From: Balefire Subject: [Porc] A walk in the dark Balefire paused to let Elfiran catch up, and gave him a rare smile. The Dark Elf warmage's smiles tended to be vicious or vulpine, but his one was filled with genuine happiness, showing a joy so sincere and unguarded that Elfiran's answering expression was largely one of surprise. The warmage chuckled merrily. "Elfiran, I never thought you would stay behind, and 'tis well pleased I am to have you siding me. I warrant the Werres will be along shortly; indeed I don't think they could be forced to stay. I see by your face that you find my demeanor odd...no, don't deny it...'twould be strange did you not. Bide a while 'til they come along, and allow me to explain." Elfiran took a swig of ale and nodded for the mercenary to proceed. "We approach the near environs of the citadel, indeed I believe we shall shortly be beneath the walls. 'Tis aforegone conclusion that within the keep magicka will work again, and I cannot but look forward to being able to use the Art again. I expect you feel the same. That trap I sprang must have alerted our foes to our presence and our location, and while we have lost whatever possibility of surprise we had, we are also free to act without concern for stealth. This were enough reason for happiness in itself -- stealth is Twilight's specialty, not mine, nor, methinks that of the Werres -- but the *real* cause of my joy is that I believe I have worked out a viable tactical solution." Balefire stopped and listened carefully for any sign of approaching enemies, shrugged his massive shoulders and continued. "I have been tring to recall all that I have read in my studies of Th'sollar and the Horned Council. Little enough it is, but in combination with that..." he paused, searching for the right term, "...that shadowplay reenaction we saw, I believe I now know enough at least to be hopeful of our success. I am pleased," he chuckled again, a little hollowly this time, "that I have been fooled for much of my life." Elfiran gave a start, and raised his eyebrow. He started to reply, thought better of it, and took a pull at his ale instead. What, after all, could he say? Balefire continued, "I believe this ring, this Bloodstone, is far more than I had thought. Much more than a focus for the Art, or a convenient magic item heirloom of my House, I believe it is a truly powerful repository, a veritable storehouse, for an immense amount of magical power. "Indeed," the scarred mercenary frowned slightly, "there is little doubt that I owe much of my rapid progress in the power and craft of the Art to the ring, rather than to my own talents...at least in the early days of my carreer. I would wager this passive-looking bauble has been preparing me for years for this encounter. Perhaps 'twas the doing of Th'sollar, who set upon it some compulsion, or perhaps it is sentient to some degree. Mayhap the gods are involved. It matters not. What gladdens my heart, good Elfiran, is that if my theory be correct, I can make use of it in a way that our foes will not expect." Elfiran looked skeptical, but appeared willing to listen. "Say on, Balefire." "We may be being overheard even now, so I shall provide no more details right now. Suffice it to say that I think it likely our enemies will calculate based on the power of the Bloodstone, of which they no doubt have some knowledge. They are likely to think me an unwilling dupe, a puppet brought here willy-nilly by some plan made long ago by a legendary wizard. I doubt that they can know of just how much I have studied and practiced the Art, of my own will and in my own way, particularly in the last decade or two. I am almost certain that they cannot imagine the plan i have in mind, to make use of the power of the ring and that which I can legitimately call my own. It involves a technique unknown in Th'sollar's time; indeed, it was dismissed as impossible in those days." The dusky warmage's eyes glowed crimson in the darkness, and his smile was no longer the joyful one it had been. "If whatever henchmen our foes can muster succeed not in bringing us down, I am convinced that I have the knowledge to destroy the Heart once and for all time. Look you...this faceless foe of ours has already demonstrated ignorance. Not stupidity, mind you, but ignorance. His choice of a tool was seriously flawed, not so much because of the man he used but because of the organization he selected to manipulate. The Dark Brotherhood was almost the worst possible choice of organizations to work through, even though his catspaw was a rogue member. This foe of ours has sat here like a bloated spider at the center of a web, but he has been isolated. In retrospect, 'tis clear. In those days, the days of Th'sollar and the Horned Council, the Dark Brotherhood was a much more powerful group than they have become in our day. "Instead of alerting me and awaking my suspicions -- and my memories of arcane tomes half-forgotten -- by trying to have me killed, he should have hired a *thief* -- or a thousand of them -- to steal my signet ring while I thought it still a simple magic ring. Instead, his machinations have fed my wrath and brought to his doorstep not only me, but a small army of puissant heroes, including, good Elfiran, yourself. For whatever reason, our foe lacks up-to-date knowledge of what has transpired in the world. If I live to reach the Heart, Elfiran, his ignorance shall doom him. I will wager you a year's supply of ale on it." The warmage grinned again, a joyful smile once more, though his eyes still smouldered, disturbingly bright in the dark stone passage. "I expect to meet whatever troops our foe had at his disposal, quite soon now. At least, I certainly hope so...I feel like killing something."