Well, if you appreciate it so much, I\'m not going to let you wait for another part
Thanks for the support...
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\"I will see you again, Serinah, whether in this world or beyond that evil spirit which separates us now, I will come back to you. And we will be united with Ziro. I\'ll find him before the end, I promise you\". Tears dropped from Drakkar\'s eyes onto the rough and weathered stone that now marked the final resting place of Serinah Azzhiranir. \"I miss you so! Rest softly now, until we meet again\".
Slowly, Drakkar got up and turned away from the grave. At the edge of the small and peaceful forest clearing he looked back at the stone under the huge oak that dominated the trees around it. Yes, it was a beautiful place, and Serinah would not be disturbed any further here. If only she could have seen this place! Eyes again filling with tears Drakkar turned away and headed back to the road, not even caring whether he would be seen. What did life matter now? He had lost his wife, his beautiful wife! But deep in his heart he knew the reason why he had to go on, why he had had to part from her in the mists beyond time. Ziro was still possessed by that vile sorceror, and it was all Drakkar\'s fault. He could not leave his son to his miserable fate.
Drakkar walked the endless forest, not caring much where exactly he went, nor caring for himself. His mind needed time, time to adjust to the emptiness beside him. He couldn\'t understand his loss and often talked as if she still followed him, listened to him as she had always done. And what had she been killed for? Why had those villains come upon their camp, anyway? Drakkar suspected the hand of his enemy but wasn\'t sure. After all, there were some villains even in the heart of this rarely visited and beautiful old forest.
But slowly, after weeks of wandering and reliving the last moments of his previous life Drakkar was dragged back to reality by his body. He had lost weight and his muscle strength began to fade, forcing him to acknowledge his loss and catch food. And he needed to follow Ziro\'s trail and save him.
At last Drakkar got out of the forests and into civilization. A few farmers hurried to their farms as soon as he approached them. Drakkar felt utterly alone but understood why the farmers fled. His fur was unkept and his clothes torn. And he was enkidukai, of course. \"What prey ever loved it\'s predator?\", Drakkar thought cynically.
He washed himself in a pool and relieved a fat priest of his mantle. That he, the great Drakkar Azzhiranir, widely feared by all with more money than virtue, had to rob some petty clergyman on the roads was a greater humiliation than having to wear these foul-smelling and ugly-looking robes, but at least the risk of being killed on sight somewhat decreased. Now Drakkar was able to inquire some people about his son.
At last he found someone, an old and immobilized man who spent all his days sitting in front of his house. \"A cat, you say? Held by a Lemur? Oh yes, I\'ve seen \'em, them strangers\". He bowed a little closer to Drakkar. \"You see, we doesn\'t like strangers here, stranger. Though of course a priest like you...\" the man shrugged. \"But the cat and the lizzard, they passed only a week ago. Oh yes, I remember \'em well. What an odd pair. How often do you see a cat like you with a collar, eh?\"
A collar! It had to be Ziro. Drakkar thanked the old man and rushed on, hoping to catch up as soon as possible. He pressed on with only a cat-nap every now and then, and inquired in every village he passed. Thus he slowly caught up with his son and the wizard. The days passed, and at every hilltop he reached he looked along the path in front of him, hoping to actually see the wizard and his slave.
At last, he reached the last hill that overlooked a vast, sparsely forested valley. He could see for miles, and followed the path as it wound down in it\'s last descent and crossed the plains. At the very edge of his eyesight he noticed two small figures on the path. Could it be them? Drakkar couldn\'t see, but he felt it. At last, he had found back his son.
But there was something else on the plains too. A large collection of what looked like tents resided next to a crossroads. Drakkar could make out several villages and towns distributed through the plains, but the two figures were clearly headed towards the brightly coloured tents near the crossroads. What could that be? Drakkar had no idea, but he intended to find out. After casting one last look, he set out on the path down the hill.
However, he didn\'t get far. A harsh and somehow distorted voice called down to him, \"Halt! Why does an Enkidukai travel towards the slave market of Keruna?\". Drakkar looked around him, but saw nobody. \"Up, you groundhugger. Speak to me!\" And as Drakkar looked up into the sky, he noticed two flying Klyros up in the air. They were armed with heavy bows and looked terrifying. Drakkar\'s mind raced as he put all pieces in their right position: \"I am pursuing the captor of my son who is being led towards the market right there\", and he pointed down into the valley. \"I must save him!\".
\"Then maybe we can cooperate. You cannot go into the valley by day anyway. The people there are hostile to all that look different. We have come to free our brothers held captive down there, and we will end the days of the slave market of Keruna. We will attack tomorrow night, when our brotherhood is complete. You can look for your son during the attack if you like. And if you kill some traders, even better\".
Drakkar reluctantly agreed. Although he wanted to catch up with his son as quickly as possible, he knew he didn\'t stand a chance against a whole slave market on his own. He slept for the first time in weeks that night, and spent the day studying the valley. It was a magnificent sight: The valley ran on as far as he could see in either direction. In the middle a small winding river slowly flowed from his right to his left. Behind the river and the valley, he saw hills of increasing size and behind these mountains Drakkar could even see the steep cliff of the next level. Many roads wound up against these slopes towards the vineyards that occupied most of the opposing hills. The landscape somehow was familiar to him to Drakkar had never been here before. Though the view was beautiful, it depressed him. Drakkar knew he would not leave this valley for a long time, and perhaps never. And he felt pain, a new pain as if from memories he did not yet acquire.
When night fell, no one was more anxious to attack than Drakkar himself. He joined the Klyros towards the slave market. There, the Klyros readied their bows, flew into the air, and started the assault. They carried torches and fired burning arrows into the sleeping market. The tents and wood constructions readily burst into flames, and the Klyros coolly picked off the slave traders one by one as they sped around in confusion and panic.
Drakkar entered the terrified and chaotic crowd, carrying two blades. He easily killed alll opposition and hurried through the camp, searching for his son. The longer he searched in vain, the more desperate he became. He started interrogating people at the edge of his blades, but nobody was able to help him. Most were just to scared and confused to even remember anything at all. Finally, the fires had consumed most of the tents and the panic and confusion slowly died down inside the camp as people either died or ran away. Only the jubilant cries of freed slaves remained, but even that faded as the slaves rallied towards the Klyros. The once bristling market town of Keruna had been destroyed.
But still no Ziro. Drakkar sped through the camp and freed many of the slaves himself, always looking for more information. But that he didn\'t find. Finally, he got to the far side of the camp, where one tent was still intact, mysteriously saved from the fire. When Drakkar opened the flap of the tent, he was welcomed and sarcastically bid to come inside.
\"So, Drakkar, my honoured friend. Uninvited you enter yet again? Make yourself at home, as you always do so well. I am afraid there is not much I can present to you this time, even your son has already left me. Alas, he cared for me so well... Do you know he did absolutely everything I asked of him, everything? But as he is gone, do allow me to present you a gift\". Smiling but with eyes filled with malicious glee, Melchor held out a second collar and tossed it towards Drakkar, who caught it and absent-mindedly put it in the pocket of his robe. \"Doesn\'t it look quite like the one that decorates your son. It will look so well on you too, or maybe on your beautiful wife. Oh, how could I forget? I already sent someone to help her feed the worms...\"
Draklar lost all self-discipline and charged even before Melchor had finished speaking. Melchor grabbed his staff and a vicious battle ensued, in which Drakkar slashed again and again at the wizard who had cost him so much. However, the long search and the fury had tired Drakkar and he began to falter under the combined magical and physical attacks of his opponent. But Drakkar had gone berserk now and didn\'t think of giving up.
At last, he made his final mistake. Melchor brought his staff crashing down on Drakkar\'s head, bashing his skull with tremendous and unnatural force. Drakkar at once slipped away into nothingness, the last sound in his ears the mocking laugh of the wizard who killed him for the second time.
Still shaking Drakkar stood before the King of the Underworld. He was still too outraged to even be able to hear what the king said to him, and for some time after the king had finished speaking he still stood there. Then however, as he relived the taunts Melchor had made to him over again, he remembered about the collar and took it out of his pocket to take another look at it. The King watched with greedy eyes and extended his hand to take it. Drakkar let go of the collar, hardly even knowing what he was doing.
As life flowed back into his broken body, some sanity flowed back too. Melchor and all the slave traders had fled the scene of destruction and the Klyros army had retreated together with the slaves. Once again, Drakkar was all alone.
