Having found the exit under the desk in the center of the room, Zak made his way down the two hundred feet, or so, of steps, followed closely by the skeleton. Once he reached the bottom of the steps, he found a hallway that was too long to see to the end. At the closest archway(they seemed to be used to support the hall) two guards sat playing cards. Zak sent the skeleton at them, pulled a thin knife, and stabbed them in the temple as they tangled with the skeleton. The guards lived barely long enough to realize that the skeleton wasn't actually attacking them, but instead trying to keep their attention. He saw that there were some staves some distance down the hallway, across from some jail cells. As he started walking down the hall, Samuel burst from one of the cells a closest to him, killed one guard, and immediately grabbed his staff and knocked the other one out cold. Zak ran to catch up. "Hey, Sam! Where are the others?"

Alyrium came to and discovered himself bound in rope, slumped into a sitting against a rough stone wall. There were a couple of guards watching him, or at least they were supposed to, because neither of them was facing him, now did they seem to care. Apparently a bound wizard sans staff was of so little threat to them that they didn't even need to care.

Those poor fools.

Those poor, stupid, dead fools.

Alyrium began chuckling, a low, guttural sound that was completely incongruous with his pleasant mild-mannered face. As one, the guards turned to see the bound figure of Alyrium rise from the ground, a mad gleam in his eyes. One of them levelled his spear at him.

"Halt! Sit down!"

Alyrium grinned, and he felt his bonds tighten.

"It has been a long time... such a long time since I have needed to do this..."

"Hey! Hey! Sit down! Don't make me hurt you!"

Behind Alyrium's back, the ropes bulged slightly.

"A long time ago, there was a scorpion and a frog. The scorpion asked the frog, "Mr. Frog, I need to cross the river. Can you ferry me across on your back?"

"Dammit, I told you, shut up and sit down!"

Another smile from Alyrium. The bulge in the rope became ever more prominent, and a dampness touched the back of his hands just below the bindings.

"Said the frog, "I cannot, for I know that if you were on my back you would surely sting me to death. Said the scorpion, "Brother Frog, why would I be so silly? If I were to sting you and kill you, then I would drown as well, would I not?"

The guard drew closer, the tip of his spear wavering in the air.

"I said shut up and sit down, wizard!"

"So the frog acquiesced, and took the scorpion on his back. But halfway across the river, the frog felt a sharp pain in his back, and he turned to see the scorpion had jabbed its stinger into him."

"Why, Brother Scorpion? Why have you done this? Now we shall both surely die!"

The guard paused. Behind Alyrium, a few droplets of blood splashed silently against the floor.

"What the hell?"

"But Brother Frog... I can swim."

As the guard was still lost in confusion, Alyrium snapped his arms out beside him, the ropes disintegrating like chaff as the gleaming bone blades protruding from his forearms sheared through them like the proverbial hot knife through butter. In three quick steps he was in the guard's face, and he backhanded the man across the throat, a bone blade leading the way. The luckless guard sprayed blood in a fit of coughing as he clutched his throat in a futile attempt to breathe again. The other man shrieked and bolted for the door, but Alyrium pointed two fingers at him. A pair of small bone missiles burst from the tips of his fingers, striking him in the neck and dropping him to the ground, where he lay very, very still. Now the only sounds left in the room were of the first man dying a slow and painful death.

Alyrium willed the bone blades back into him, and exhaled slightly. The wounds sealed themselves up, leaving only traces of blood on his skin where the blades had pierced the flesh. Being able to magically manipulate his skeleton was a powerful gift, but a very draining one. Of course, it had its uses... like just now.

"Moral of the story: Never assume anything, especially that a wizard without his staff is easy prey, or that someone who wins your trust will hesitate to stab you in the back."

Alyrium stepped over the dying man and glanced at his partner. Although he was immobile, he was definitely still conscious... and terrified. The hit to his spine had severed his spinal cord, and he was now unable to breathe... or do anything apart from watch his partner die, horribly. His eyes were filled with the same blank terror Alyrium had seen on animals who were on their last legs.

"Ah, I remember my first death. But it is not the death that you should fear."

He retrieved his staff from a nearby sack, as well as the remainder of his possessions.

"It is what comes after which is truly terrifying."

The door opened and closed, leaving the two men to know fear.

****

Alyrium stalked down the corridor, wondering why he had not claimed their souls. They might have been useful, after all...

But fodder I have enough of already. Where is Lorelei?

A guard thought to bar his way. She didn't think for much longer than the half second that Alyrium needed to send the guard's head flying across the wall, in a spray of blood and bone. The guard's body fell to the floor, blood spurting from the torn arteries, body still twitching.

"Out of my way, insect." he hardly bothered whispering.

"Tell us where the spell is mage..." A villager said, releasing the rop enough to dunk Jude into the lake.

"For god's sakes, I DON'T KNOW WHAT FREAKIN SPELL." Jude said. He assumed they wanted the anti-Sarion spell, probably guessing the mage with the most books. As they dunked him again, Jude once again saw his staff lying uselessly on the bottom, out of reach of his bound hands. Then he saw a spiked shell sitting next to it. Instinctively he cried for Koha, but underwater it was just a series of gurgles, nothing understandable.

"Which book? We will burn them all." The villager said pulling Jude up.

"KOHA, GET MY STAFF!" Jude screamed at the lake. The surface was too murky to see if it had any effect.

"What the hell is a Koha? And if you won't go the easy way, we'll just find the spell ourselves. Drop him." The leader said, and a lackey cut the rope, watching Jude fall with a splash. "Stupid water mages...we'll just tell Solomon he died of a heart attack or something. Get the books." He said as they began to depart.

"Ya know, I think I'll keep my books." Jude said from behind them. They all spun around to see him atop a giant turtle, staff in hand.

"You'll have to pry them from our cold, dead hands before we'll give them up, we won't fail Solomon."

"Oh...ok then." Jude said, raising his staff. After a blinding flash of pure blue, Jude was forced to pry his things from their cold dead hands, a few of which had to be cracked off. "Koha, enjoy, villager-sicles."

Samuel turned to Zak.

"Ah. I see you've managed to avoid capture. I wonder how the others are doing." Behind Zak, several more guards came in.

"They just don't want to quit, do they?" As the guards ran forward, Samuel raised his staff and pointed it at them.

"I tend to refrain from using this spell, but you all have managed to truly piss me off." The crystal on his staff glowed. Large orbs of light floated out from it. The orbs hovered in the air, giving off an ominous aura. One of them landed down and touched a guard.

The man's screams echoed in the room as it began to absorb him. While the one orb slowly devoured him, the other orbs attacked. Each time an orb touched a guard, they were absorbed into the sphere. And when the spheres were done feasting, they dissapated into the air, leaving nothing but piles of bones.

"Ancient Forbidden Light Magics 101. It's amazing what you'll find in the Great Library.

Jace was facing a rather large gaurd who was content on killing him. It wasn't too much of a problem, but he didn't want to be too cruel to the guy. Summoning a coral snake behind him, he made the snake bite him, its neuro toxin going into him in only a couple of seconds. He fell down on the floor as the snake crawled over to him, up his leg, and resting on his shoulder. He wanted to make sure no one would get him.

Hearing a commotion up ahead, Jace only knew that it was one his fellow mages. When he got over to the where he heard the noise, he saw Samuel and Zak standing near a few skeletons on the ground. "I see you've been having a little fun," Jace said and he let the snake crawl away, dissapearing as he no longer put his concentration on it.

Ken woke up in a cell, his staff in the corner. His hands shackled to the wall. His feet however were loose. In the room his maps were spread arond the floor. They were fighting over the diamonds.

"Hands off you bastard I saw them first!" one said and he pushed the other into ken's staff. The staff fell towards the floor. Ken caught the staff with his foot.

He gently lifted the staff towards his hand as he began to focus on the manacles. The villagers were fighting rather fiercly. The Manacles began to turn red and rust. Soon they crumbled around Ken's hands. he rubbed his wrists. The vilagers turned noticing the odd red illumination.

"What the..." one said.

Kenyu was furious. He focused so much energy into the staff and he turned the hourglass. the sands flowed fast.

"Feel the harsh sting of age."

A guard leapt for kenyu. Their bodies and clothes aging years at a time. Their skin become wrinkled and grey, their hair and nails groing. Their flesh darkened and cracked. The guard tried to wrestle for the staff. His flesh was dry and coming off as dust. Kenyu pushed the ancient man a side. He collected his map and looked at the rapidly decaying skeletons. The last grain fell and he had collected the last diamond from the piles of dust. Kenyu was feeling exausted.

"Now for the door." He was getting ready to rot the door. When he collapsed. "Maybe later. I need a nap right now."

ooc: right-o

A guard hauled his considerable girth over to the door, his heavy footsteps dragging slightly as he marched up and opened the slide, grunting
what the heck's your problem, flash-boy?
You, you backwater pudge-monkey! Get me some goddamn food
WHAT? What did you call me, little wizard?! Why you're nothing but a worthless little boy without your shiny twig!
the man replied, his face flushing red with anger
I SAID, Shut your huge, illiterate mouth and march your fat, hillbilly ass over to a cask of water and get me something to drink!!
Why I oughta'!! You'll regret that, boy!
he fumed, stomping over to a key somewhere Ray couldn't see, and fumbled around with the locks on the cell before throwing the iron door open
My drink, slopehead?
Ray spoke with an air of haughty glee
YAR! (for lack of a better onomatopoeia)
the large man bellowed as he lunged at Ray with a balled fist the size of the mage's head, connecting slightly with his chin and knocking him off a few feet to the left. Ray focused his blurred eyes to see the guard give a slight, gruff laugh and move in his direction. He spat out a half-mouthful of blood at the man's feet and chided
I'm not thmall, I'm at least 6/8 your sthize, you goofy bathtard
He spoke with a contact-induced lisp as he hopped at the man, causing him to swing again, missing over the ducking mage's head, who then bolted upwards, leading with his elbow, and met with lucky and intensely painful precision the man's groin (his favorite bait and tackle, folks). He took a knee to the face, which, although painful, threw him over and in an easy bolt from the door. Ray leapt for his opportunity and rolled out the door, hitting the rather close wall on the other side, and leaping to his feet. The man had curled up on the floor or the cell, despite all his rage and adrenalaine, into a fetal position and was yelling curses at the young mage as he shut the door and closed the slip.
Best that no more of you inhabit this plane.
He said once more through the bars and closed the slip again as he heard screams coming from down the hall.
Ah, friends! Now where's my damn staff?

"Nifty spell there Sam, lets get the others and get outa here."
"I see you've been having a little fun," he heard Jace say.
"That's one more we won't have to look for." Zak started to walk down the hallway, only stopping when he saw Alyrium walking toward him.
"Howdy neighbor!" Zak said, "No more this way, that's the entrance."
Zak continued walking down the hallway.

A door almost right next to Samuel exploded. The cause of the explosion was obviously the guard that careened through.

Following the guard, a fully armed and armoured (again) Risu stepped through.

"Sammy! Good to see ya' got out. Zak too!"

He seemed to completely not notice that his sword was slick with blood, and that there were even entrails hanging off of it.

Alyrium stalked through the corridor, his face resetting from its mask of deadly intensity back to its initial warmth. Fortunately for the guards who got in his way, he was feeling merciful, and he knocked them out with the charged end of his staff, which glowed with the remnants of a "Die" command word. Unlike the Power Word series, Command Words would not actually kill their victims, but simply make them fall unconscious for a very long time.

If they died int he process, due to a vengeful enemy or scavengers... well, that was their problem, wasn't it?

He finally came across Samuel and the others, including Zak, who led a skeleton in his wake, and Risu, the over-large Carrier who seemed to ahea just waded out of an abattoir. Suppressing his disdain for the Light mage, he addressed the group.

"Where is Lorelei? Have you seen my pupil?"