should probably hear this, too."

"I'm still waiting. Have my hunting parties found them yet?"

"N... not exactly, Lord Aranax."

"What do you mean, `not exactly`?"

"We sent out three hunting parties. We received a report just a few minutes ago from one of your scouts that group two had found them, but were defeated. We lost track of them after that, but groups one and three are still looking."

"This displeases me greatly. Tolan, Calem and those annoyances they summoned must be found! I cannot have complete control of Anaquaria's magic as long as they are alive!"

The servant backed away from the irate Aranax. "I have more bad news, my Lord. Apparently, one of your Shadowmorphs was seen aiding Tolan and the others."

"What?! Which one?"

"Erris LaMede, sir."

"Erris? She was so promising. One of my best soldiers. It's a shame that she has to die with the others, but I simply do not tolerate traitors." Aranax waved his hand at the servant. "Go. I wish to be alone. And if you enjoy living, I suggest you find them."

"Y... yes, my Lord."

Everyone slowed their walking to allow the two females to catch up so they could hear Erris talk. "The world we come from is actually part of Anaquaria. Well, sort of. It's really hard to explain. It is almost like a reflection of this world. The land and terrain are similar to Anaquaria, but the creatures and animals that inhabit it are very different."

"Nanquaria." Tolan interrupted. "There have long been stories about an alter-Anaquaria, but it's just a legend."

"Yes. We had similar stories. But it is not a legend. Our world, Nanquaria, as you call it, really exists. Or at least it used to. Thanks to Aranax, it is a legend now. Our world was annihilated when he tried to harness all of its magical power at once. All of the magical forces combined was too much power and it ended up destroying our world. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for you, this surge of power temporarily opened a doorway to Anaquaria. It was then we realized that the stories were true. Aranax managed to make it through the doorway before our world was destroyed, bringing with him his three most powerful followers, Fyrell, Jequin and Selancae, and his own personal army, the Shadowmorphs."

Kaldor spoke for the first time since they had left the cabin. "Where strange creatures come from, then?"

"Aranax used his magic to change many of the natural creatures that already lived here. The sentient beings, like the humans, earth gnomes and a few others were intimidated into following him while the non-sentient beings were transformed into evil monsters."

"Why is he doing this?" Alex asked.

Erris laughed. "Why? Why?! Because he is pure evil! All he wants is more power. Aranax thinks he knows what went wrong the first time he tried harnessing the magical power and is planning on trying it again, with Anaquaria. But the only thing he's going to end up doing is destroying this world too."

"He's going to try and concentrate all of the magic in Anaquaria?! That's impossible!"

"You're right, Tolan. But Aranax is so blinded with power that he can't see that his plan is doomed and he's going to try again. That's why he wants you so badly. He can't focus the magical power unless he controls it first. With you opposing him, he doesn't control all of the magic."

"What about the element crystals? Those crystals are the strongest source of magic in Anaquaria. As far as I know, Aranax doesn't know about them."

"He doesn't. And he will need to have them if he is to get total control. Luckily, he's been too busy trying to extend his range of power to have learned of their existence. This won't remain a secret for long, though. With his scouts out searching for you, one of them is bound to pick up a piece of information that will let him know."

"Then we'll just have to retrieve the crystals before he finds out."

"There!" Calem interjected, pointing to a building that could be vaguely seen through the trees. "The village of Emerald Forest."

Karen gave Calem an odd look. "I thought you said that this forest was called Emerald Forest."

"It is. The village has the same name because it's built inside the forest. Emerald Forest is an average sized town. There's a supply shop, an open market, a tailor, an inn and seven or eight houses."

"You call that average? It sounds tiny to me."

"Complaining again, Karen?"

"Just speaking my mind."

"As usual."

"Hey! If you don't like it when I give my opinion, then don't listen!"

"Just don't give it on every subject, okay?"

"Sorry, but that's the way I am!"

Calem and Tolan looked at each other. "They sure argue a lot for best friends." As Tolan spoke, the path they were walking on widened out and a wooden sign with the words `Emerald Forest` written on it appeared in front of them. Beyond the sign various buildings with the same medieval look as Tolan's cabin could be seen. The village was surrounded on all sides by forest, and if it wasn't for the dirt path leading into and out of it, the village would be completely camouflaged from the outside world. All the shops were located on the right side of the path, beginning with the tailor's and ending with the inn. Behind the shops a small stream less than a metre wide ran down the length of the village. The left side of the path was divided in the middle by a secondary path and there were several houses scattered around it.

Tolan reached into his pouch, pulled out a handful of strange looking gold and silver coins, and handed them to Karen and Alex. "Here. If you find anything you like or that you think would be useful you can purchase it. We may not be near another village anytime soon. The rest of us will be in the supply shop. Meet us in front of the inn in about an hour where we will spend the night before continuing."

"Tolan, where did you get all this money? You said earlier that you had made a rather hasty escape from the castle."

"When I went to the royal treasury to get the Summoning Rock and the Hero Crystals I took the liberty of grabbing some money at the same time. Considering what I'm using it for, I don't think our late king would mind."

"Probably not." Tolan, Calem, Erris and Kaldor walked to the other end of the village where the supply shop and inn were located. Karen and Alex went into the first shop they came to, the tailors, indicated by a large sign in front of the doorway. "We should probably get some clothes. We're going to need more than just what we're wearing for this long trip."

"Agreed. I just hope they have something decent."

Inside the building were numerous shelves stocked with various clothes and fabrics of many different materials and colours. To the left was a doorway to another room and a desk with pleasant-looking, bearded man sitting behind it. "Visitors! I haven't seen a customer in months. Ever since Aranax has been here business has all but dried up. I don't even know why I bother opening up anymore." The man's smile widened. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes. Do you have any clothes that are of a similar design to what we're wearing?"

"What? Don't like variety, Karen?"

"I like what I'm wearing."

"A tight shirt and jean shorts?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing," Alex responded as sarcastically as he could.

"What is that supposed to mean?! If I want to wear this, that's my choice! And if I don't want to wear whatever is normal here, that's my choice as well! I certainly don't want to be going around fighting evil creatures in some stupid looking medieval dress that I can't run in!"

"Fine. And if I decide to change my clothes to whatever is normal here then that's my choice!"

"Go right ahead." Karen looked around the room. "Just my luck. The clothes in here are as medieval as everything else around here." She pointed to the shopkeeper who was wearing a white shirt and brown vest. "I doubt I'll find any similar fashion to that back home."

The man raised his eyebrows and looked strangely at them. "Back home?"

"Um, never mind. Not that it matters, but, about the clothes? Do you have any?"

"What? Oh, yes, sort of. Some time ago I was experimenting with different clothing designs to boost business. I made a couple of outfits somewhat similar to what you're wearing but no one would buy them so I took them off the shelf. You're actually the first person I've ever seen who dresses like that. Where did you get those clothes?"

"I... just found them. Do you still have any of those outfits around?"

"I think so. I'll go check." The man went into the other room and a few minutes later he returned carrying a pair of brown cloth shorts and a white shirt. "I only made three outfits, and the other two I am fairly sure would not fit you."

Karen sighed. "It's better than nothing. Thank you."

"You're still going to need more than that, Karen."

"I think I know that!"

"We still have a great variety. Feel free to look around if you want. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks," Alex replied as he started looking at the different garments on the shelves. Twenty minutes later both of them had found what they wanted, or at least what was tolerable, and after paying with the money Tolan had given them, they left the shop.

"So, what else did you get, Karen?

"Shut up. I don't want to talk about it."

"Calm down. It's not that bad."

"That's because you found something suitable. I didn't. Women didn't exactly do much fighting or travelling through rough terrain in medieval times. Most of the clothes here aren't very appropriate for what we're going to be doing."

"That's a poor excuse. You'll be wearing the Valkyrie armour whenever we're fighting, not your regular clothes. You just don't like the style they wear here."

"No, I don't! And since it's obviously not your problem, would you please just drop the subject?"

"Okay, I will. You really need to improve your mood, Karen. We're stuck here and you're going to have to learn to get used to it. Now, shall we go get something to eat?"

Karen relaxed slightly. "I am getting a little hungry." The two walked next door to the market, where they found Calem and Kaldor looking at some fruit.

"What are you two doing here? I thought you were going to be in the supply shop."

"Tolan and Erris are taking care of that. We need food on this trip as well. So, we're getting as much as possible now. I'm trying for variety here, but a lot of this food won't keep for very long. Perhaps you could help, since I don't know what you like."

"We don't know what we like, either. I'm sure the food here is quite different from what we're used to. Everything else is, including the fashion." Karen glared at Alex, who then returned the favour.

Calem stared at them in confusion. "What was that all about? Have you been arguing again?"

"You could say that."

"How did you two ever become friends? You never stop fighting."

Both of Karen and Alex's glares turned into slight grins. "I think that's part of the reason we are friends."

"Uh, right. Well , pick something you think you might like. As Tolan said, we may not be coming to another town for a while."

"How about this?"

"I'm not sure I'd like blue fruit, Karen."

"Why not? Blueberries are blue."

"This is light blue. And about the size of an orange. It's not a berry, either."

"Well, I'm going to get some. If you don't want any..."

"No, I do not."

"Fine with me. I'm not asking you to eat them."

"Good."

Karen changed her tone of voice to sound like Alex. "You really need to improve your mood. We're stuck here and you're going to have to learn to get used to it."

Alex relented for a moment. "I guess I deserved that." He paused and turned away. "But I'm still not eating that blue fruit."

"Then go and get something you will eat. I'm getting the blue fruit."

"Not again," a dismayed Kaldor said.

"I'm with you there, Kaldor. They fight more than two enemies would." Karen and Alex spent the next half hour arguing about different foods while Calem and Kaldor gathered as much as they could carry, paid for it, and left the market. It was now almost dark outside and Tolan was already waiting in front of the inn with Erris.

"What's wrong, Calem?"

"Those two never give up. They're always arguing about some little unimportant thing. I'm surprised they haven't killed each other by now."

"Friendship isn't always easy to explain..." Tolan looked up into the sky and noticed something strange. "Calem! Get inside the building!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Up there. It's one of Aranax's scouts." Tolan pointed upward, where a large bird-like creature was flying overhead.

"Right. Everyone inside before it sees us!" Karen and Alex were just leaving the market when they saw Calem waving for them to get back inside. The pair soon noticed the strange creature, and figuring this was the reason for Calem's actions, quickly stepped back inside. After five minutes the bird flew off and out of sight.

"What was that?" Alex asked.

"A scout, courtesy of Aranax. No doubt looking for us. I don't think it saw us, though. If it had, it would have left immediately instead of staying around for so long."

Calem looked relieved. "Changing the subject, did you get everything we need, Tolan?"

"Yes. The supply shop will hold it all until morning."

"What exactly did you get? We are going to have to carry it all."

"I got a map of Anaquaria, a small water barrel, a tent and backpack for each person, rope, iron stakes for climbing, and while you were in the market getting food, I went over to the tailor's and got some blankets and cloths. Between the six of us, it shouldn't be difficult to carry it all."

"That sounds expensive."

"It was. But I brought enough to pay for it. I actually have quite a bit of money left."

"Well, its getting late. We should probably get some sleep because we have a long way to go tomorrow." After a chorus of nods confirming that this is what they should do, Karen, Alex, Tolan, Calem, Erris, and Kaldor entered the inn together. The inn was the largest building in the village and the only one with a second floor. A middle-aged woman with long black hair sat behind a desk at the far end of the structure. There was a large area rug in the centre of the room and several chairs and tables lining the walls. Beside the desk was a stairway leading to the second floor.

The woman smiled at the group. "I had heard that there were visitors in town. But I never would have believed it if I weren't looking at you now. So, what brings you here? People rarely travel anymore; not since that demon took over."

"We're on a trek. Just travelling the land."

"You better be careful. It's very dangerous outside of the village."

"Thanks. We..." Tolan looked at the others. "We have protection." He turned his attentions back to the woman. "How many rooms do you have?"

"Six."

"Perfect. We're just staying for one night, but we'll take every room."

"No problem. Any business is good business." She motioned towards the stairwell. "The rooms are all upstairs. They are all the same." Tolan paid for the rooms and followed the others up the stairs. "Goodnight," the woman said pleasantly, obviously grateful to have customers.

Everyone woke up early the next morning, although Karen and Alex were unsure of the exact time since their watches had ceased to function accurately ever since they had arrived in Anaquaria. "Is everyone well rested?"

"Don't even think about it, Karen," Alex warned, seeing that Karen looked somewhat unhappy and was about to say something in response to Tolan's comment.

"Don't think about what?"

"About complaining. I know that look."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Of course not."

Tolan put his hand to his forehead and looked at the floor. "Here we go again."

Calem interrupted the arguing friends. "You two can fight later. Right now we should think about leaving."

The group went downstairs where the woman was sitting exactly as she had been the night before. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you, a very comfortable sleep," Tolan answered, which earned a dark look from Karen.

"Have a safe journey."

The group left the inn and quickly went over to the supply shop and picked up their supplies. Everything, including the tents, fit nicely into the backpacks, making them easy to carry. "Where exactly are we going now?"

"I have a friend who has spent a lot of time researching the crystals. We need to go to his cabin for information on their properties and whereabouts. I haven't heard from him in a very long time, but he sent me directions to his home the last time he wrote." Tolan pulled out the map and a piece of paper with writing on it. After reading the paper he pointed to a spot on the map. "It should be around here. I'd guess at least a two day trip." Tolan looked over the map for a few more seconds, then laughed lightly.

"What so funny?"

"You're going to love this. We're actually near the edge of the forest. After that, the forest thins a bit and the terrain turns to swamp. It'll take the most of the day to get through it. And no, we can't go around it; that would double the length of the trip."

"Swamp? Everything just keeps on getting better and better."

"A narrow trail has been built through it. So we'll be fine as long as we don't stray from the path. The rest of the trip is through grassland. We can set up camp near Mirror Lake, which is approximately the halfway point." Tolan folded the map and put it in his backpack. "That said, we better get going. The longer we stay in a town like this with no tree cover, the greater the chance that we will be discovered."

The group left the village of Emerald Forest and entered the forest. Within a half hour, the trees began to thin and the path narrowed as they entered the swampland. On either side of the trail were puddles of water and mud along with several small plants and a few trees. A low-lying mist covered the ground and despite the thinned trees, little sunlight made it through, giving the surroundings an eerie feel to them. "Nice place. Remind me to plan my next vacation here."

"Get used to it. I haven't done much travelling, but, being a scholar I have done a lot of reading. The terrain in Anaquaria is quite varied and moving through swampland will look easy compared to some of the other places we will likely be going to."

"Like I really needed to know that."

Alex smiled and looked behind him. "Just watch your step, Karen."

Karen smiled back at Alex. "As long as I don't walk behind you, I'll be safe."

"Very funny."

"I thought so."

Alex faced front again. "Who is this friend of yours, Tolan?"

"His name is Gersalle. We met about three years ago in a conference held in the capital for all the researchers and scholars in the land. It was there that I learned that he was studying the element crystals. Since magical items is one of my areas of interest, we traded information and afterwards kept informed of each other's findings by sending messages with passing travellers. Obviously we couldn't go into much detail about our studies when we're conversing this way, which is why we have to go to his house and talk to him."

"You're hoping that he has information on their locations?"

"Yes. It would give us a starting point..." Tolan was suddenly interrupted by the sound of yelling behind him.

Alex, Tolan, Calem and Kaldor quickly turned around to identify the noise. Alex held back his urge to laugh at what appeared before him. Part of the path had collapsed and Karen and Erris had fallen into the muddy swamp. "Not one word, Alex."

"Who, me?"

"Damn! We only got two of them!" The mood abruptly changed upon hearing the unknown voice. Four armoured soldiers jumped down out of a large tree located a few metres behind Karen and Erris and landed on the dirt trail. The warriors looked identical to the ones they had fought before, except that this time the leader's armour was red, instead of the blue-grey worn by the others. As well, in place of a sword, he held a long, silver coloured metal pole with a transparent yellow tip. "No matter. At least the trap got some of them."

"Trap?" Karen echoed. "There you go, Alex. It's not my fault that I fell in."

"This is not the time, Karen." Alex pulled out his transformation crystal. "I thought we eliminated the hunting party."

The leader laughed. "You got one of them. However, Lord Aranax sent out three hunting parties. Now, I'm sure you've heard this before, but you all really must die. Rebels and traitors alike, you cannot be allowed to interfere with our Lord's plans."

Alex whispered to Tolan. "Why does this group's leader look different?"

"He's not just a simple fighter. He is a second-level warrior, and has the limited ability to use magic. That's probably why there's only four of them instead of five."

"Just great." Alex thought for a moment. "We have to get Karen and Erris free."

"Leave that to me," Tolan volunteered. "Calem, do you think you could distract them long enough for me to get to them?"

"Not a problem."

"That's enough talk! Attack!"

"There's the cue. Knight!"

Calem held his staff up high as Alex's armour materialized around him "Impello depulso!" A wave of yellow energy flew out in front of Calem and shoved the attackers backward, as if there was a physical force pushing on them. Tolan took the opportunity and quickly ran over to Karen and Erris. He reached out with his staff and pulled them out of the mud.

"Thanks, Tolan." Karen grabbed her crystal and held it tightly. "Valkyrie!"

The fighters soon recovered and the three regular warriors rushed towards them while the leader strangely stood back and watched. Two of the warriors went after Alex while the third charged at Tolan, who had retreated behind Calem.

"Hey! Two against one isn't fair!" Alex exclaimed as two swords came crashing down onto his shield, almost knocking him over.

"Whoever said we had to play fair?" one of the warriors sneered.

"Alex!" Karen yelled. She drew an arrow and fired it at a warrior. The warrior who had gone after Tolan suddenly collapsed as the arrow hit him squarely in the chest, piercing his armour.

Alex struggled to maintain his balance on the soft ground as the two warriors attacked him again. "Hey, Karen! You actually hit one!"

"Except that it wasn't the one I was aiming for! I was trying to help you!"

The two warriors had pinned Alex against a tree. "I could really use it too!"

Karen started to run over to help her friend when the warrior leader lunged forward and thrust out his pole, knocking her backwards into the swamp again. "I'm afraid that I can't let you interfere."

Karen managed to free herself and stand up. "Calem! Help him!"

"The tree is in the way! I can't get a clear shot with my magic."

Alex blocked a strike from one of the warriors, but with his back against the tree, he was unable to shift his position in time to block a second attack. Just as the other warrior was about to strike a loud snapping noise sounded behind them. Without warning, another tree, located a few metres away, toppled over and came crashing down on the two warriors. Alex stared at the fallen tree in confusion. "How did that happen?"

Looking up, he saw what had caused the tree to fall. Kaldor was standing behind the tree stump and had somehow used his sharp claws to cut the tree down. "Me helpful?"

"Yes, very helpful. Thank you."

The leader seemed undisturbed that the rest of his group had been defeated. "Impressive. But let's see how well you do against me!" The warrior threw out his pole and propelled it into the ground while positioning his shield directly in front of him. "Mala mephitis!" A massive shockwave suddenly expanded outwards at the group, carrying with it a shower of dirt, rocks, and other material from the ground.

"I thought you said he had limited magic!"

"Limited in variety, not power."

Alex moved in front of everyone and attempted to protect them with his shield, but it had little effect. "This isn't working!" Alex shouted as debris flew past him and the others.

"Contego munimentum!" Upon chanting the magical phrase, a small yellow energy bubble formed around the group, temporarily blocking the attack.

"Neat trick. But how do we get near him?"

"I don't know. But I can't hold this bubble forever. This particular spell takes a lot of effort and it won't last for more than a couple of minutes." With his free hand, Calem motioned towards the warrior, who could barely be seen through the flying wreckage. "He, on the other hand, can probably keep this up for quite a while."

"Then we had better think of..." Alex suddenly cut himself off. "Wait a minute. Where's Erris?" Calem concentrated on holding the shield together while everybody else simultaneously turned around and noticed that Erris was not among them.

"Give it up, Calem! You can't keep that shield together indefinitely." The warrior had just finished speaking when something wrapped around his feet, causing him to fall over, and ending the storm of debris. "What the... hey!" he screamed frantically as his legs were pulled out from under him. A series of gasping noises followed and lasted for a few moments, then everything went quiet.

Calem dissolved the bubble, much to his relief. "Why did he fall over?"

"There's your answer, Calem." A large snake-like creature slithered across the path and quickly expanded and formed into Erris.

"Nice move, Erris. You saved all of us," an elated Karen stated as she and Alex switched back to their regular forms. Her mood abruptly changed, however, when she remembered that she was covered in mud. Karen looked down at herself. "What a mess. Why do the bad things always happen to me?"

Alex laughed. "It's just your personality, Karen. Besides, you're not alone this time. Erris looks just as bad as you do."

"Thanks," the two women sarcastically responded together.

"You both can wash off at the lake when we set up camp for the night. And speaking of camp, we had better get moving. We have to make up for lost time or we won't be out of the swamp before nightfall."

At Tolan's insistence, the six hastily continued on their journey. "What are we going to do? That warrior said there were three hunting parties. Which means that there is still one more out here. And how did they know where we were?"

"I suspect that Aranax's scout may have seen us after all. As for the remaining hunting party, just try to keep alert."

"Right," Alex answered. We wouldn't want to fall into anymore traps."

"It could've just have easily been you who had fallen, Alex. How was I supposed to know that someone had hollowed out part of the path?"

"I told you to watch your step."

"I was! There was no way to tell that there was a trap there."

"I didn't fall."

"Only because you were in front. If you had been back here with Erris and I, you would have fallen too."

Alex started to say something else, but stopped when he noticed that Tolan was whispering something to himself. "What are you doing, Tolan?"

"Just trying to figure out how many arguments you've had since you arrived in Anaquaria, but I don't think I can count that high."

Everyone laughed lightly at Tolan's joke. "I apologize if it is bothering you. We've always argued a lot, and, as I said before, that's part of the reason we're such good friends. Sometimes we enjoy arguing. It's a great release. But, I'm sure Karen would agree that we've been a little worse than normal since we got here. We're still trying to get used to this situation."

"Alex is right. We've only been here two days, and in that time we've seen so many things that we didn't even know could exist outside of a storybook. It's, well, a little overwhelming. But we'll try to curb the arguments, unless of course one is truly deserved."

"Thank you. But it's not really bothering me. I know what a good argument can do. Calem and I have had some pretty good ones ourselves."

"I can attest to that. I think you've both adjusted quite well, especially considering the fact that an evil demon wants us all dead. Even if it did take stronger measures to convince one of you."

Karen grimaced. "Don't remind me. You may call it a stun field, but it hurt."

"Sorry. But that's why it is a stun field. It immobilizes you, but doesn't do any permanent damage."

"Just promise me that next time you'll use it on an enemy."

"You can count on it."

"I sure am glad to get out of that swamp."

"I think we all are, Karen. Tolan, where do we set up camp?"

"Right over there." Tolan pointed to a small, dense grove of trees on the otherwise uninterrupted grassland. "On the other side of those trees is Mirror Lake, our halfway point."

"We've got about an hour before it gets dark. That should easily give us enough time to set everything up."

Five minutes later, the group had arrived at the grove of trees. Everyone quickly unpacked their small tents and set them up. "Now that that's finished, uh, where's the lake, Tolan?"

"It should be right through those trees, just as I said before."

"Thanks. Now, if you don't mind I'm going to go and wash all this off." Karen reached into her backpack and pulled out the brown shorts and white shirt, which the backpack had luckily protected from the mud. "Are you coming, Erris?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Here." Tolan handed Karen a large white cloth. "You'll need this to dry off."

"Thank you." Karen walked towards the trees then stopped for a moment and turned around. "Oh, and Alex. If you dare try to come down to the lake to take a look while I'm there... I promise you that I'll make you wish that I was Aranax. Understand?"

"Completely," Alex replied as Karen disappeared into the trees. He sat down on the ground in front of his tent. "Can I see that map, Tolan?"

"Sure." Tolan reached into his backpack, pulled out the map and handed it to Alex. Tolan studied Alex's face for a moment. "Why do I get the impression that you're thinking about going to look, anyway?"

Alex looked up from the map. "Of course I'm thinking about it. But I would never do that to her, I'm not that kind of person. Besides, if I did, I can guarantee you that she would keep her promise to make me pay for it."

"From my experience with her so far, I'm sure she would."

Karen crossed through the grove and onto the other side, then walked a few metres across the grass towards the lake. She couldn't help but admire the beautiful scenery. "To think that this is all in danger of being destroyed by Aranax. It's terrible." The water in the small lake was crystal clear and the smooth sandy bottom could be easily seen. The grove of trees extended three quarters of the way around it and separating them and the water was a narrow ring of grass and several large boulders resting on the water's edge.

Karen took off her shoes and placed them on one of the large rocks along with her new clothes and the cloth towel. She then removed the rest of her clothing and entered the water, taking the clothes with her so she could clean them off. "Nice and warm. Finally something good happens."

After cleaning her clothes Karen exited the water and put them on the rock to dry. She had just finished spreading them out when Erris emerged from the trees, carrying a folded black cloak similar to the one she was wearing and another cloth towel.

"How's the water?"

"Warm," Karen replied as she re-entered the lake.

Erris quickly removed the cloak she was wearing and joined Karen in the water, bringing the cloak with her so she could wash it off, just as Karen had done. "You're right, it is warm."

Karen distorted her face in confusion. "Erris, if the cloak isn't part of you then where does it go when you change form?"

"It temporarily disappears. Any non-living object that is physically touching a Shadowmorph when we transform we can make change with us. This is why my cloak disappears when I change and reappears again when I revert back to normal."

"Interesting. Uh, can I ask you another question?"

"If you wish."

"How many forms do you know how to change into?"

"Fifty-six. There are a few others that know more, but most only know how to change into twenty or thirty different forms. It takes a long time to learn new forms, especially the larger ones. It requires studying the creature's appearance, movements and habits for a long time. I have been in Anaquaria for a year and have yet to learn how to transform into any new animals. Of course, I haven't had much time to practice, either."

"How did you learn so many forms if it takes so long to learn a new one? You don't look much older than I do."

"I don't know how old you are, but I am 128."

Karen's eyes opened wide. "128?! I'm only 21. Just how long does the average Shadowmorph live?"

"About 300 years. Some have lived as long as 400, though. But ever since we started following Aranax most Shadowmorphs are lucky if they reach 100. Many have died under his rule."

"You really hate him don't you?"

"I despise him. Aranax should be destroyed. Otherwise, everything else will."

"You said earlier that the Shadowmorphs are his own personal army. Why?"

"Unfortunately, the nature of Shadowmorphs is generally bad. Most of us are actually quite evil, though nowhere near to the extent that Aranax is, and follow him for that reason. They believe that Aranax will lead them to greater power, so they obey him. Those who stray from the norm, that is, those who show compassion or sympathy are considered outcasts. A few of us, like myself, managed to hide what we felt in order to get close to Aranax and try to stop him. However, I was the only one who was willing to take the extra step in openly defying Aranax by coming to your aid."

"Well, I'm glad you're on our side."

"So am I." Erris looked at the darkening sky. "We should probably head back to the camp. It's getting dark."

"You're right." Karen and Erris both stepped out of the water, dried off, and changed into their clean clothes. Karen then picked up her shoes and washed them in the water as best she could without getting their insides wet. Leaving her other clothes to dry on the rock overnight Karen ran to catch up with Erris who had already started to walk back to the camp. "Erris, wait! I wanted to thank you for answering all my questions. I enjoyed the talk."

"I did as well. Maybe next time I could ask you some questions."

"I look forward to it. Let's just hope it doesn't happen because we fell into another swamp somewhere!" Both of them laughed and continued walking back to the camp.

Alex was sitting around a small fire that he and Calem had built and was still reading the map. Kaldor was sitting beside him looking at the map as well while Tolan and Calem talked quietly to each other. Alex looked up as Karen and Erris approached the site. "Just what were you two doing? You were down there for almost an hour."

"Just talking."

"About what?"

"Nothing important."

"Thanks for clearing that up."

"No problem." Karen headed over to her tent. "I'm quite tired so I think I'll turn in for the night."

Tolan and Calem finished their conversation and stood up. "I think we all should get some sleep. Unfortunately, though, someone needs to stand guard. Otherwise that last hunter group could find us and we'd never even know it."

"Kaldor volunteer. Gnomes need little sleep and me see better in dark."

Tolan looked at the others. "Is this okay with everyone? Kaldor will stand guard?" Everybody nodded in agreement and climbed into their respective tents while Kaldor sat down in front of his. "Wake us up at the first sign of trouble, Kaldor."

"Understand."

Alex woke up with a start at the sound of someone yelling his name. "Alex! Wake up!" He opened his eyes slowly and climbed out of his tent. "What? I was trying to..." Alex looked at the others who were all wide awake and soon realized what was happening. In the dim light created by the smoldering fire Alex could make out the shadowy forms of five warriors, all wearing the now familiar blue-grey armour. "Good thing you suggested having someone stand guard, Tolan. It looks like the last group found us."

The leader spoke in a mocking tone. "Yes, we did, didn't we? I don't know what you did to the other groups but it's not going to happen to us. Lord Aranax is getting very upset."

Alex was fully awake now. "We did the same thing to them that we're going to do to you. Defeat you, then continue on our journey."

"Oh, I don't know about that. You see, I already know where you're going. We saw the path you were taking and followed the trail a little further. We found a nice little cabin and after a bit of searching, discovered its owner a short distance away sitting on a rock reading. He foolishly told us that he was your friend and proved to be quite helpful. We know all about the element crystals and your pathetic little quest. Lord Aranax will be very interested to hear about this."

"Gersalle?"

"Yes, I believe that was his name."

"What did you do to him?!" Tolan fumed.

"He... had a little accident. We got the information we needed and had no more use for him. Just in case you actually manage to make it there, we can't very well have him helping you as he did us, now can we?"

"You little..."

"Don't be so upset, Tolan. You'll soon be joining..."

"Infligo everbero!" A powerful white beam of energy came shooting from Calem's staff, catching the gloating warrior completely unprepared and sending him flying backwards.

"Aranax... must... know... crystals..." the warrior leader said weakly. Upon hearing their leader's last words, two of the warriors charged towards the group while the other two ran away.

"Knight!"

"Valkyrie!"

Karen and Alex quickly changed into their armoured forms and drew their respective weapons. "Why are the other two running?" Alex shouted out as he pushed one of the attackers away with his shield.

"Telling Aranax about the crystals is more important than defeating us. They're going to try and escape while these two keep us distracted," Calem responded, shoving the other warrior out of the way with another magic spell.

"Well, they're not going to get far," Karen stated confidently. "This time, I'll make sure I don't miss, either." She reached into the quiver on her back and pulled out a handful of arrows. Drawing them back in a bundle she fired them all simultaneously at the fleeing attackers. One arrow connected with its target, dropping the warrior like a rock, while the rest of the arrows either fell to the ground or sailed off in random directions.

Erris grinned at Karen. "I'll go after the other one!" She started running after the other escaping warrior, changing in mid-flight into another creature, one that was obviously faster than her humanoid form.

"Hey, I got one of them!" Karen yelled after Erris, and then suddenly realized that one of the attackers that had stayed behind was looming over her, about to strike. "Uh-oh..." The warrior was about to bring his sword down on top of her when he simply froze in position for a second, then fell over and landed in front of her feet. Karen looked to her side to see what had happened. Alex was standing behind the fallen fighter with his sword outstretched.

"I thought you said were going to start paying more attention."

In response, Karen swung her bow in front of her, causing Alex to duck to avoid being hit and allowing the bow connect with the second warrior, who was standing behind him ready to attack. He fell over from the blow and before he could recover Calem let loose a quick spell that killed him. Karen smiled at her friend. "I'll pay more attention if you pay more attention."

Alex smiled back. "Sounds good to me."

A few minutes later Erris returned to the camp site. "Did you get him?"

"Let's just say that he definitely won't be telling Aranax about those crystals."

"Good," Tolan replied solemnly and climbed back inside his tent.

"Tolan?"

Calem looked at the others. "Leave him alone. Gersalle was a good friend of his. Right now I think it's best that we all just get as much sleep as possible before morning. You too, Kaldor. Now that the last hunting party is gone we don't need a guard anymore." The others abided by Calem's decision and quietly returned to their tents.

The group woke up just as daylight broke the horizon. Karen went down to the lake and retrieved her drying clothes while the others cooked breakfast using some of the food they had bought. After eating, they packed up and continued on their journey. "Where do we go now, Tolan?"

"We go to my friend's house as planned. Even if he's gone we can still get the information on the crystals from his notes. The rest of the way should be easy. It's just straight grassland, right to the cabin."

"Are you sure you're okay, Tolan? Calem said he was a good friend."

"He was. Even though we actually only met once, we wrote so many letters to each other that I couldn't even begin to try to count them. We shared a lot of information with each other. Both about ourselves and our studies."

"You haven't answered my question. Are you really sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Gersalle isn't the first friend I've lost because of Aranax. I'll have time to grieve later. Stopping Aranax is the only thing that matters. If we don't, we are all dead."

"We're sorry, Tolan. And we will stop Aranax. You can count on it."

"Thank you."

The servant poked his head inside the doorway to Aranax's throne room and scanned the room carefully, wondering whether or not he should enter. Aranax was sitting upon his throne reading a book on magic when he noticed the servant. "What do you want?" he growled.

The servant slowly entered the room. "W... we have more in... information on Tolan and his group, my Lord."

"Well get on with it! I'm busy here."

"I'm sorry, my Lord, but it is not good news."

"I'm listening..."

"According to the latest report from your scouts, your other two hunting parties have both been defeated. And once again we have lost track of them."

Aranax jumped up off of the throne and pounded his fist on the small table beside it, breaking it in two. "How is this possible?! They were all defeated?! And now you don't know where Tolan, Calem and the others are?!"

"N... no sir. But we..."

"Get out! If you value your life you will get out of my sight immediately! And if you come back again with anything other than good news I will make you wish you were never born!"

"Y... yes s... sir!" The servant ran out of the room as fast as he could.

Aranax calmed slightly and sat back down. "It seems I underestimated them. But I will not make the same mistake twice." Aranax stared at the ceiling. "It's only a matter of time before I find you again. And next time I won't be so easy on you!"

"I see it!" Tolan exclaimed. The roof of a small cabin appeared at the top of the hill they were climbing. When they reached the top, however, they discovered that it was much larger than it had originally seemed, almost twice as big as Tolan's.

"What are we looking for?" Alex asked as they entered the deserted building. Despite it's size, the cabin was like Tolan's in that it consisted of only one room. In the far left corner was a bed and in the far right corner was a small table and chair. The centre of the room contained a large table with an inkwell and numerous papers strewn on it. Both the left and right walls were lined with shelves that were completely filled with books. Several books and papers were also scattered about the floor.

"Any and all information that describes the properties or locations of the crystals."

"Gee, that won't be too difficult," Karen said sarcastically, looking at the hundreds of papers and books around the room.

"Stop complaining, Karen."

"I am not comp..." Karen looked at Tolan and Calem, who were preparing for another argument, and stopped talking. "Never mind."

"Let's get started. This could take a while." Erris and Calem started reading the various books on the left shelves while Tolan and Kaldor looked over the books on the right shelves. Karen and Alex scanned the papers on the central table.

After about an hour of searching, Karen dropped to the floor in frustration taking with her a handful of papers. "This is ridiculous. We are never going to find anything here."

"Don't be so sure," Tolan replied. "I think I may have found something." Tolan held up the small, flimsy paper book that he had found. The book was titled `Properties and Characteristics`.

"What does it say?"

"There's a passage here that might be of some importance. It's a summary of the book." Tolan began reading the article aloud so everyone could hear. `I have been studying the element crystals for a long time. Although I have never actually physically possessed one I have been able to document several reliable instances of their use and learned much about their powers.`" Tolan paused and read further down the page to himself. "Here's something else. `There are four element crystals: the Water Crystal, the Fire Crystal, the Wind Crystal, and the Earth crystal. Each crystal provides the owner with special magical abilities related to that particular element. There can only be one owner at a time and whenever someone new takes the crystal, the previous owner loses all of the abilities that they received from the crystal. After months of research I have determined with fairly reliable accuracy that chanting the magical phrase `delego vires in mihi`, which roughly means `transfer powers into me`, while holding the crystal is how to move its powers from one individual to another. Once someone has the magical powers one not need ever go near the crystal again as they will retain its magic until someone else takes the crystal's powers. From my studies I have discovered that the Wind Crystal contains a special power that the other three crystals do not. Although I am not totally sure of their validity, there have been reports that the Wind Crystal has the ability to open a two-way doorway to another dimension, in much the same way the Summoning Rock apparently can. Based on what I have learned I am convinced that this is true, but how this extra power is activated or to where the doorway leads is unknown.`" Tolan turned the page. "There's still a little more. `There is an unconfirmed rumour that the four crystals can combine to form an item called the Light Cube. This item is supposed to be of incredible magical power and be stronger than any other form of magic currently known to exist. I do not know if this item really exists but based on my research so far, I would guess that it is extremely possible. Unfortunately, how the crystals form into the Light Cube is still a mystery and will require further investigation.` That's all it says."

"Well, that was very useful, but it doesn't help us in finding them. We still don't know where to begin looking," Calem responded.

Tolan put the book back and picked up another one. "Then we'll have to keep searching."

"Do we have to? This is getting boring."

Alex leaned over the table and looked down at Karen. "You sound like a little kid. Would you rather be fighting evil monsters and warriors who are trying to kill you?"

"At least I wouldn't be bored."

Calem spoke up. "Don't worry. You'll be seeing plenty of action. I guarantee it. Now, let's continue our search. The faster we find what we need, the faster we can get moving and the less chance Aranax will have of finding us again."

After nearly three more hours of searching with no luck, Karen suddenly found what they had been looking for. "Here it is!" She held up a cream coloured piece of paper with writing scribbled all over it. "The heading at the top says `Crystal Locations`."

"You mean to say that after all this searching, the one who finally finds what we're looking for is the one who's complaining the entire time?"

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"Well, go on. Read it."

"Give me a minute. `Crystal Locations. I have long been searching for the element crystals, but with little success. Their exact whereabouts as of now are unknown. Those who possess a crystal will most likely keep its location a secret for fear of someone else taking it and stealing its powers. The last reported sighting of one of the element crystals was over 250 years ago, which means that their owners have been very successful in keeping them a secret. Despite these problems, I have made some progress in determining where they may be. Because the powers of the crystals are element based, they are most likely located where their powers would be of the greatest use. That is, the owner of the Water Crystal probably lives close to or in water, the Earth Crystal would be near mountains or caves and so on. This would allow the owner to make full use of their powers. So far, this is all I have been able to learn of the crystal's locations. There are a few people who seem to have some information on their locations, but they are very reluctant to talk. My guess is that they are afraid that the owner will use the crystal's magic against them if they reveal its location to others. This said, I will still continue to try and get more information about where they can be found, at which time I will add it to this document.`"

"Is that it? It's not much to go on."

"It's better than nothing."

"Wait!" Karen turned the paper over. "There's another entry. It appears to be dated much later, but I can't really tell because I'm not familiar with your calender system."

"The date doesn't matter. Just read it."

"You sure are impatient, Alex." Karen read the other side of the page to herself, then returned to the top and read it again, this time out loud. "`I am making this entry because I have just learned the exact location of the Fire Crystal. It is in the possession of Darigos, the ruler of the dragons, and apparently has been for hundreds of years.`" Karen put the paper down. "I was wondering when we were going to get to the dragons. You can't have a magical land without dragons."

"You are so funny, Karen. Finish reading."

"Fine, have no sense of humour. The rest reads as the following: `This helps to prove my previously stated theory about the crystals, as the many volcanoes that inhabit the Dragon Land would allow the Fire Crystal's magic to be used fully. It is unfortunate that I cannot retrieve the crystal for further investigation, for it is very dangerous to enter the Dragon Land and would be extremely unwise to confront Darigos. I have also learned that Ezmar's town leader may have information on the Earth Crystal, but I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet.`" Karen stood up as she read the last sentence. "That's all of it."

"Now we have somewhere to go," Tolan said, looking happy for the first time since learning of his friend's death.

Karen put the paper back on the table. "Yes. We get to enter a dangerous place and unwisely confront the ruler of the dragons. Sounds like fun."

"Doesn't it though? Where is this Dragon Land, anyway?"

Tolan showed everybody the map. "The Dragon Land covers nearly one tenth of all of Anaquaria. It is marked only by a simple fence that surrounds it. No humans live inside this area and dragons rarely leave it."

"I never noticed this before, but Anaquaria sure is small compared to where we come from, don't you agree, Alex?"

"Yes. But when you're walking, it seems much larger than it really is. By the way, how long will it take to get to the Dragon Land?"

"The edge of the Dragon Land is actually only about a day from here, but getting to Darigos' home is at least another day after that. If we are successful and retrieve the crystal, then our next destination should be Ezmar."

"And how far is that?"

"Quite a long way. I'd guess six or seven days. The good thing is that Ezmar is a major trade city. In fact, it is the second largest in Anaquaria. We should be able to get a good rest there. But for now, let's concentrate on getting the Fire Crystal."

"And what do we do now?"

"There's still a little bit of daylight left, so we should probably get as far as we can before setting up camp for the night." Tolan put the information they had found in his backpack and stood there a moment while the others left the cabin.

"Are you coming, Tolan?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Tolan stepped out of the cabin and turned to face the building. "You don't know how valuable your research has been to us, Gersalle. Wherever you are, rest in peace." After he had finished speaking Tolan caught up the others and took the lead.

"Nice of you to join us," Karen joked.

"I was just paying my respects to my friend."

"Sorry."

"No problem." Tolan turned to look at the rest of the group. "Let's go get our first crystal! Next stop, Dragon Land!"