-|1|-

"What's on your mind, brother?"

Talbo just shook his head in reply, still staring up at Avechna's Peak looming
off in the distance. "Just thinking, Nihall. Just thinking..." the big human
said, stroking his thick beard thoughtfully. "I'm getting old, you know."

Nihall laughed brightly at that. The other human, much shorter and his skin
tinged green, gave Talbo's shaggy hair a good ruffle. "Hah. You'd feel younger
if you'd shave some of your fur off. That's what does it, you know. Looking at
your reflection and seeing your beard dragging on the floor," Nihall said,
dancing back with a laugh as Talbo swatted backwards with a thick arm.

"Don't give me that," Talbo growled lowly. "You, of all people..."

"Hey, hey... I'm funning you, I'm funning you..." the half-elf replied, smiling
and backing up a bit. "I know it's not your fault. Calm down, brother..." Nihall
frowned as Talbo turned back towards the mountain, grumbling. "Oh, come on.
Seriously now, what's got into you?"

Talbo sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Nihall. I just... I've just been thinking. I
turn 20 soon," the half-igasho grunted. "Almost 20, no land, no property to
call my own... no family..."

"Hey. What about me?" Nihall piped in. "You've got me."

Talbo gave Nihall a pointed look. "Yeah, I can certainly settle down and have
kids with you, can't I?" he snapped, instantly regretting it, and turning back
to the mountain to hide his embarrassed expression. "But look... point is, I
thought I'd've made a mark on the world by now, you know?" The half-elf didn't
say anything for a moment, and Talbo hurried to fill the awkward silence. "I
was... thinking about the portal."

The big man winced and turned with a hurt expression as Nihall started to laugh
openly. The half-elf hurriedly waved apologetically. "No, no... I'm just
surprised. That came out of nowhere, even for you. And what's got you thinking
about that thing? Sweet Light, I know people are hopping in left and right, but
I'd thought you knew better..."

"What's the matter with wanting to go in?" Talbo grunted, slightly annoyed. "I
could be one of the greatest heroes of our time..."

"Cheh. Nine chances out of however many fools go up between now and whatever
time the seals fail. Assuming they ever do, anyway," Nihall said, as though
this was only a vague possibility. "Never mind the whole memory loss thing you
keep seeing from the Light-forsaken fools who keep coming back from that mess.
Some don't ever recover. Some don't even come back at all. And then, even if
you do come back..." he continued, raising his voice, "and even if you do get
chosen for the job, then what? Oh joy, you get to be like D'varsha and Juliana
and... uh, Kokida and Vestigera and all that lot. And you get to live in a rock
for a thousand-odd years. Oh yes, count me in," Nihall finished sourly.

"...it's a great honor..." Talbo mumbled, ashamed.

"Hah. I know you look like a tae'dae cub, but you don't have to start
philosophising like one. Look. Honor... in the end, we've only got this one
life, brother," Nihall said, ruffling Talbo's hair once more. "You might be
feeling old and all, but there's plenty of time left yet. We've gotta live. And
I know things haven't been the best for either of us, half-breeds in Celest and
all. But you know, we've stuck it out, held together, and nowhere to go but
up!" Nihall beamed. "And we'll be rich to boot. Easy. We're so close, Talbo."

"...Nihall, I..."

"I can't do this without you, brother," the half-elf said, a bit lower,
pleading. "You aren't getting scared, are you?"

"What? No... it's..." Talbo stammered, before shaking his head. "I'm with you,
Nihall."

"Good man." Nihall gave the half-igasho a pat on his thick shoulder
reassuringly, before ruffling his hair once more. "Good man. Up you get now,
though. Almost midday. They'll be here soon."

The half-elf trotted off to his position, leaving Talbo to sigh deeply as he
rose, taking his pitted greataxe from the dirt.

-|2|-

The path leading west from Rockholm wound a path skirting the Northern
Mountains, a chill breeze blowing eastward through the rocks and overhangs. It
had fallen into disuse since the Celestine Empire's fall, which was what the
wagon driver and his escorts were counting on as they maneuvered covered load
along the road. A lone moose had been the only thing of interest the entire
trip, up until Talbo slipped out of hiding and drove his axe into the back of a
guard's skull.

The big man yanked his massive weapon out of the corpse and roared a challenge.
The remaining three guards turned, and barely managed to pull their weapons
before Talbo struck down another. The driver, terrified, tried to whip the cart
into motion, only to scream as Nihall dropped from above to plunge two rusted
rapiers into his back. The half-elf wobbled as the driver's death-scream did to
the donkey what the lash would not, and hastily went for the reins to get
control. "Hang on a moment!" he yelled over his shoulder, as the donkey ran
over the next rise, dragging him, the cart, and the deceased driver along with
him.

Talbo snorted in annoyance, holding his axe in a defensive stance as the two
dwarven guardsmen circled, glaring at him and waiting for an opening. One
circled suddenly, stepping in to swing his axe into Talbo's side, but the man
whirled sharply, lopping off his attacker's head before the blade could find
its way home. Talbo then let out a cry of pain, spilling forward and losing his
axe as sharp steel cut across the back of his legs.

The last dwarf screamed in triumph as he came in with axe held high to deliver
the killing blow, and then in fury, as one of the half-igasho's wounded legs
lashed backwards, knocking him onto his back and making him lose his own
weapon. Shaking his head, he turned over, confident that he'd reach his axe
before the wounded human would get to his.

The human, though, hadn't gone for his axe. The guard grunted in breathless
surprise as a great weight dropped onto him from above, pinning him to the
rocky trail, his axe a few maddening inches from his grasp. He writhed and
elbowed up at Talbo, but the big man held tight, grasping hold of the dwarf
firmly as he rose. The air echoed with curses as the guard struggled in Talbo's
grasp, slowly succumbing to fatigue and breathlessness as the air left his
body... the process accelerated as Talbo jammed his skull into a rock.

"Bravo, brother," Nihall's voice echoed as the half-elf emerged from hiding. He
was positively beaming. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were a tae'dae
pretending to be a man."

"Shut up and bring the potions. I can barely stand..." Talbo grunted, panting
heavily. "This had better have been worth it. What're you grinning about?"

Nihall laughed openly, tossing a vial to the wounded half-igasho. "Oh, it's
worth it. It's been worth it so much. This tipoff was golden."

Talbo looked up, blinking. "What was in it?"

"It's golden, I said," Nihall said, grinning even wider. "Bars of the stuff.
Three chests, I tell you. Plus a couple of other odds and ends, but we're set
for life, Talbo! Come and look at it!"

It took a moment for Talbo to recover, but it was as good as Nihall said. One
chest of gold bars. One chest of gold coins. One chest with a shining steel
breastplate, a magnificent helm, and a beautiful greatsword, all traced with
gold.

"I told you. How does that mountain look now, brother?" Nihall said, laughing
as he let coins fall through his fingers. "Our problems are all behind us!"

-|3|-

"We have a problem," Nihall hissed urgently.

Talbo's eyes shot open, and he blinked a few times, wondering if he was still
asleep. The rock digging into his back indicated otherwise... he vaguely
recalled going to sleep in their hideout near the Toronada. It was still night,
though... what could be the problem? Staring up at Nihall, he gave a questioning
grunt, only to have a hand clapped over his mouth.

"Listen. Do you hear that?"

The half-igasho focused for a moment, and behind the constant rush of the
nearby river, he could hear thunder... constant, and growing louder. No, not
thunder, but hoofbeats. But so many on this lonely stretch of road could only
mean...

"Trouble," Nihall hissed. "Get up and get out the back. Quietly!"

Clarity hitting him like a bucket of cold water, Talbo shot upright, taking a
moment to take his backpack and his weapon, his only two possessions in the
world. Nihall snatched the weapon from him, though. "I've got this, get the big
one!" the half-elf whispered urgently, before scrambling for the back. Stifling
a grumble, Talbo grabbed the chest of armor and weapons, forcing it up through
the hole in the dry earth that constituted the back door of the cave. He worked
his backpack through next, before sucking his belly in and squeezing through the
hole himself, helped by Nihall grabbing his arms and pulling with all his might.
As he popped free, the half-igasho noticed the other two chests sitting there in
the moonlight, and wasn't sure whether to be annoyed at not being woken up
first.

There wasn't time to discuss that, though, as the hoofbeats drew dangerously
near. Nihall waved frantically to a sizable boulder nearby, rushing over to
help Talbo shove it over the exit, hiding it from view. Their escape covered,
the half-elf motioned for Talbo to be silent as he crept up to peek over a
ledge. The half-igasho went still and listened, not daring to breathe, as the
many hoofbeats pattered to a halt down below, right outside the entrance of
their cave.

Talbo didn't know how long he sat there, statue-like, not daring to move as he
listened to the voices down below. Angry voices... dwarvish, with the
distinctive clanking and jingling of steel plate, mail, and weaponry. There
were a lot of them, by the sound of it, and by the way Nihall had gone
wide-eyed in terror after peeking over the edge. The big man held back a yelp
of terror as the rock over the back entrance twitched once or twice... before
whoever was pushing gave up.

After what seemed an eternity, someone barked a command, and thunder rolled
through the mountains once more as hoofbeats echoed off into the distance.
Talbo still didn't move until he could hear them no longer.

"Dwarves, Talbo," said Nihall, rushing over the second Talbo twitched. "Forty
of them. Fifty of them! All geared up for battle. They're searching for
something. They're searching for us! And they're looking to kill! Those're
Rockholm royal guards there! Not those pushovers we took out. They look funny
on their ponies but they'll kill us for sure!"

"Oh, Light..." Talbo moaned softly, as Nihall went on.

"Gods above... you'd think we murdered the King or something. Maybe they don't
know it's us! Yeah... they don't have trackers... and we killed everyone."
Nihall looked to Talbo, a desperate grin on his face. "Driver died, and you cut
up the rest. What about that last one? You made sure he was dead before you let
go, right?"

"...uh..."

"You dashed his brains against the rocks until he was dead, didn't you,
brother?" Nihall's grin became forced as Talbo studied the dirt. "Oh, Nil's
Breath, Talbo, you let that one live to tell the tale?"

"...dwarves have hard skulls," Talbo mumbled softly.

Nihall's grin fell into a grimace, and he stared for a long while, lips moving
as he thought. "...okay," he said finally. "Okay, it's fine. We just need to
ride this one out, let them cool off. We'll find someplace to camp out. Maybe
see the southern end of the basin for a bit. We'll stay here for the night.
It'll be cold and all, but tomorrow, I'll run down to grab some supplies from
Estelbar. They saw you for sure, but I don't think he saw me. But we'll get
some food, and then we can take a long trip south. Glomdoring probably isn't as
bad as the rumors say..."

"I'm sorry, Nihall," Talbo murmured, bowing his head.

"Don't worry about it, you overgrown cub, you..." the half-elf said with a
faint smile. "It's alright. I'll take care of you."

-|4|-

It was well into the evening when Nihall returned. "It's worse than I thought,"
he said, letting loose a pack of rations off his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Talbo asked, sitting up anxiously.

Nihall, stony-faced, shook his head. "Okay. I'm fine. Like I said, they didn't
see me. You, on the other hand, are wanted by Rockholm and by Serenwilde."

"Serenwilde? What?"

"Yeah," Nihall muttered, looking to the floor. "Turns out this treasure
shipment was a gift in exchange for the commune's protection against taint, orc
kidnapping, and... well, banditry." The half-elf sighed. "They're not happy. But
they've got the roads blocked off and are checking suspicious people. We won't
be getting out tonight, at least."

The big man groaned, stroking his beard worriedly. "So what do we do?"

"Stay put, like I said," Nihall said firmly. "They won't be checking this place
again tonight. And I bet they think we're way further away than we really are."
Nihall smiled, and reached out to ruffle Talbo's hair. "Don't worry. I'm
looking out for you, brother." Talbo smiled back, before looking down at the
floor, embarrassed. "But anyway," the half-elf continued. "You get some rest. I
bet you've been up all day jumping at every noise. You can take second watch
tonight."

"Are you sure? You had to walk all the way to Estelbar and back..." Talbo
grunted, looking up.

"No, no. It's alright. I'll wake you up when it's your turn..." Nihall looked
at Talbo pointedly. "I need less sleep than you anyway, you great hibernating
oaf."

Talbo grunted indignantly, but settled down onto the floor and laid himself out
anyway. "I can't help it if you've still got the energy of a little kid,
half-elf."

Nihall chuckled at that. "Grace of the gods, cub," he said. "But this is a
temporary setback, you know. Once this clears, we'll be free to move about, and
live like kings in the south. Make our mark in the world. Maybe even find you
your wife to settle down with."

The half-igasho grunted as he laid back, eyelids drooping. "Heh. Got you. I
need any more family?" he mumbled drowsily.

Nihall went quiet for a long while, but Talbo didn't think anything of it as
sleep overcame him.

-|5|-

Talbo woke to the sound of howling... wolves, it sounded like. Or people
pretending to be wolves. Whatever it was, so many things, and so many alien
things echoing around their hideout was a bad sign. "Nihall, what's that?"

Nihall didn't answer.

The half-igasho sat up frantically, looking about the room. It was empty, save
for his backpack and his axe... and the big chest with the weaponry inside.

Nihall wasn't there.

"Nihall?" Talbo grabbed his axe and stepped outside, gripping his weapon
tightly. "Nihall!" What had happened to him? Was he okay?

Another howl sounded, and Talbo turned to see five figures in the distance...
each glowing in the light of the moon, bearing armor and swords and robes and
staves. Though distant, their calls carried across the wind, and looking at
them, he knew he had been spotted. As one, they started to run towards him,
advancing up the road with impossible speed.

"NIHALL!" Talbo bellowed desperately, before turning and running towards the
river. At the bridge, at least, he might stand some chance against these foes.
Where was his brother?

As the human reached the middle of the bridge, he halted suddenly, confronted
by three figures who had appeared out of nowhere to block his path, wielding
staves and looking grim beneath the pale light of the moon. "Halt, criminal,"
the figure in the center, an aged furrikin, intoned as she pointed her staff at
Talbo accusingly. He growled in reply, considering his chances briefly against
his foes, before rapid footfalls at his back made him turn... and the five who
had been pursuing from the other side slowed to a walk, calmly boxing him in
and readying their weapons. For a while, the only sound was that of the river
far below, and Talbo's heartbeat in his ears.

"How shall we do this, then?" someone behind Talbo murmured, finally breaking
the silence.

"Hardly sporting with eight on one," another said in amusement.

"I'll kill all of you," Talbo growled. "What've you done with Nihall?"

His question rang in the air for what seemed like an eternity. Then, a
white-furred tae'dae stepped forward, a great steel mace in each paw. "Worry
not for the traitor, criminal... know that he will soon follow you to the
grave."

Talbo snarled, pointing his axe at the Serenguard. "You die first, liar.
What've you done with my brother?"

The tae'dae looked greatly unimpressed a moment, before snarling back. "We did
nothing to the filthy city-tainted scoundrel... though we will when we return.
He turned you in for a reward." The bear grunted and swept aside a furious
swing of Talbo's axe.

"Liar!" the human roared, twisting to prepare for another wild swing, before he
caught a stunning blow across the face from one of the tae'dae's maces. He
stumbled back hurriedly, expecting another resounding strike, but the tae'dae
held back, watching dispassionately.

"Don't you dare call me a liar, criminal. There's no honor among thieves... do
you really think this 'brother' of yours wouldn't leave you in the cold if
enough money were put on the table? One million sovereigns... two bounties, one
from us, one from Rockholm, on your head. That's how much he thought your life
was worth." The tae'dae snorted.

"One milli... he still wouldn't..." Talbo's face twisted in uncertainty. Where
was Nihall right now? And the money had gone missing too. The armor was still
there, though...

"You think he wouldn't? You've both killed for far less," the tae'dae stated
calmly. "What's the loss of a friend... or even a family member to you people,
for that sort of wealth?"

But then Nihall couldn't carry that chest, could he?

"What's the loss of one of his tools?" the tae'dae snorted, and that was the
last straw.

Talbo growled, long and deep, pain and rage building up within him to a roar.
The tae'dae had ample warning for the flurry of wild, powerful axe strikes that
the human sent his way, knocking them aside each time with an accurate tap of
his maces. Finally, the tae'dae swung hard with both maces, the metal heads
pounding into Talbo's arm. Bone snapped audibly, and the axe went tumbling out
of Talbo's hands.

The human carried on without pause, bulling into the larger bear and catching
him by surprise with a headbutt to the nose. The Serenwilders looked on in a
mixture of awe and amusement as the human attempted to seize the tae'dae in a
bearhug, with one arm dangling limp at the elbow. The Serenguard growled a
curse at the madman attacking him, and seized Talbo in his own arms, causing a
series of wet, audible pops in Talbo's body, before letting the human drop
limply back onto the bridge.

"By Lisaera, finish him off already," the furrikin elder intoned, sounding
irritated. "Cats don't play with their food this much."

The tae'dae snorted, spraying a few red droplets into the night air, before
reaching down to pick up the winded husk of Talbo. "Die content with the
knowledge," he rumbled, as he hefted Talbo towards the bridge, "that your
'brother' will not elude justice long after you." And with that, he threw Talbo
mightily over the railing, leaving him to plummet into the gorge of rocks,
rushing water, and darkness.

-|X|-

One leg broken. One arm twisted, and the other one broken. Ribs crushed.
Half-drowned. Spine aching horribly every time he so much as twitched. Nothing,
though, nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

He'd been a fool not to see it. Nihall had been looking out for himself... now
and always. The first time at the orphanage, when all of the real human
children would avoid him, Nihall had just needed someone to stop him from
getting beaten up. And when Nihall had discovered how trusting he was... well,
he'd found himself a useful tool, and a reusable one. One who'd follow him
through on all of his hare-brained plans and get-rich schemes and down the road
to outright crime.

He could've had a decent, if unspectacular job, if he weren't always fleeing
town with Nihall. He could've found himself a wife and settled down, if he
weren't always running from Nihall's troubles. He could've been a hero, if
Nihall hadn't laughed at the idea. So many sacrifices, and for what?

Lies. Hurt. Emptiness.

And apparently, a long, lingering death in the sand somewhere.

Talbo opened his eyes to figure out where he was, and in the light of the early
morning sun, saw Avencha's Peak looming above. He hadn't been swept as far as
he'd imagined by the Toronada, then. And that road up ahead was the Path of the
Last Nine. And somewhere in the rock was the Portal of Fate.

With nothing better to do, Talbo staggered half-upright, and hobbled up the
path. Every step sent stabbing pains through six parts of his body. Halfway to
the Portal, the big man was reduced to crawling as his fractured leg snapped
beneath him. And as he finally burnt the last of his strength pulling his
broken body through the portal, he gasped in joy, as all the pain he had ever
known dissolved with him.

-| |-

Clotho peered hard at the thread, frowning. This one was being difficult. "So
you're male for sure. You remember that," she said, before frowning dubiously,
"and apparently you're a tae'dae. Now what's your name, dear?"

"I really don't remember at all." The bear looked positively delighted as he
said this, for some reason.

"Oh, come now. Think," Clotho said irritably. "Find that little speck of
memory, and concentrate on it. It should be screaming at you."

The tae'dae tilted his head, as if listening to a distant voice, quiet for many
long moments before smiling. "Lie. It's telling me Lie."

The first of the Fates stared long and hard, before sighing. "Lye it is, then.
Come then, Lye... you have much to learn."