Chronicles of the Arquet Three

[Eliseth]

Background:

Sarine Arquet is a humble stonebreaker woman. As a single mother of three, she's spent her life living underground, fearing the surface world and shielding her children from the dangers of the world above. Now, however, after a chance meeting with her new friend Arka Garam, she is finally conquering her fears. With the help of her new friends from the Knowledge Seekers, she is brave enough to leave the underground for good, taking her children with her for a brighter future and a better life.

These are the stories of her three boys Valiki, Jhona and Declan, telling about their childhood adventures.

Sarine's Journal

[Two have been written so far, more will come]

~ Morning Routine ~

Two great kingdoms... both proud and strong. Armies gather on each side on the expansive plateau. Tension builds within the ranks, each man thinking about the loved ones at home, and few with the hope of returning.

At last it begins, the two massive armies charge for each other, gaining momentum, courage and pride. The frontliners brace themselves for impact as the opposing side draws closer... only a few feet away. All soldiers draw swords, raise their arms and... *WHACK!*

"OUCH!" Jhona cried as he clutched his arm, wanting to cry, but determined not to, "You're not supposed to hit that hard, Valiki!"

Why!? Why does it always happen that whenever they play war, Jhona's the one to get hurt. It always made him feel bad when he hurt his brother. "I'm sorry Jhona! Please don't cry, you'll wake Declan."

"I'm not going to cry!" he replied with a quivering lower lip. Why did his brother always have to hit so hard, it's only a game after all.

"Well I think we'd better take a brake" said Valiki, deciding it was best that they stop before something else happened. So the two brothers took off their play armour and put down their wooden swords. Jhona sat down on the chair, still clutching his, now bruised, arm.

Valiki went to the kitchen to make some of their grandmother's famous tea. He was grateful to his mother for teaching him how to make it, because it was the one thing that really cheered Jhona up. Valiki's thoughts then began to dwell on his mother. She was gone when they woke up that morning. He didn't like it when she left before they were awake, but he wasn't going to tell her that, he knew that she had a good reason for leaving so early.

The truth is he missed his mom when she was away, more than he would let on. He had to appear strong, especially for Declan, who often cried when he couldn't find her. That's why Jhona and Valiki preferred to let him sleep as much as possible... it kept his mind off their mother's absence.

As Valiki walked towards his brother carrying two cups of tea, Jhona, as if he had been reading his brother's thoughts, said "When do you think mommy's coming home?" and took his cup of tea gratefully.

"I don't know, Jhona. I wish she could take us with her sometimes." They sat there, happily and thoughtfully drinking the sweet smelling tea, when they heard the sound they were dreading... the cries of their baby brother Declan.

They jumped up and put down their cups. "I'll get his bottle" said Valiki.

"Ok, I'll cheer him up so long" replied his brother. They touched fists for a second and raced to do their respective tasks. Jhona rushed to Declan's bed, where he was sitting up, face covered in tears and mouth wide open, crying dreadfully. He folded his arms around Declan and lifted him off the bed, hopping up and down. "Shhh, it's ok Declan, you don't need to cry. Look there comes you bottle!"

Valiki came rushing in, bottle in hand. He held it up in front of Declan's teary eyed face until Declan finally gave in and took it from him. And there was silence... blessed silence. Jhona put his baby brother on the floor, partly because it wasn't necessary to hop up and down with him anymore, and partly because his arms could no longer hold out.

The twins led Declan towards the table where they all sat down, drinking their tea. Jhona started making funny gulping noises, which amused Valiki and Declan. The started giggling each time they heard a gulp, and pretty soon they were all gulping and giggling hysterically.

As Valiki and his twin finished their tea, they decided it was high time for breakfast. Their mother normally left something in the wood burner for them, and this time it was a pie for each of them. Valiki was pleased as punch because it happened to be his favourite pie as well... some name he couldn't pronounce, so he called it Teftef pie.

The Arquet brothers sat around the table, munching merrily on their respective pies, each immersed in the joy of eating, and enjoying the comfortable silence. Valiki and Jhona then gave each other a knowing glance. They were both thinking about and dreading the same thing... the after breakfast routine. This meant bath time for themselves and more importantly, Declan, who took great pleasure in running away from them when they tried to get him into the tub.

All three had finished their pies, the time had come. The twins looked at Declan, and then at each other. With a quick touching of fists they pounced up and ran for Declan, but he was ahead of them, and had already run away, into their room.

The two six-year-olds chased after him, but Declan was a pro and slipping through the clutches of his older brothers. For ten minutes they chased Declan around the cavern, over chairs, under tables, bumping into walls, tripping over mats, tripping over each other. It was a quite a fun time for all of them, though the twins would hardly admit it, and never failed to complain to their mother about it either.

At last! "Gotcha!" Jhona had finally managed to grab hold of Declan's left hand. He pulled the toddler closer and they tumbled to the ground, rolling around and wrestling each other. Valiki took this opportunity to fill the tub with water from the well. They didn't have hot water at that stage, it was something he was definitely looking forward to having when they moved to the surface.

Once the tub was full enough, Valiki joined his brother in wrestling Declan, this time to get his clothes off, which was actually far less challenging than getting his clothes back on after the bath... he'll worry about that later. After five minutes of this, they at last ended up with a naked three-year-old in a tub.

Once Declan was in the tub, he was happy to be there. He enjoyed the water, even though it was cold, and played happily as his brothers scrubbed him from head to toe, washing the remainders of Teftef pie from his hands and face.

Once they had finished cleaning him up, Declan was so tired, and so cold, that he actually let his brothers dress him, much to the surprise of Jhona and Valiki. Once he was clothed and warm again, Valiki and Jhona set him down with parchment and charcoal and told him to "draw mommy a pretty picture".

While Declan drew his picture, the twins left him and went to have their own bath. Declan watched his brothers skip off to the tub and then concentrated on the parchment in front of him. He didn't know what to draw, he never did. So with nothing particular in mind he put the charcoal to the parchment and eventually produced this:



The picture was later identified as the Arquet family's day in the forest. By the time Declan was finishing up his masterpiece, Jhona and Valiki were emptying the tub outside. Now that they were all clean, they could continue playing.

The morning was over... Jhona and Valiki touched fists once more, proud of how they handled everything.

Two great kingdoms... both proud and strong. The armies gather again and charge... army of Valiki draw their swords, swing with a little less strength than before, trying to avoid making the other army cry.




~ The Lake ~

Wielding his mighty battleaxe, the courageous warrior, Jhona the Brave, attacks his fearsome opponent with earth shattering power, as the two titans clash in an epic battle for ultimate control of Yliakum. Jhona parries a heavy blow, retaliating swiftly with a bone crunching kick to the solar plexus.

His enemy falls, staggered by the force. Joana raises his deadly, razor sharp battleaxe, preparing to give the final blow. As he swings his muscular arms, a fimiliar smell reaches his senses... tea? Tea!? This isn't right...

His vision starts blurring as a fimiliar voice reaches his ears. "Jhona? Jhona darling." He was awake... Jhona sat up, still a little sleep disorientated. "There we go! Sleep well hun?"

Jhona rubbed his eyes and looked up at his mother. "um hmmm" he said, nodding his head sleepily. He looked over to his brother's bed to see Valiki sitting up and sipping his tea happily. He took his own tea from his mothers hands, and with a quick thank you he started drinking.

There was a reason he had slept so well, he had been having a wonderful dream, but for the life of him, could not remember what it was. He tried his best to hold onto the memory but it was like holding water in a sieve... impossible.

After his first few sips of tea, Jhona climbed out of bed and climbed in next to Valiki, as was their tradition. There they sat drinking their tea together, giggling at silly jokes and then eventually wrestling each other onto the floor, by which time they would be wide awake.

From within the living area the twins heard their mother once more. "Boys, breakfast! Valiki, wake your brother for me will you hun?" Oh boy, breakfast, one of their favourite times of the day, and today would surely be an extra special meal because their mother had promised them a surprise the day before.

Jhona watched as his brother went to wake Declan, who was a notoriously deep sleeper. They had been taught how to wake him without making him cranky and Valiki had perfected it almost to a fine art.

He would kneel down next to the bed where Declan slumbered peacefully and would start to stroke his forehead very gently, waiting for a response. Declan would then twitch or sigh which meant Valiki could go onto the next step. He would then start calling "Dec?" softly while rubbing Declan's hand between his own. Declan would then slowly open his eyes and stretch out his arms so that he could be picked up.

Declan was soon awake and in Valiki's arms, and the three boys were able to go to breakfast together. And what a spectacular breakfast it was. An assortment of pastries and breads were laid out neatly on the table along with 4 bowls of Sarine's famous "special occasion" porridge and kinder ale.

The family ate merrily together, talking about various things, Valiki recalling the dream he had had, Jhona complaining that he couldn't remember his, Declan sitting silently, munching on a slice of bread, and Sarine looking at all of them, listening to them with joyous pride.

"Well boys, to celebrate our last day in our cavern, I've decided to take you all to the lake." The boys were silent, they had heard about the lake before, but had never seen one. Somehow there little minds just couldn't fathom a body of water larger than that of their bath tub. The concept was both exciting and frightening.

When the thought had finally sunk in, the twins started babbling energetically about the things they had heard and the things they were going to do. Time seemed to pass very quickly and before they knew it, all three boys were bathed, dressed and ready to go.

As they emerged onto the surface the twins started sprinting ahead, which was a major improvement from the last trip to the forest, when they walked right next to Sarine all the way, finding the larger world rather intimidating. As brave as they were this time, however, they didn't go too far ahead and still looked back every minute or so to make sure that their mother was still there. Declan, on the other hand, was quite content to walk at his mother's side the whole way there. He seemed to be in awe at everything, looking around with an open mouth, silently contemplating the outside world as best as his little head could.

Sarine had managed to find a smallish lake not too far from Hydlaa, and fortunately they didn't have to travel through the town to get there. The trip wasn't without drama however, because Declan got rather a large fright when, in his open mouthed gazing, failed to notice a Klyros approaching until she was practically on top of them. He screamed and started crying, clawing desparately at his mother leg, asking to be picked up. The Klryos simply smiled and greeted them, somewhat amused, as she walked past.

Sarine couldn't help but laugh at her little one's reaction while she tried to calm him down. This was something she had indeed failed to anticipate with the move to the surface. Most people were twice her size, and five or six times Declan's. She was just going to have to explain it to her children when she got a chance.

The twins had also noticed the Klyros but were further away from her path. They watched in fear as the "monster" made her way to their mother, and sighed in relief when she passed her by.

Valiki was the first to spot the lake, just over a little hill they had to climb. As excited as he was, however, he waited for his mother to catch up before going closer.

While their mother put down a picnic blanket, Jhona and Valiki went to inspect the awe inspiring lake. It was the most water they had ever seen in one place. They stuck their hands into the water and were surprised at how warm the water actually was.

For the first hour the two excited boys played around on dry land, while Declan remained seated at Sarine's side. But after a while temptation got the better of them and, much to Sarine's shock and amusement, Valiki and Jhona stripped completely and ran down to the water's edge.

"You first" said Jhona, with his toes just touching the water.
"No, you first, you always like going first don't you?"
"You're the oldest"
"Only by 10 minutes"
"So?"
"So you go first"

Jhona saw that this was going nowhere and decided they'd have to go in together, whether Valiki liked it or not. With an mischievous grin on Jhona's face, he grabbed Valiki's arm and pulled him as he started walking into the water. Valiki got such a fright that he slipped and fell into the water, which was very shallow, fortunately, but deep enough for him to get completely wet.

At that point there was no more anxiety, and Valiki proceeded to jump up and tackled his twin. Pretty soon they were both splashing around ecstatically and laughing heartily from the sheer joy and freedom.

"Watch it guys, here comes your brother" came the voice of their mother. They looked up and saw Declan, who had rather liked the no-clothing idea and took off his own, walking towards them. Sarine was always proud of the way the older boys looked after Declan, and knew they wouldn't let anything happen to him.

Valiki and Jhona stopped their boisterous play when Declan got to the water's edge. "Come on Dec, the water's warm, but don't come in too far," warned Valiki. Declan put his feet in the water and promptly sat down, he wasn't going to go any further, which suited the twins fine.

The fearless explorer Valiki, together with his faithful hydrophobic sidekick Declan, watches as the awesome sea monster emerges from the depths of the Lake of Doom. With his trusty blade in hand, Valiki charges at the beast while Declan, master of magic, casts spells from the water edge. A massive tentacle whips around Valiki's strong frame, raising him hundreds of feet above the ground.

The situation is hopeless, Valiki is brought ever closer to the creatures massive gaping mouth. Thinking fast, Valiki uses pure strength of arm to....

"Ouch! That's my hair! No fair that cheating" complained Jhona.
"I'm fearless and strong, I'm allowed to do that."
"Uh uh! Sea monsters don't HAVE hair."
"Well now they do"
"You're just making up rules so you can win."

Valiki knew this is to be true, but still... *splash* "Declan you can stop throwing water now, the game's over." And just in time too, because just as Declan was about to sulk, the call came to summon them for lunch.

It was a light snack that they got through fast, but enjoyed it nonetheless. After lunch Declan lay in his mothers lap and fell asleep and the twins got up to play some more.

Valiki and Jhona went through many more adventures during the afternoon. The hours passed by blissfully and Sarine, while reading her book, couldn't help but feel the immense pride in her little family. She was enjoying raising the boys so much. She looked back to the time when her husband had left, and how depressed she had been for a long time afterward. She didn't think that they were going to make it on their own.

"But look at us now," she said to herself, smiling softly and watching her little boys play happily and carefree in the water. "We're all right."

[comments welcome ^^]

EDIT: fixed many many spelling and grammar errors.

[Gharan]

Good luck with RP you have going with the "Arquet's" Eliseth. I spent about 3 hours on the Plaza yesterday trying to interact and RP with people and nobody seemed interested in the slightest. Even hello seems a task for most people. Then finally I got a sentence out of someone (you  ) and I enjoyed your RP it was interesting and original and now I stumble on this thread and find you've already created a history for your characters.

I like your ideas and keep up the good work!!!

Kellod

[Aerianna Kzin]

I Really love seeing that you have posted this on this site too! you are such a talented writer and I look forward to reading more of what you have. keep it up! you are very creative and I'm so glad your in the Knowledge Seekers! I can't wait to hear what the boys have been up to next!

[Eliseth]

[Firstly, thanks for the comments on my previous stories!

Oh, and an update on Sarine's life. She finally managed to move to the surface and now lives in one of the empty chambers in Arka's university. She set up a small bakery near the Hydlaa Tavern and her kids are now totally settled into their new life.]

~Grounded~
Part 1

Daring adventurer Valiki and his dimwitted but still reasonably useful companion Jhona have set out on an exciting mission to find the lost-

"Dimwitted!? Now just hang on Valiki, I'm daring too!" complained Jhona, who had been listening to his brother's monologue.

Valiki grinned mischievously "Yeah, but you're not as daring as I am! Besides, have you ever heard a story with two heroes? The one is always lesser, I'm the oldest so I'm the main hero."

Jhona frowned and pulled a face and said grumpily, "I'm still not dimwitted"

"Fine. You're not dimwitted." said Valiki with a giggle.

... to find the lost statue of the Arquet temple. Tension runs high as they make their way along a narrow cliff edge towards their goal.

"BY THE GODS!" shouted Sarine "Jhona! Valiki! What in the name of Talad are you doing on the roof!?" Sarine's heart almost skipped a beat when she walked up to front door of her bakery to see her two sons, who were supposed to be watching the store, balancing on the edge of the roof. "Get down here at once! Both of you!"

Immediately the protests started from them both "But mooom... it was his idea... the ball got stuck... Valiki said... we were being careful."

"I'm not interested! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is up there? You could slip and fall, and break bones! Now get down... NOW!"

Sulkily the two boys made their way down the side of the building, giving each other dark looks as if it were the other's fault. Sarine stood with her fists in her sides, tapping her foot as her boys moved slowly towards their mother.

"Now," started Sarine, "I want you both to go straight home and stay there until I get home, you will not leave the house for anything, understand? You're grounded for the rest of the week!"

They both mumbled their affirmations and skulked away, feeling very sorry for themselves. "And take Declan with you!" added Sarine as Declan came running towards them. The twins just sighed and continued on their way.

They were walking down the steps to the plaza when suddenly the ball they had tried to get from on top of the roof bounced in front of them, landing neatly in Jhona's hands. The two six-year-olds looked at each other with both confusion and amazement. Inside the bakery Sarine smiled and put the glyph back into her pouch.

...

"Super powers, it has to be." said Jhona matter-of-factly. All three Arquet boys were now sitting on the floor of their bedroom at home, discussing the sudden appearance of the ball they failed to retrieve.

"Don't be daft, Jhona, if mom had super powers, we would have noticed I'm sure." retorted Valiki.

"What if mommy can jump high! Higher even than, um, even than this whole H..HOUSE!" cried Declan excitedly, as he stood up and started jumping as high as he could.

Valiki simply rolled his eyes, "That's considered a super power Declan." It seemed, however, as though Declan was not listening and continued to jump up and down ecstatically.

"What if mom is learning what miss Andoryn is learning, with those shiny stones?" suggested Jhona, pulling Declan down again.

Valiki sat there thinking for a while and finally looked up at his twin, "I know, we'll have to spy on her! If she's got magic stones or super powers, we will find out!"

Suddenly a noise sounding like footsteps was heard from the other side of the bedroom door, all three boys looked up, frightened.

"What was that?" whispered Valiki. Jhona just shrugged, not daring to move. For a moment they all just sat there, frozen in place, waiting to hear if any more noises were to follow.

Finally, Valiki stood up carefully and went slowly, cautiously towards the door which stood ajar. Warily he took hold of the door handle and pulled the door open revealing... nothing. He poked his head out of the doorway and sighed in relief, seeing nothing there. He looked back towards his brothers and gestured them to come quietly.

"Maybe there's someone downstairs" whispered Valiki.

"We'd better go check. Declan stay here, and don't make a noise." said Jhona, who was wondering why Declan wasn't scared, if it were him at that age he would have been close to tears, if not crying by now, although he'd never admit it.

Together, the not-so-brave explorers Jhona and Valiki made their way down the perilous cavern stairs into the depths of the ground. Who knew what monstrous being dwelled below, and what horrors they would have to face.

Half way down Jhona sneezed and Valiki got such a fright that he yelped. They both just stood in place, not daring to move or breathe. After a moment Jhona's face turned completely white as he heard footsteps at the bottom of the stairs, just out of sight. The twins watched in horror as a shadow appeared on the ground. The shadow grew bigger, the footsteps grew louder, Jhona and Valiki were on the verge of tears when finally the figure came into view.

"Mommy!" cried Jhona as both boys jumped down the stairs to get to their mother, who was looking rather amused.

"Wow, you two look like you've just seen a ghost." said Sarine, hugging both boys tightly.

"We thought there was a monster!" cried Valiki. Sarine couldn't help but giggle at the look of absolute seriousness on her son's face.

"Did you now? And why did you think that?" she said, amazed at how active her sons' imaginations were.

"We heard footsteps in the passage upstairs," said Jhona, "but I knew it was you all along, Valiki was the one who was scared."

Valiki was about to protest when they saw their mothers expression at changed, now her own face was white. "What's the matter mommy?" asked Valiki.

"I didn't go upstairs... where's Declan?"

"In our room, he-"

Sarine sprinted up the stair to get to her sons' room. As she turned the corner her heart almost stopped... Declan was gone, and the window was open.

[even a simple baker needs an adventure story stay tuned]

EDIT: more mistake editing

[Donari Tyndale]

I love your story!

P.S. Time to return to PS, Eliseth

[Eliseth]

[Thanks Donari, my studies are keeping me quite busy so game time is significantly less than it was. Anyway, here is part 2.]

~Grounded~
Part 2

The room was completely silent save for the whisper of the wind blowing outside their window. Jhona and Valiki were lying on their beds thinking about the recent events. It was strange to think that only an hour earlier, Declan had been jumping up and down happily in this very room, and now, because of them, he was gone.

"We shouldn't have left him!" exclaimed Valiki, finally breaking the silence.

"Well it was your idea!" cried Jhona angrily. Deep down he knew it was actually his idea to go downstairs, and he was feeling extremely guilty.

Valiki frowned and said nothing. Once more there was silence, both boys were simply too upset and too angry to think clearly.

After a long while Jhona got up off the bed and started pacing about, his thoughts racing. When he came to the window he stopped suddenly, looking out at something in the distance. Suddenly he gasped and said "Valiki! Come here quick!"

Alarmed, Valiki hopped off the bed and went to stand next to his brother "What is it?" Jhona pointed to a small building some distance away. Valiki peered into the streets below and his eyes widened "It's Declan! But, who's that with him?"

The twins looked at each other, excited, frightened and relieved all at the same time, but their thoughts were too mixed up to get a clear plan of action and they both just stood there. Jhona looked down at Declan again and saw that they were moving. Valiki also noticed and bolted for the door.

"Where are you going!?" cried Jhona who quickly ran after his twin.

"We've got to call mommy!" he shouted back as he jumped down the stairs to the front door. The boys ran outside and stopped, realising that they actually had no idea where their mother had gone.

Jhona looked at his brother expectantly, his stomach was in a sick knot, he was filled with dread and excitement. "What are we going to do?"

Valiki looked around helplessly, there was no one around, it was too late in the evening and the streets were empty. He looked into his brothers eyes and saw the his own fear and anxiety reflected back at him. "We're just going to have to follow them."

Jhona simply nodded, willing to follow his brother if he thought it was best.

"Let's just calm down and think." They took deep breaths and tried to relax a bit, their mother had always told them that whenever they got into a fight or an uneasy situation, all they had to do was take a deep breath, calm down and think clearly... solutions came easier that way.

"Ok," said Valiki, "You go and get mommy's emergency travel bag, the one she put in the cupboard after Aunty Arka got back. I'll go ahead a bit and see if I can see Declan."

Jhona nodded, and raced inside, feeling a bit better now that they had a plan. Valiki headed in the direction that Declan was taken. As he went from building to building, he couldn't help feel a little excited. He felt like a spy, off on a dangerous quest through the wilderness. He didn't get very far when he heard Jhona running to catch up to him, a large bag swinging awkwardly from his back.

"This thing is heavy!" exclaimed Jhona, breathing a little heavily, "Why do I have to carry it?"

"Because this is my plan so that means I'm in charge." replied Valiki, as he darted to the next building. Jhona just sighed and followed him.

"There! I see them" Valiki was pointing in the direction of the Library, Jhona strained to see in the fading light. There, just visible in the shadows, was a man, possibly an Ylian, or else a Dermorian, walking carefully behind the buildings with Declan in his arms. The twins ran after him, careful not to be noticed.

"I think he's going to the gate." said Jhona. He had never been out that side of Hydlaa before, whenever their mother took them to the lake it was always passed the magic shop, completely on the other side of Hydlaa.

"We've got to go after him Jhona, at least if we see where he takes him, we'll be able to come for help." said Valiki, his voice sounding a little shaky.

"What if we get lost?"

"We won't, I'm sure he's not taking him far away" replied Valiki, although in his mind he knew that the possibility of getting lost was actually very high, they were so small after all, and everything in Yliakum was so large compared to them. However he felt that because he was older (Jhona would argue about that), he should try and look as though he knew what he was doing.

Swiftly and silently the two boys ran after the kidnapper.

...

The cold air stung Sarine's face, the iciness amplified by the tears that poured from her eyes. She reached the Hydlaa Guard tower and started shouting for someone's attention. After a few moment an Enkidukai emerged wearing heavy armour.

"Whats all this fuss about then?" he said, peering out of the doorway to see who was screaming.

Whats all this fuss!? My son is missing you bloody idiot and you call it a fuss!? Sarine felt like strangling the guard but instead took a deep breath and tried to explain what had happened.

"Well now! That is terrible Miss Arquet, I'll get right on it, why don't you go home and rest, we'll contact you if anything turns up."

Sarine thanked the guard through more sobs and tears, turning to leave. She walked back home slowly, her body and mind numb from despair and worry. Who would want to take my son? And for what reason? Why was Arka not around when I went to find her? She would have known what to do, she would have found him.

Similar thoughts raced through her head as she walked all the way back to her house. She could do nothing now but wait, her duty now was to the twins who were probably very upset, she needs to reassure them.

...

"Why aren't they moving?" Valiki was watching as the kidnapper walked straight passed the two guards without them so much as looking at him.

"Let's go get their attention" suggested Jhona. After waiting for Declan's kidnapper to be relatively far away, the two boys ran up to the guards.

"Help us please! Sirs?" Valiki was right in front of them and yet they stood dead still, like statues. Jhona even tried kicking the one of them but still nothing.

"Valiki! They're almost out of sight." Jhona cried, he couldn't believe that the only people around to help them were completely frozen in place.

Valiki looked around once more, hoping that there was at least ONE person around. He sighed as he realised that they were still alone and felt the choking feeling in his throat, but he was determined not to cry. He wiped a single tear from his eye and took off after Declan.

They could only just make out the figure of the kidnapper in the distance, it was dark out now and visibility was poor. As they ran, Jhona realised how terribly cold he was.

"Valiki, I'm cold!" he cried, as if he expected Valiki to do something about it.

"So am I Jhona, but we can't do anything about it." replied Valiki. The two boys carried on for quite some time, trying not to think on the biting cold that seemed to be manifesting itself more and more.

"This was a stupid idea, we should have waited for mommy. I'm scared." said Jhona, his voice sounding particularly small and shaky.

Valiki almost turned back there and then, but when he looked back he realised that he would have absolutely no idea where to go. He stopped for a bit, looking around for something familiar but seeing nothing. All at once panic started setting in, he started hyperventilating, tears now building up strongly. Jhona, of course was now echoing his brothers panic, they were scared, cold, hungry and-

*CRACK*

They spun around, looking for the source of the noise. The two six-year-olds could hardly fathom what they saw. There, just beyond a nearby group of trees, was a Tefusang, looking at them with hungry eyes.

"Oh shit..." said Jhona, causing Valiki to shoot him a quick glance.

"Mommy says no swearing," he said absently, still concentrating on the monstrous form ahead of them. Suddenly the Tefusang started moving towards them, picking up speed. "Oh shit!" cried Valiki.

Both boys started screaming hysterically, turning to run. Jhona dropped the bag and bolted in the direction of a large rock, Valiki followed closely behind. As they ran they heard the thumping of the Tefusang gaining on them.

Jhona's mind was numb of feeling, all he could think about was getting as far away from the monster as possible. For a moment he even forgot about his brother running behind him, that is until he heard Valiki yelp as he tripped and fell. Jhona turned back and went for his brother.

Pulling on Valiki's arm, he tried to lift him off the ground, but it was too late, the Tefusang had caught up. It raised its giant claw high into the air and-

"Yaah!" suddenly there was someone else, jumping between the boys and the monster. With a quick, seemingly effortless kick, she sent the Tefusang back a few paces. The boys watched in disbelief as this woman, Enkidukai by the looks of her, jumped right onto the beast, digging her claws into any space she could find, growling as the Tefusang thrashed to get her off.

The woman jumped back, swiftly pulling out two daggers, standing in a low stealthy stance, waiting the beast's next move. The Tefusang let out a roar of rage as it went for her, with its claws flailing madly. The Enkidukai woman threw a dagger, hitting the monster in the head. It screamed horribly as it stumbled back a little. Then with a swift movement the woman jumped up, landed on top of the beast, and drove her second dagger deep into its head.

As the beast started it's death throws, the woman jumped off and calmly walked towards the boys, with a loud thump the beast fell to the ground, and moved no more.

The Enkidukai woman looked down at the twins. "Zhalokathor dirakai? Vejhapekai so?" she said, with both shock and a little amusement. Suddenly she frowned "What are you two doing out here?"

Jhona and Valiki simply looked up at her in disbelief, unable to muster courage to speak. They looked at each other with open mouths and then back at their saviour.

Finally, after a few attempts, Jhona spoke up, "W.. We're following someone, he took our baby brother..." If it were a different time of day, and perhaps if the danger were not so real, Kaniha would have laughed at the silly childhood game. She realised of course that the boy was indeed telling the truth.

Kaniha was on a late night hunt, something she didn't do very often, she preferred hunting in the day. She was stalking a particularly large Marfusang when she heard screams coming from not too far away. The Marfusang heard this as well and ran off.

Somewhat annoyed, she sprinted in the direction of the commotion. After a short run she saw what looked like two toddlers running from a Tefusang. Hardly believing her eyes, she jumped into action, and after finishing off the Tefusang, saw the two boys, barefoot and shivering on the ground, looking terrified.

It took some time to get the full story from the frightened children, and at the end all she could think about was how foolish the children had been. "Vaatholokai! What if I hadn't come along?"

The boys looked ashamedly at the ground. She had to admit they were brave for coming all this way. "Now now, cheer up, we will find your lost brother, but for now, you look like you could do with food and warmth."

The twins watched as the Enkidukai gathered some wood, and then, taking out a shiny stone, she instantly set it alight. Immediately they were drawn to the heat and for the first time since she arrived, they got up and walked to the fire.

Kaniha sat down on the opposite side, she was not sure how to treat these two, she wasn't a child person, she never had any of her own and generally found them annoying and bothersome. They stared at her for some time before she started feeling uncomfortable. "Tell me your names," she said finally, figuring the ice should be broken between them.

Valiki looked at his brother for encouragement and then spoke up. "I'm Valiki, this is my little brother, Jhona."

Jhona shot him an aggressive glance and surprised himself by saying "You're only ten minutes older Valiki!" He suddenly realised he was center of attention and returned his gaze to the ground.

Kaniha nodded and simply said "I am Kaniha Suzat." She stared at the two boys for a while and realised they were not going to talk unless she spoke first. "So you have no idea where your mother is?" she asked.

"Not really," started Valiki, who was gaining confidence rapidly now that the danger had passed, "She went to look for Declan before we saw the man carrying him away, we wanted to find her but we thought that the man would get away."

"It was very foolish of you, you are lucky to have made it this far without getting eaten." By the look on the boys face she realised she wasn't really helping at all and decided to feed them, but when she presented them with two pieces of Tefusang meat, their faces indicated that they weren't too keen on the idea of eating something that had almost eaten them.

Kaniha rolled her eyes and went to search for something else, soon returning with the travel bag Joana had dropped. She was actually quite surprised that the children had thought to bring a bag. She found two pies and heated them a little on the fire before handing one to each boy.

"Teftef pie!" exclaimed Jhona excitedly. Kaniha was a little taken a back, but figured that they didn't really know that they were eating exactly what she had offered them earlier. She let it slide.

Valiki was feeling a lot better now that he had eaten a bit and wasn't cold anymore, he looked at his brother who was still munching on his pie. "This is all your fault you know." he said with a trace of a grin.

Jhona looked up indignantly from his meal. The two stared at each other for a while and then finally burst out in giggles. This new lady was going to make everything right again, they just knew it.

After the meal the two brothers huddled together under a large blanket from the bag. It didn't take long before they were both sound asleep.

Kaniha had been watching with interest at how the two boys interacted, a feeling of unrest stirred in her being, as though she suddenly realised that there was something profound missing from her life. She sat awake all night guarding her two unexpected charges, tomorrow she would find this other one and see them safely back to Hydlaa.

[Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome, plus if you notice any mistakes, let me know ]

[Eliseth]

[Hey everyone, firstly, thank you to everyone who has kept track of the story to now, I truly hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I've had to change Joana's name to Jhona, as his original name was taken in game and the GMs won't help me out with it *glares at Hanix*.

Now then, here's part 3. For those of you who don't have time to sit and read this right now, here is a PDF containing the whole story, so you can read it any time you like.]

~Grounded~
Part 3

A soft whispery breeze blew over the camp, and Jhona opened his eyes. For a moment he just lay there, not quite remembering why he was there. He felt his brother lying tightly against his back, and as he turned his head towards the sky, the memories of the day before started filtering into his head.

As he sat up, Valiki stirred and opened his eyes as well. Jhona looked around and saw the remainders of their camp fire smoking slightly, and Kaniha was standing under a nearby tree with her eyes closed, taking in the morning air.

The two boys, who were a little disorientated by the lack of the morning tea they were used to, slowly got up and walked towards their new friend. As they drew close behind her she turned around and looked at them intently. "Me must leave now."

The two brothers looked at each other sleepily. Jhona sighed heavily and went to pack the bag.

"There's no time to lose now, we must go and find your brother, it has already been longer than I wanted" she continued, her face growing more and more serious.

Valiki and Jhona both realised the seriousness of their situation, they didn't like to think of what their poor brother was going through. Jhona rushed to pack their things into the bag, which Kaniha then carried (much to the his relief).

If they were in any other situation, Jhona and Valiki would have been glad to be walking the outdoors. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, the azure sun shone brightly, doing its best to raise the spirits of the two little boys. But the twins were in no mood to smile just now. They missed their mother, and wondered what she was doing at that moment. She must be worried sick, they thought.

Kaniha studied the ground carefully as they went along, sniffing the air and expertly tracing the footsteps of the kidnapper. The two boys were amazed at the woman's skill. As the hours rolled on however, the two Stonebreaker boys were becoming more and more fatigued. They were both walking like drone behind Kaniha, completely lost in their own thoughts.

All at once she stopped, and the twins bumped into the back of her legs.

"We're getting close," she said.

*****

It was cold, damp and dark... Declan sat shivering on a muddy cavern floor, his knees pulled up tightly to his chest. He was terribly confused and disorientated, his cheeks were caked in the salt from his dried tears. It felt like a life time ago when he was sitting safe and warm on the floor of his bedroom. Tears started welling up again as he thought of his mother. He wanted to go home now, he was hungry and cold.

As he started sobbing again, he heard someone enter the cavern, looked up and saw the man who had taken him. All at once his heart started pounding and he screamed in terror. But then something happened, the same thing that happened when he was first taken... no more sound came out of his mouth. Slowly his vision blurred and he fell unconscious.

*****

Sarine was exhausted, she was dreadfully scared yet unbelievably enraged all at the same time. She hacked aggressively at the bushes in her way. This was NOT going to happen, she would overthrow the death realm before allowing harm to come to her children, who meant more that life itself to her!

She screamed and swore furiously as she thrust her sword recklessly at a clacker which had tried to get in her way. She stabbed and hacked at it with all her strength, making sure there was no recognisable part of it left.

As she walked on, she noticed blood streaming down her arm. She felt nothing. She was too tired and too angry to care about herself or anyone else for that matter. Her thoughts were fixed firmly on getting her children back safely.

The azure sun shone brightly above her, making her realise how long she had been traveling... she had left long before the Crystal started shining day light.

She hadn't got far before she found a butchered Tefusang carcass, and explored the immediate area to find a recently abandoned camp site. Her gut told her that this was where they had been, not too long before.

She screamed in frustration after trying to discover the direction in which they had gone, but she had no clue. She had no tracking skills, she was a baker for Talad's sake. She looked around hopelessly, all she needed was a clue, one clue. Her heart fell as her thoughts raced in her mind, and she fell to her knees. Her tears soaked her face as she gazed up to the disgustingly happy azure sun.

She rolled onto her side and pulled herself into a ball, a prickling in her mind told her this wasn't a good idea, but she didn't care, and silently she begged for some hungry beast to come along and end her misery. She cursed the useless Hydlaa Guard, who were still fooling about in town.

There had been a knock at the door, Sarine raced to answer it. She opened the door to reveal an Enkidukai guard, looking solemn. "Miss Arquet..." he started.

"Please... please tell you've found them!" cried Sarine desperately, she didn't dare to hoped.

"Well... may I come in?" he said, his hesitation not giving Sarine much hope, and she just nodded sadly. The guard walked passed her and took off his helmet, gazing quickly around the room before turning back to Sarine, who had closed the door.

"There are very few leads Miss Arquet," he started, but Sarine was hardly listening, she knew what he was going to say. They hadn't found anything in Hydlaa itself, so the next step was to start searching outside the city. She knew however that were going to wait for morning, as there was little hope in finding anything at night, especially in the forests.

"You must understand we're doing everything possible, but they simply vanished, no body saw them... at all." It was clear that this Enkidukai was new, he hadn't the slightest idea on how to handle the distraught woman he was faced with. Sarine felt like taking the sword he was carrying and shoving it through his incompetent head. She looked up at him and noticed he was still talking.

"Excuse me sir," she interrupted him, "But would you be so kind as to leave? I am tired and wish to go to bed."

"Of course, Miss Arquet," he said, walking towards the door. As he stepped through the threshold, he turned back and said, "I assure you we will continue our search as soon as light breaks." Sarine gazed up at him briefly, she felt she needed to smile, to acknowledge his effort somehow, but all she could do was close the door.

She wandered aimlessly into her kitchen, finding a chair to sit on. She closed her eyes and rested her head on her hands, her mind too numb to do anything else. She felt sick, she wanted to sleep and never wake up again. Slowly she got up from the chair and started towards the stairs, not even bothering to blow out the candles.

As she stepped through the kitchen doorway, she noticed something about the cupboard in the living area... the door was ever so slightly ajar. Odd, she thought, that cupboard was almost always locked. She walked over curiously and opened the door. "The bag! It's gone!" she exclaimed out loud. The only reason that bag would be gone is if someone knew it was there, and took on purpose for a long journey.

The thought hit her... Jhona and Valiki took the bag! They weren't kidnapped at all! Sarine's mind was racing, why did they leave? Where did they go? Why didn't they tell her? Her poor children were out there alone! Alone at night!

Her body was ahead of her mind when she bounded up the stairs to her own bedroom. She grabbed her sword and daggers, put on warm clothing and sprinted out again. Her boys needed her! Stuff the Hydlaa Guard, useless bastards! Sarine, the best baker in Hydlaa was going to rescue her own children's lives, even if it cost her own.

A few hours later and she was scaling the country side, with a bleeding arm and a scorn that would make Talad himself shudder. She couldn't be sure she was on the right path, but she had decided to go with her instincts on this. She was certain that she would find her children.

A little way on she passed another Tefusang carcass, which lifted her spirits somewhat. As she reached the top of the next hill her heart almost stopped. There, in the far distance, only just big enough to make out, were three figures, one considerably bigger than the other two.

Tears welled up in Sarine's eyes once more, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing. Forgetting her exhaustion and wound completely, she started sprinting in the direction of her beloved twin boys.

*****

Darkness faded slightly, the azure sun shone brightly in Declan's eyes, the wind blew violently through his hair and around his ears. Turning his head slightly he found himself looking up at a man, a different man. The man caught his eye and smiled warmly. All at once the darkness took over and he was again unconscious.

*****

Jhona's feet were aching, and he felt dirty. The thought was strange to him, normally he would delight in getting as dirty as possible, but now he found himself longing for him and his brother to climb into a nice hot bath, and to rinse off the filth that caked their bodies. They had been walking for quite a while now and he felt like telling Kaniha that he and Valiki would sit there and wait for her to come back.

Just then Kaniha slowed down, Valiki and Jhona looked up at her quizzically, and she turned to them, pointing to a small clump of trees up ahead. She gestured for them to stay where they were, dropping the bag and sprinting ahead to the trees.

As she approached the shade she almost giggled at the poor attempt to cover the entrance to a cave. The branches were quite clearly from an entirely different tree than what was around the opening, plus the foot prints were crudely wiped with a cluster of leaves. She quickly got rid of the obstruction and entered the small cave entrance, drawing her daggers.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but pretty soon the cave opened up in front of her. The chamber was relatively large, and she could stand up quite comfortably without having to bend. She guessed the chamber to be about as large as Kada-El's and there was nothing in it save for a large rock at the back near the wall.

Again she chuckled at this "secret" cave when she saw the ground beside the rock was disturbed, obviously by the rock itself being moved. It was however, not an encouraging thought, as it was unlikely that anyone would close up the whole if there was someone still down there. Her suspicions were of course confirmed when she moved the rock to reveal a small, damp, cold and empty chamber below. It stank strongly of urine and something else... she wasn't sure what.

Kaniha sighed heavily, this was not good news at all.

Valiki and Jhona sat up against a rock, saying nothing. Valiki was falling asleep and then nodding awake every so often, and Jhona was playing absently with a bug that had crawled onto his leg. They both jumped up however when they heard someone approaching from the direction they had come. They spun around quickly, expecting some new terrible danger, but seeing something which made them cry spontaneously.

There, not too far away, was their mother, running as fast as she could towards them. They were taken aback at first, because Sarine looked dreadful. Her hair was a tangled mess, her cloths were torn, her arm was completely drenched in blood and her face was as white as their sheets at home.

The twins stood still, shocked, refusing to believe what their eyes were clearly seeing. Sarine came to only a few feet away before she dropped to her knees, too tired to speak, or even to smile. She breathed heavily, trying her best to get some sort of audible sound from her mouth. Finally she was able to utter "My boys..."

At the sound of her voice, the two filthy dirty, hungry, exhausted and terrified little boys ran into their mother's outstretched arms. The three Arquet's embraced for what seemed like a life time to Sarine, her relief at finding the twins was indescribable. At long last she gathered herself and let go of the boys, who were still sobbing slightly.

"You little monsters!" exclaimed Sarine, "Why in Talad's name did you go off on your own like that!?"

"They were worried about their brother" came another, unfamiliar voice. Without thinking Sarine jumped up and pulled out a dagger, jabbing it angrily in Kaniha's direction as she screamed "WHERE'S DECLAN!?" The twins were trying to tell her that it was ok, but Sarine was too enraged to listen.

Kaniha easily dodged the crazy woman's clumsy attacks, grabbing and twisting her wrist, causing the dagger to drop from her hand. Finally Sarine noticed her boys' pleas and calmed down, falling once again to her knees.

"I do not know where you son is, dwarf. Whoever took him left here some time back." Kaniha was somewhat annoyed at the Stonebreaker womans reaction to her, but could not help but pity the poor distraught creature kneeling on the ground in front of her. She was about to explain further when she saw Sarine dropped to the ground, unconscious. Only then did Kaniha notice the severe wound on her left arm. She worked quickly to bind and heal the wound as best she could, and then to calm the frantic boys who thought their mom had just died.

Kaniha picked Sarine up, telling Jhona to take the bag, and together they walk towards Hydlaa.

*****

Sarine woke up, her head throbbing and her arm numb. She noticed the familiar surroundings of her room. She sat up slowly, holding a hand to her head. Then she saw an Enkidukai woman sitting on a chair in the corner, by the window, watching her intently.

As if reading the questions from her very mind, Kaniha said, "We didn't find him." Sarine suspected as much, and simply nodded sadly. "Judging by the complete lack of tracks," she continued, "I would say they left the cave on a Pterosaur." Kaniha stood up and went to sit next to the Stonebreaker woman. She gazed out of the window into the darkened streets below, "The only thing I did find was this," she said, digging into her pocket and pulling out a stone on a string. There was nothing special about this stone, except that it was shaped somewhat like an axe. All at once Sarine was hit by a flood of memories.

She was much younger then, she was on her way to meet with the man of her dreams, the man her father strongly disapproved of. Sarine was feeling frustrated as she walked the underground paths. She had just left home after having a heated argument with her father. "I will not let any daughter of MINE marry an Arquet!" he had said, "He will take everything and leave you with nothing, as is their way!" Sarine had stormed out of the cavern announcing that she intended on marrying this dreaded Arquet whether he approved or not.

As she walked the path to her beloved's home she kicked up a stone that shot up and knocked a nearby lamp, killing the flame. Feeling somewhat foolish, she went over to light the lamp again. She looked down at the bothersome stone and noticed its odd shape. An axe, if you looked at it from a certain angle. She picked the stone up and continued on her way.

It was on that night that she presented her fiance with the stone, who promised to treasure it forever. It was also on that night that a child was conceived, a child that would later be named Declan Brodan Arquet, and a child that would later die as a result of a terrible flu-like illness that swept through the underground caverns.

Sarine looked up at the Enkidukai woman, disbelief clearly showing on her face. Kaniha frowned, saying "It means something to you then?" as she handed it to Sarine.

"Yes I... yes, it does," replied Sarine, moving the stone around in her hand and gazing at it intently. She looked up at the stranger again and asked "Where are Jhona and Valiki?"

"They are in their beds, already cleaned and fed," replied Kaniha, not without a little sympathetic warmth. Sarine smiled slightly at this person to whom she owed a lot, without even knowing her name.

"Kaniha Suzat," she said, as if reading Sarine's mind, and after a pause continued, "You have remarkable boys Miss Arquet, they may be foolish for doing what they did, but it also shows courage." Kaniha tried her best to sound comforting, but she had to admit that she was not good at it. Never before had she been faced with a situation like this, she only ever had herself to look after.

Sarine couldn't help but smile at the kind stranger. "Miss Suzat... I..." she was at a loss for words, surely nothing she could say would accurately express her appreciation to this woman for keeping her little boys safe from harm.

Kaniha simply smiled and put up her hand, saying, "Now now, there's no need for that." She stood up and took hold of Sarine's good arm, helping her out of bed. "Go now, see you sons," she said, gesturing towards the door. As she watched the poor mother leave the room, Kaniha sat down once again on the chair in the corner, gazing thoughtfully out into the azure sky.

As she pushed the door open, Sarine caught sight of two angelic figures lying together in Valiki's bed. She walked up to the side of their bed and knelt down, gazing lovingly at the two brothers slumbering peacefully. For a long time she just sat there, watching the rise and fall of her sons' breathing, seeing them twitch every so often as their dreams took them on untold adventures.

Finally she got up and walked slowly towards the empty bed in the corner, which would normally hold an even smaller little boy. She smiled sadly at the thought of her youngest son and his joyful spirit. Slowly she lowered herself onto the bed, once again curling into a ball. And with a single tear running down her cheek, she slept.

[And they all lived happily ever after ^^ *sigh* I wish, I so badly wanted Declan to be found, in fact I litrally cried while writing this.

Anyway I've left the ending open for an RP. As always, comments and criticism are welcome. Thanks for reading ]

[Mathy Stockington]

Eliseth,

You are a very talented writer.

I might suggest that you do not end each chapter with your wish to have people's comments because it takes away from your well told story. When Donari posted my story I always hoped that people would say something. That way at least I knew who was reading it, and I would know what they thought, but I realized as time went on that not having the interruptions made the story an easier read.

I hope you will have more stories for me to read (and more chapters for this one). Thank you for entertaining me greatly. 

Respectfully Yours,

Mathy

[Entevir]

This is a very good story.It ends a bit abruptly but its still good.

I realy can't say anything bad about it.Even if it wasn't my style for a read it was done well enough to make me enjoy it.And in the end that is all a story needs.To be enjoyable.

Thanks for the good read.Hope you feel better next time you write a story.