Mari looked at DQueene solemnly:
"Yes, I know about that evil, that's why we need a certain elf and his wife
to help us all out this mess. I, ahm, sort of dreamed where the location was and
hoped for someone to find Elendirill, this elf I mentioned and his kidnapped
wife Feraila, she is the key and in great danger. And... Shana... is probably on
the way to both.. or her... or him ... andandand... I've tried to help that
little kid get rid of his lice... and poured some lotion over his, no her hair
... and if it is not removed after a certain time she, no, he, drat she
will be bald!!! And it is my fault!!!"
Mari stiffled a sob, feeling the stab of guilt deep in her heart.
"I just tried to help... yes, I know there's more important coming up than
clean hair - but bald? In winter? That child will probably freeze its little
ears off..."
Calming herself down:
"Scared of you? Why? My mum always said I lost wisdom due to my birth - but
I sense evil and good. You mean no harm, DQueene... Yes, we should ride, though
I have no clue to where Shana turned. I guess, we have to find her former camp
first and then look for clues - I know, where it is.. And if we're out of luck?
Well, Vordasto could help if we scout around and ask people for a <gulp>
bald little something on a black mare or an appaloosa or something with 4
legs."
After a short pause, Mari added shyly:
"Thanks for coming with me. I really use some help. Come on boy, let's get
going.."
Patting her horse on its neck both travellers continued their journey into the
unknown...
DQueene reached over and patted Mari on her shoulder. “You did the
best you could for Shana. She seems to be a survivor; I don’t think
she would leave her ears uncovered in this kind of weather, now would
she?”
“Besides,” she shuddered, “from what I saw of her hair, she’d
be better off bald! Can you imagine trying to get all those knots and
everything else out of her hair?”
“Besides,” her lips trembled from laughter, “I don’t know if
any of us would have come out of that battle with all of
our fingers still attached. She is fairly wild and much closer to her
‘beast’ than even I am.”
“I think if we head for Vordasto, we will come across her trail;
and if not, I’m sure we will find her on the trail ahead of us
somewhere. Yes, let’s ride.”
Illillitl had finally worked up the energy and nerve to crawl out of his
bed and was trying to focus his eyes on the doorway of his tiny room.
Within fifteen minutes, if things go according to his daily routine, he
will be able to make it to that door and begin focusing on getting to
the stairs at the end of the narrow, grey hallway. In less than three
hours, his journey to the wine cellar will be complete and he can begin
tasting the potent wines from the rows of kegs and casks entrusted to
his care.
Unlike yesterday, nothing very unusual was happening.
"Not to worry, Illillitl," he quietly encouraged himself in
his quiet thoughts, "something unusual always happens, given
sufficient time and encouragement. Just like my wines." He almost
smiled.
Riding on in silence in Northnorthwest direction, Mari searched the ground
with her eyes - there should be something up to give away Shana's direction,
shouldn't there? Then she urged Boy to stop.
"DQueene, look, what's that?"
She jumped down from the horse, ignoring her aching legs and knelt down:
"Oh no... hair, see?"
She took the tangled brownish mass carefully in her hands and examined it - yes,
it was hair, human hair. Her eyes glued to the snowy ground she walked on and
found a few more hairy spots and then a small hole in the ground. Someone had
scooped up snow.
"Definitely, Shana was here..." Mari's eyes blurred, she stifled a
sob, feeling the stab of guilt again and then conscientiously picked up every
little scrap of hair and deposited it into her back back.
"Why are you doing that?" DQueene asked curiously.
"Well, maybe I'll find someone to create a wig or Eandrae needs it for a
spell or a lotion - what the heck, I don't know... I... I... just can't leave
them here... As soon as we've got a little bit of time, I'm going to wash and
comb it, it belongs to Shana!.... Ok, let's get going, she's probably headed off
to Vordasto."
DQueene looked at her, a bit amused, a bit touched - then both riders continued
their journey - speeding up to reach the city before dark.
My name is Sparkl, and I am a Fire Faery. Not many know me, but I know a
lot about everybody else. You see, I live in the fires and flames that
burn anywhere within one hundred leagues of the fire where I was born. I
flit from fire to fire looking, listening, and witnessing everything
that happens in my part of the world.
I was born in the great hearth fire of the Snowcross Abbey. I love
that fire, because it is always burning and it is a place of safety and
quietude. Except for Mrs. Kegger's occasional comments or lullabies, the
only sound you hear in the Abbey is the quiet crackling of the hearth
flames. That's because the monks there never, ever talk. I know them all
by name ... at least by the names Mrs. Kegger calls them, that is. And I
know that they are all monks of the Lesser Order of Saint George Junior
the Dragon Taunter. The wine they make is an excellent fuel for fires.
Today I visited a campfire in the old castle ruins west of the
Forbidden Mountains. The man and his prisoner (a beautiful, but sickly,
she-elf) were camping in what used to be the castle stables. It was the
only part of the castle ruins whose roof was still standing. The growing
blizzard outside had piled some of the snowdrifts as high as the horses'
shoulders.
I wonder if Mrs. Kegger knows anything about those two travelers.
I'll have to ask her tonight when she stokes the Abbey's hearth fire.
Shana raised her head and stared at the small town through blurred,
tired eyes: “Vordasto, and it’s still standing! I made it in
time.” She glanced to the east and noticed a slight brightening of the
clouds. A new day had dawned, although there would be no sun visible
today. Not with the clouds still spitting snow and freezing rain.
The mule was weary, as well, and we plodded slowly into the city
looking for the nearest tavern. My first goal had to be to get another
horse or mule, and I had to warn these people of the approaching army.
As I rode up to the stables and saw the stable boy saddling two horses
and adding provisions in sacks across the largest ones back, a plan
popped into my head.
I kept my face hidden under the cowl of my hood, knowing that my lack
of hair would make me easy to remember if he saw me uncovered. “Boy! I
need to warn the town! Who would I talk too?”
The boy looked at me suspiciously, “Eh, warn us? Warn us
o’wot?”
I swayed dramatically in my seat, not really having to fake my
tiredness, “I’ve ridden all night to warn you of the army that is
coming. They’re no more than a day behind me and they will rape and
kill everyone in this town before they are through.”
The boy gaped at me, and squeaked, “Army? Wot Army?”
“It’s coming from the south! Ten score or more!” I again swayed
dramatically in my saddle. “You must warn the town for me. I must rest
before I do any more.”
He looked at the horses he was holding by the reins, obviously
uncertain about what to do with them.
“Give me their reins; I can hold them while you tell someone.
Go!” I held out my hand and stifled a sigh as it worked. He gave the
reins and ran to one of the guards walking toward the tavern on his
morning patrol.
Within minutes there was pandemonium everywhere. People were
shouting, some where grabbing their children and running to their homes,
while others were grabbing horses and mules to carry them away. I had
done what I could and hoped it would be enough.
I slipped from the back of my mule directly onto the larger horse,
pulling my supplies with me as I went. I rode out, heading north of the
town towards the bridge. My leaving wasn’t even noticed amidst all the
people rushing to escape the town. “Good,” I thought. “Most of
them will make it.”
Plodding, plodding, plodding in the snow the whole night through, Mari got
tired, she shook her head violently a few times to drive away her exhaustion -
then she tried another method: thinking.
"Boy," she murmured, the stallion perked his ears, "Boy, how
would you like to be called? I don't think "Boy" is appropriate, do
you?"
Snorting and head shaking.
"Yeah, guessed so, what about Blacky?"
Short playful jolt with his horseback.
"Ok, I suppose that's a definite No, hm? Kiya the Bard once mentioned a
beautiful mare named Zana, but as you're a male - what about Zanor? I think, it
sounds good, and your opinion?"
Head went up and down very decisively.
"Alright, that's done then, I'll call you Zanor in future." She patted
Zanor's neck and felt satisfied.
After some time she looked up again and searched the horizon for something new
besides trees, glades and the road.
"DQueene, look! Do you see the glow at the skyline? This must be Vordasto -
let's hurry up, it's dawning. Zanor and I need some rest, oats, a stable and
something wet for this onion bread. I'll share it with you, ok?"
The pandamonium in Verdasto could be seen from every flame in the small
city. Sparkl watched in horror as people became frantic and panicky,
fleeing out of the city in droves. She heard screams and yells and
crashes and alarms being sounded. Reports of the coming army were
growing with each repetition into an invading swarm of monsters.
Sparkl had known about the advancing army for weeks, and had
witnessed them passing through Skarbro Fair to the south.
"Sure," she recalled, "they started a few fights and
destroyed a tavern or two. But they were just passing through town and
stopped to resupply. They paid for their provisions (for the most part)
and even sired a few new residents."
Sparkl wondered who could have started the destruction and chaos that
once was peaceful Verdasto. Maybe it was the work of the evil that
dwells in the cave in the Forbidden Mountains to the north.
"No," she thought, "that evil one is not
interested in the affairs of men."
Mrs. Kegger will be distraught when I tell her that her daughter's
home has been plundered by looters in the chaos, and that her daughters
entire family has fled into the Endless Desert.
---------------------------
Kegger felt faint and her throat tightened. She sat down on a bench
beside the hearth and fanned her face with her apron. "Sparkl, are
you sure?", she asked the glowing ember that floated in and out of
the fire. "Verdasto? An invasion? It just can't be!"
For the first time in perhaps years, Kegger's eyes cried tears of
sadness. An emptiness filled her over-generous heart, like the feeling
when the city guard brought word that Cotton had been killed by a pack
of wolves in the forest. Not being one to dwell on things she couldn't
do, Kegger turned her mind to the situation at hand.
"The monks must be told. They will need to come down from the
glacier and prepare a refuge for those who survive escaping this far in
the blizzard." She pleaded with Sparkl, "Please, sweetheart? I
know you never talk to anyone else, but this time lives are at stake!
Innocent lives! Will you? Will you summon the monks home? Please?"
The ember disappeared into the flames. Kegger wasn't convinced that
the little spark had heard her plea, or that she would carry the message
to the monks. "Just in case ...," she said to herself, as she
began bundling up for a long walk into the white outdoors.
Elendirill was glad ge got out of the water in time. Just a moment ago
he was thinking about Feraila ... again, and after awhile it was like
she even spoke to him. He didn't know how to describe it, or even how to
explain it, but something reminded him he had to hurry. He got out of
the water and tried to put on his clothes, but although they weren't
frozen, they felt really really cold. So he searched the little pocket
in his shirt for a small fire rock. He could take some of the dead
branches from the tree, because he didn't look like he was much alive
anymore, and he tried to start a fire.
So now he was standing there, just looking around a bit, trying to
navigate his possition a bit, the lone horseman was still there, he
hasn't spotted him yet though, and the large group that entered the town
some time ago seemed to have started a fire ... So the camp soldiers had
finally cought up with him. The fire started to spread and he could see
people running out of town, scattering in all directions in total panic.
He felt bad he couldn't help them, but as he was feeling now, he
couldn't probably even help himself. Elendirill sat down against the
tree. If he couldn't help himself, how would he be able to rescue
Feraila?
Leaning against the tree, he looked up at the sky. It was getting dark
soon ... if he could just fly away like a bird, not remembering anything
of his existance here ... Wouldn't it be nice if he could just let it
all go?
Then he remembered his time at the elven forest. They were really happy,
everybody was happy over there, but their happiness ... it was something
unique. His mother had always told him this story: he was born under the
star of Gailen, an elf who lived long long ago. And elven bards still
honor him with their songs. He hadn't lived a life of great heroic
deeds, nor did he become an elven king. He was just a caretaker of the
trees. But one day he met an elven lady from a forest far away, on a
trademission between all elven cities. Back in those days the elves
weren't united, and they still lived in small comunities. But when
Gailen saw this girl, he was stunned. He couldn't move, his heart
stopped beating and time stopped for a few seconds. He did everything to
be able to speak with her, he tried to sit at the same eating table, he
was always around when they went for a walk, he attended the
trade-meetings, and at the end he was chosen to escort the deligation
back to their homes. On the way back, he started talking to the girl and
found out her name was Eirain. they both shared their stories, and
stories they heard. he spoke about his forest, about the different trees
and the animals living in them. She listened with a smile and saw the
fire in his eyes when he was talking about the trees. Eirain told him
about her education as a sage and on how she was connected to all trees.
She told him about the things she could learn from talking to a tree,
and Gailen was amazed with the wisdom she carried with her. They grew
very fond of eachother. And when they arrived, they couldn't be
seperated from eachother. Their love was so true, that when one left for
more than a few days, the other would get sick from sadness. But they
never even thought about leaving eachother alone for so long, and they
always stayed together, untill one sad day, Eirain died. The moment
Gailen saw her lying on the ground, he kneeled down and kissed her,
tears running over his face. Then he just lay down himself, and died
that very moment. Afterwards the people of the city found them lying
there together, both with something that resembled a smile on their
faces, holding eachothers hand. They weren't seperated, not even when
the Fire took their spirits away ...
As simple as the story may seem, the most beautifull songs were about
Gailen and Eirain and their love for eachother, and the many variations
among the different bards became stories on their own.
Being born under the star of Gailen was an omen, and indeed, he had
found his Eirain, and he wouldn't die untill she died of old age, and nothing
in the world could stop that from happening. Nothing was stronger than
their love.
With a new fire in his eyes, he looked up, the horseman had gotten
closer, at a point that he could see him. But he wouldn't get in the
way, it will all be over soon, he would take care of that, and he would
do it all by himself if it was to be that way ...
As they rode closer, DQueene saw that the light around the town was too
bright. It wasn’t just candles in the windows they were seeing; it was
flames reaching their hungry fingers toward the sky. She narrowed her
eyes and saw smoke billowing up into the dark storm clouds that rested
over the town.
“Mari, we have to go around Vordasto. The army has reached it
already. They’re burning it to the ground! I’ve never seen them so
destructive unless they didn’t get what they wanted.” Glancing at
Mari, “Do you think Shana would have warned the people?”
Just then the sky over the town lit up with a thousand lights, sheets
of lightning bounced from cloud to cloud, and a loud rumble reached
their ears. The clouds over the city burst open with sheets of icy rain
pouring down on the flames below, working to douse the flames in their
tracks. A war was being waged between the two elements just as fierce as
any battle fought between the mortal races.
DQueene’s eyes lit up and a mysterious smile ghosted across her
lips, “Good.”
“Well, shall we go? To the east around town and then northwest
again?”
Mari was stunned - violence and destruction disgusted (and scared) her.
DQueene's question brought her back to reality.
"Errh, if you think so, ok - but we've got to have a rest soon, I don't
know how long our horses are going to make it."
Patting Zanor's back she lent down and whispered:" Sorry, dear, but this is
important, shall we have a further go?"
A tired and faint nod. Mari felt a stab of guilt again and at the same time she
admired his perseverance.
"Good boy, I promise, I'll make up for it." Shifting her aching bones
into a better position, she nodded grimly:
"DQueene, lead on!.... Wait a moment, what did you mean with: Good?"
Shana noticed a campfire to the north that hadn’t been there just
moments before. “Maybe I can get some hot cha to drink from them,”
she shivered. “I can offer some food for the warmth.” The army was
behind her, so whoever had made the campfire would hopefully not be
hostile. If they were, well, she could defend herself. Besides they
would have seen her coming long before she saw them. If they wanted to
ambush her, they’d had plenty of time to set it up already, she
thought grimly.
Riding her horse, while leading the other horse, she kept her hand on
her knife as she slowly approached the camp. Stopping well away from the
fire, she spoke “Hello. Hello the camp. I’m peaceful, just looking
for something warm to drink.” She waited …
DQueene just looked at Mari and smiled. "Good? Did I say
good?"
She hesitated for a second, and smiled again with a gleam dancing in
her eyes: "I'm just glad that it's raining over the town. Maybe
some of the buildings can be saved for the people."
The Appaloosa suddenly picked up speed as if she had a renewed surge
of energy, taking DQueene a few steps in front of Mari.
"You know what? That woman is fooling us, Zanor," Mari muttered and
with a frown on her face followed DQueene. She thought about sending her soul
fingers into the first rider, but dropped it on second thought as her gift
seemed to refuse her doing so.
"Ah, well, I'll just keep on watching her.."
Zanor snorted.
DQueene narrowed her eyes to stare at the town. "Ahh, there you
are!"
She could barely see a winged shape flying through the dense rain,
"You use your talents well! Who are you?"
She felt a shield spring up between her and the winged shape in the
distance. "Hmmm, who can this be? And why won't he answer?"
Bignor the Bat, heard the rumble long before his echo-location senses
"saw" the falling debris. Too much traffic hurridly crossing
the weakened stone bridge had dislodged some of its large stones. Cries
of "Don't panic!" and "The bridge is falling apart!"
accompanied the falling pieces of the Pilgrim's Bridge.
Fortunately, Bignor knew a few safe places to hide until the rocky
rain ended. One of them was full of treasures that he no longer cared
about.
DQueene looked back at the town, as it smoldered under the heavy
downpour, and sighed tiredly. “We should be able to rest soon; the
bridge can’t be too much farther. How are you and Zanor doing?
Okay?”
Suddenly DQueene sat up straight in her saddle and pointed, “Can
you see that! It’s a campfire! Maybe we can rest there for a couple of
hours.”
“Oh, it will feel so good to get out of this saddle!" She
stretched: "Ouch... I think everything hurts!”
Mari waved a halt in DQueene's direction - she was longing for a rest but
wanted to make sure first. Focussing on her heart she sent her soul fingers out,
cautiously towards the tempting glow of the campfire. She sensed at least two
humans there, and they seemed vaguely familiar. Mari's focus broke: Elendirill?
No other person had the same pattern in himself, this must be him, but something
had changed...
Mari turned her head:
"DQueene, yes it's safe to go there. I can't wait to get off Zanor's back.
There, there, Deary, you were wonderful, but I'm not used to riding, hm?"
Sliding down, staggering a bit on the ground, Mari leaned against Zanor and then
gave him a big kiss on his forehead.
"Come on, I believe we'll meet an old acquaintance now..."
Elendirill saw the rider coming closer, careful this time. He heard the
words she spoke ... well, it sounded like a she. But, ... Elendirill
looked closer, and under the hood was a familiar face? Again he smiled,
it was the boy from the camp, the one with the healing powers.
It's good to see a familiar face, please come closer and join me
at the campfire
After a small hesitation, and a bit softer he added:
We might need your healing gift very soon.
He walked back at the campfire, with his back turned to the newcomer.
Along with his guest came a vague feeling from inside. Fear, danger,
very close ... But not the danger he was used to by now, he had been
chasing a dangerous enemy for a long time ... This was something
different, something that seemed to go down to the deepest of his being
...
His eyes were heavy but at least he felt beter. Opening his eyes he
discovered he was covered with branches as to protect him from predators. He
lifted his head looking around to see if someone maybe watching. When he saw
noboby in the surrounding area he stood up shaking the branches from him. His
wing was fully healed from the poultice his Queen put on. He tested it flapping
it just to make sure it was completely allright.
He snorted to get the dust from his nose. Then his tummy grumbled and he
remembered he hadn't eaten in days. He could smell food from the abbey and his
mouth started to water. He decided to investigate the smell, all he hoped was
not to scare the people at the abbey.
He shot up into the sky flying just the few meters he was away from the abbey.
He looked for a place to set down. Then he spotted a nice place to set down near
the stable and the kitchen. He dove down and just before he hit the ground he
reered back and landed with a soft thump on the ground.
Well then he remembered that his Queen was on her way to the evil and he
contacted her. " My Queen I am fully healed and I am at the abbey now, Just
hope I don't scare the inhabitants but I am really hungry. I will join you as
soon as I have eaten" then after the message he started looking for someone
that could help him with food........
Sparkl had just emerged from the tall chimney above the Abbey's hearth
fire. Looking down, she recognized the immense stone structure of the
Abbey and the familiar surrounding snowy fields.
She also spied something unusual behind the workshops, near the
stables. It was a splendid, beautiful dragon! Twin vortices were
spinning away from the dragon, caused by the downwash of his great wings
as he landed. The whirlwinds created miniature snow flurries as they
spun across the snowy ground, as if the snowflakes were joining in the
merry dance.
The braying and crashing sounds coming from the stables were strong
evidence that Sparkl wasn't the only one who had detected the presence
of the dragon. Two mules kicked down the stable door and dashed out into
the driving snows.
Just before flitting away, Sparkl giggled to herself at the stupidity
of those mules. They had fled the relative safety of their stable to
escape an unknown, unnamed danger, only to gallop directly in the
direction of that huge dragon! Probably a very fatal mistake!
-------------
Sparkl's next stop was a lantern carried by Kegger, northwest and up
on the glacier. She stayed long enough to tell Kegger the precise
distance and direction toward the monks, and to apologize. "Sooooo
Sorry, Mrs. Kegger. None of the monks noticed me when I visited their
lanterns. I couldn't talk to them because they wouldn't listen."
-------------
Sparkl's next destination was the City of Vordasto, there to witness
the chaos and confusion. Afterward, she planned to venture north into
the Forbidden Mountains to see if she could find a flame in or near the
cave of the Evil One. Things were getting very, very interesting, and
Sparkl was feeling very excited ... and useful.
Shana walked quietly up to the campfire and stooped over to warm her
hands: “Elendirill, why haven’t you caught up to the lady yet? Did
something happen to you?”
Glancing around, she looked for food or even cha warming over the
campfire and started muttering quietly to herself: “No food, nothing
warm to drink… Can these males not even take care of themselves?”
Sighing tiredly, she walked back to the horses and pulled the bag of
supplies off and threw them to Elendirill, “Here, you make us
something to eat while I unsaddle the horses. I know you think you can
travel faster than they can, but I can’t. ”
She had just taken the saddles off the horses and was starting to
feed them with some grain she’d found tied to their saddles when she
heard someone calling her name and looked up to see DQueene and Mari
riding into camp.
She laughed, she had never been so glad to see anyone in her life.
Her eyes rounded in shock, as she realized what she was feeling for
these two women. She had never been glad to see anyone ever in
her whole life. Yet these two, whom she had only known for hours, seemed
like family – even if the silly girl had made her lose her hair
when she poured that goop all over her head.
She immediately cleared her expression and looked at them
suspiciously, “What are you doing here? I thought you were staying at
the Abbey.”
As they rode up to the camp, DQueene heard Drakonis say he was well, but
starving and needed to eat. Hopefully he wouldn’t get into to much
trouble around the Abbey. She had barely been able to contain her own
mirth when she realized exactly what some of those pictures on the walls
had depicted. However, Drakonis was young and she doubted he would
handle it very well if the monks returned and started ‘taunting’
him. Oh well, she would ‘listen’ for him and advise him if he asked;
but this was really a growth experience for all young dragons and she
wouldn’t interfere unless asked.
“Shana,” she called to the girl while dismounting, “You should
have waited for us!”
Holding her hand up to help Mari down, she continued talking
non-stop. “Mari, my dear, hold my hand getting down or else you might
fall down. My legs feel like jelly so I know yours must too.”
Then she turned to the elf and looked at him solemnly, “Well, elf,
what shall it be? War between us, or truce? Your wife we will try to
save no matter what, you have my word.”
Thankfully taking DQueene's helping hand to gain her stand Mari glanced at
Elendirill's stoney face and eyes burning with hatred as he looked at the Elf
woman.
"Uhoh, danger's ahead, better keep out of it. Let them settle it by
themselves," she thought quietly. Her second glance fell on Shana who was
apparently busy unsaddling and attending to the horses.
"Hello, Shana, you silly thing, why did you leave the Abbey? I told
you that stuff has to come out of your hair within a certain amount of time,
didn't I?... Now, come on, let me see what has happened..." A quick flick
at Shana's hood revealed the whole misery. A small bald head with pointed ears
and glaring eyes was revealed. The face was fragile, high cheekbones, small
chin, fine bones and the ears were just a little bit more pointed than human
ones. The eyes were strange, seemed to change their colour from green to blue
and grey.
Mari stifled a cry by holding both hands before her mouth.
"Oh noooo, drat! Come on, don't worry, we'll find a solution for that...
I've got your hair in my backpack, maybe Eandrae can help? I'm very sorry, but
you should have listened to me." And whispering:
"Hey, you're a girl, hm? Don't worry, I won't give you away. You must've
had a bad time in that camp hiding your gender. You're safe, Shana, DQueene and
I will protect you - but you must take a bath soon. Please?"
Shana glared at her silently, but Mari could see tears welling up and noticed
how brave that little girl fought them off.
"There, there..." reassuring pat on the back. "Come on, we'll
both attend to all horses, ok?"
When he was looking for food he found something attracted him. He did not
know what it was but it was there. Well he shook his large head to get his mind
clear but it didn't help. He walked around the courtyard trying to search for
food but the thing that attracted him did not go away, it was there but where.
Then when looking around he noticed the windows of the abbey. It depicted a old
monk taunting a dragon, then suddenly a ice cold shiver went up his spine and he
wanted to leave, but he couldn't. The hunger pains could wait till later, but
there was something holding him back. The thing that attracted him was still
there and he couldn't leave before he found out what it was........
